JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it …
Woody from Dunlap
KOAF: After reviewing sacks and quarterback pressures for Jaguars defensive ends Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker, it appears (superficially) both players are not performing as well in 2025 and 2026 (to date) as they did in 2023 and 2024 (pre-Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile). However, the defense under Campanile is far superior to 2023 and 2024. Neither Hines-Allen nor Walker have forgotten how to rush the passer. Could it be that under the Campanile defense, these two have responsibilities beyond rushing the passer? Could it be that they have sacrificed some personal "splash" sacks to instead play according to the responsibilities required for the Campanile defensive system to be successful?
There is an element of truth to this. Hines-Allen and Walker are team-first players who play to the Jaguars' defensive scheme – and there are times in any defensive scheme that pass rushers must play the defense and rush in controlled fashion as opposed to spinning and gyrating up the field in a freelancing frenzy. Sometimes edge rushers must "team rush" as opposed to rushing selfishly and allowing escape routes. Edge rushers rushing selfishly in this fashion absolutely can increase sacks while hurting the defense as a whole. This is not to say that Walker and Hines-Allen couldn't get better pressure on quarterbacks in big situations, and I expect both would tell you they could play better than they have in the first six games of the 2026 regular season. At the same time, neither is playing badly and both are big reasons the Jaguars have a very good defense.
Bruce from St. Simons Island, GA
Are the Colts cleaning house for draft picks to, in part, position to draft JJ Smith?
The Indianapolis Colts, who will play the Jaguars at EverBank Field Sunday, traded defensive tackle DeForest Buckner and guard Quenton Nelson this past week after parting ways with General Manager Chris Ballard the week before. I'm not familiar enough with the inner workings of the Colts to know their short- and long-term plans. I do know they don't have a first-round selection and I know Ohio State wide receiver J.J. Smith is projected as perhaps the No. 1 overall selection in the 2027 NFL Draft, which almost certainly means when it comes to the Colts and Smith, never the twain shall meet.
Jordan from Mandarin
This team is good. The conversation is not about making the playoffs, it is about being the No. 1 seed and the AFC going through Jacksonville. Go get a pass rusher, limit the big plays and keep scoring. The rest of the season should be a blast.
OK.
Ken from Jacksonville
The Jags stop the run well, but I keep hearing issues about inability to cover wide receivers and tight ends. But no corner in NFL history can cover a wide receiver if permitted enough time. Do you agree with the above sentiment and with the trade deadline approaching, what compensation would you give for a top 10 pass rusher (edge or tackle) to get more sacks or pressures? I think the Chicago Bears got a great deal with the Jeffery Simmons trade. What are your thoughts?
I absolutely believe pressuring the quarterback is more important to disrupting opposing passing offenses than "great coverage." This is for precisely for the reason you cite – that even the best "cover" corners are usually ineffective if they must cover for more than about five seconds. This always has been true, and the importance of "cover" corners is even less these days because officials in recent seasons have felt compelled to call defensive pass interference seemingly whenever a defender is remotely close to a receiver. As for your question, I absolutely believe the Jaguars would trade significant equity in the form of very, very early draft selections to increase pass rush. My sense is they would prefer interior pressure and disruption, and I absolutely believe the Chicago Bears made a quality move acquiring defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons from the Tennessee Titans this past week. Had Tennessee played in a different division than the Jaguars, or even a different conference, I expect the Jaguars might have tried hard to make the same move. Very hard.
Chris from Mandarin
It is not quite right to say that wide receiver Brian Thomas Jr. never had a big game with Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence. In fact, during the 2024 home game against the Colts in which Joe Flacco was the Colts quarterback, BTJ had an 85-yard touchdown reception and 120-odd yards overall. He will figure it out. Surely, right O? Right?!?!
Stay tuned.
Alan from Reno
Hey, John. There was a time when former Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio was wearing a Reebok sport jacket with a teal pocket square to pay homage to the coaches of yesteryear, and he looked slick. Do you think whoever dresses these coaches can possibly collaborate and bring it back for a game or two? Or will Head Coach Liam Coen get fined if he is not wearing yoga pants?
Coaches must wear officially licensed apparel on the sidelines.
Eric from Dawsonville, GA
Fans see sacks as a sexy stat. I view them as overrated. Too often sacks happen on first and second downs only to see the offense still convert. Those sacks become useless at that point. Coaches like using analytics that show pressure. Pressure gets a defense off the field. It also causes bad throws and mistakes that turn into turnovers. The Jaguars' defense gets off the field on third down more than the teams with sack leaders.
Sacks matter. Pressures matter. As with any statistic, perspective is needed. Sacks late in games and on third down really matter. Pressures that force incompletions and interceptions matter. What matters most is whether a sack or pressure forces a change in possession. The Jaguars for the most part have gotten decent pressure this season. They got very little on a field with difficult footing in a loss to the Houston Texans in Week 6 and they didn't get enough in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Denver Broncos in Week 2.
Tom from The Mean Streets of Nocatee
Good morning, John. My Mom passed away last Saturday. She lived in Jacksonville for almost 50 years, after the Navy moved her and my Dad here in the 1970s. She bought Jaguars season tickets through Touchdown Jacksonville, and after 1995 became obsessed with the Jaguars. She kept her tickets until about 10 years ago, when her health no longer allowed her to attend. We were in the stadium when the team plane flew over after the playoff win in Denver, and for many other memorable moments in the history of the Jaguars. My wife and I told her she was going to be a grandmother at the 1999 AFC Championship Game. That was the only good news that day. She loved the Jaguars with all her heart. She sat in the North End Zone for 25 years, a few rows off the field, right behind the goal post. When the opposing team would huddle in that end zone, she would let them have it. Frank Wycheck of the Titans once voted her No. 1. She would be cordial to opposing fans, but was also quick to remind them that "I-95 runs north, too" if they got under her skin. Her name was Jane. She lived 91 good years and was Duval through and through. I'm going to miss her.
Well done. I wish I had known her. One fer Jane.
Chris from Mandarin
The AFC South is like The Land of Misfit Toys as far as the NFL is concerned. I'm not sure a debate on who is more popular is all that useful. Other analogies include comparisons to The Breakfast Club or that drawer in the kitchen where you keep other "stuff."
When the NFL created the AFC South during the 2002 realignment, it had the feel of the NFL having put small-market(ish) and less-established teams into one division and leaving more established teams/divisions/rivalries alone. The Colts at the time had been in Indianapolis 18 seasons and weren't established with a significant identity. The Jaguars were in their seventh season and the Titans were in their third season after moving to Nashville. The Houston Texans were an expansion team. The teams in the division to this day aren't the NFL's "most popular." There is not a "legacy" feel in the division, though the histories of the Colts and Titans are rich if you include their former cities (Baltimore for the Colts and Houston for the Titans). None of which means all that much in terms of what happens on the field. You can win a Super Bowl from the AFC South the same as from any other division. It has just been a while since any team did it.
Aaron from White Hall, AR
This Sunday's game against the Indianapolis Colts is the most important game in franchise history.
Damned right.
