JACKSONVILLE – Let's get to it . . . Travis from Chesapeake, VA:
That felt good – offense not so great, but a win is a win! Was this much better play by our defense or was it the Titans not being ready, expecting us to lie down?
John: The Jaguars' defense played significantly better early Sunday against Tennessee than it had the two or three weeks leading to the bye. I've gotten a few emails with questions similar to yours, and I don't think it's accurate to think the Titans weren't ready, or that they expected the Jaguars to lie down. Had the Titans won that game, they would have been within a game of first place in the AFC South with a game against first-place Indianapolis Thursday in Nashville. There was no excuse to not be ready.
Robert from Delft, the Netherlands:
Guess you were right about not going 0-16.
John: Yeah, about that . . .
Dennis from Burbank, CA:
I seem to recall a certain senior writer saying we should watch the second half of the season for quarterback injuries to give us some breaks. Good call there, O-Man.
John: I wasn't reinventing the wheel with that answer. Teams late in seasons often take on a dramatically different look than they do early. That is often because of injuries, particularly because at the quarterback position.
Herbert from Midstate Office Supply Accountz Receevable:
Seeing as how D-Rob has been promoted by default to the backup running back position, what are the odds we get to see Lonnie Pryor catch a screen pass out of the backfield a la Montell Owens before the season is over?
John: I wouldn't say Denard Robinson was promoted by default, exactly. His move to running back was the first of several moves you could see to get a better look at younger players as the season continues. As for Pryor, we're a couple of steps away from seeing him catch a screen pass. He's still on the practice squad.
David from Westchester, PA:
To further your point about it being hard to go 0-16, from a statistical point of view, even if the possibility of winning is at a 10 percent chance, losing all 16 would be at 81.47 percent, given from a binomial distribution, which is obviously not a sure thing. That said, I hope you enjoyed those words that Sage from Orlando said you'd be eating.
John: I was told there would be no math.
Joe from Nashville, TN:
I sat two sections away from the Bold City Brigade Sunday, and what an experience. Anyone who says Jacksonville doesn't care about the Jaguars clearly doesn't pay attention to the passion of the Jaguars fans, even at an away game. #moodachay #standunited
John: No, they don't.
Doug from Westminster, MD:
Jags beat the Titans, Titans beat the Rams, Rams beat the Colts. Does that make the Jags the best team in the AFC South now? 8-8 Wild Card Super Bowl Champs!
John: #Standunited
Joshua from the Top of Section 109:
Great. Now the Jags probably won't get the No. 1 draft pick. Boy, they screw up everything, don't they? /sarcasm.
John: You may have thrown the backslash and the sarcasm diddly-hoo thing in there, but there are people who feel that way with no sarcasm and no diddly-hoo thing. Before we move on, let's say this loud and clear: winning was not a mistake Sunday. No one around the organization perceived it as a mistake, publicly or privately. This team is trying to build something and winning is key to that process.
Tudor from St. Augustine, FL:
Can't even suck properly. Guess we can kiss Teddy goodbye. Thanks again, Jags.
John: See?
Mary from Jacksonville:
This isn't a question. I don't tweet, I am an inaugural season ticket holder and show up every Sunday (Mondays and Thursdays included when we were interesting to primetime). All that said, thank you John for not wavering about my Jags - they will not be winless this season. Onward!
John: Well, Mary, you're welcome, but thank yous are unnecessary and really not what I was looking for when I said the Jaguars would win a game. It was an answer from a place of logic more than any moral stance against the "non-believers." I didn't believe the Jaguars would go 0-16 and I don't believe the Buccaneers will go 0-16. It's just hard to do, and I particularly didn't think the Jaguars would go winless. This team showed too much belief and passion for what Gus Bradley's teaching. It stood to reason that would produce results eventually.
Kyle from Orlando, FL:
John, Happy Veterans Day! Seeing the team wear the camo hats during the victory just solidified what I've been thinking for a few years. The Jags should incorporate camo as a primary "color" on the jerseys. It would go great with the new shield logo and with the City of Jacksonville. What do you think?
John: I think I don't feel like trying to process a uniform question this morning, though considering it's Veterans Day, your idea probably isn't completely without merit.
Princefigs from Jacksonville:
I saw it Sunday: This defense has a chance to be very good in the future...still needs a lot of work, but I am starting to believe.
John: There's a long way to go, and a lot of talent to be added, but conceptually, the defense obviously is sound. The Jaguars still must improve the pass rush, although the Jaguars tackled significantly better Sunday than they had the last three weeks before the bye.
John from Savannah, GA:
Will Blackmon made the play of the season Sunday for the Jaguars. If the offense is even adequate, though, that play doesn't need to be made. Still a LOT of work to do offensively.
John: You know what? You're right about Blackmon. The Jaguars have been waiting a while this season for someone to make a big, game-turning play. Blackmon absolutely did that. The Titans had some momentum there at the end, and I'm not sure many people watching would have been surprised had the Titans driven for a game-winning field goal. Blackmon has said often he wants to be a part of this team when it gets things turned around. He's one of Gus Bradley's more vocal "believers," for lack of a better term. He supported Bradley in a pretty big way Sunday.
Rob from Section 228:
Woo hoo! Finally got that HUGE monkey off our back! So, do we have a better chance at going 8-8 or 1-15? Come on, just pick one!!
John: Considering the Jaguars won their first game Sunday, you'd have to pick 1-15, but I think the odds of either 8-8 or 1-15 are pretty remote.
David from Jacksonville:
The defense stepped up big today. The offense surely didn't do enough. I give the offensive line play a 3.9 out of 10. Nowhere near good enough. Not to take anything away from the win, though. That part was very exciting.
John: I was going to give the line a 3.8, but what the heck – I'll go with your grade.
Hunter from Jacksonville:
Those helmets have never looked better.
John: The helmets are cool. I like them.
Jeff from Jacksonville:
I will never doubt you again oh great one! Say goodbye to 0 -16.
John: "Oh Great One …" Yes, let's go with that.
Tim from St. Pete, FL:
John: Couldn't help noticing that Henne had an inordinate number of balls batted down. Does that fall on the O-line or is Henne for not seeing the throwing lanes?
John: Probably both, though to be fair to the offensive line batted balls long have been an issue for Henne.
Daniel from Jacksonville:
Gotta say, I was thinking the games against the Titans would be the most winnable games. Zero and 16 was always possible, but I didn't see it being likely. Still too many errors and missed opportunities, but I'm proud of our guys for hanging on to the win. Hopefully this is a confidence builder and something to build on.
John: It's funny. I've gotten a few emails saying the same thing, and I thought the Titans were really not a good match-up for the Jaguars at all. They were a strong running team and the Jaguars had struggled in that area. Chris Johnson is capable of scoring from anywhere on the field and with the Jaguars' recent tackling issues, that had to worry you. Also, the Titans had a lot for which to play Sunday. The Colts lost and had the Titans won, they would have been within a game of first place with the Colts playing in Nashville Thursday. That made it a tough task for the Jaguars – and made the victory all the more impressive.
Dwayne from Jacksonville:
I've tried all evening to make a joke of the 0-16 question worthy of the O-Zone. So how many people asked today of they would be 0-16? Or 8-8 ? I could not help noticing, not that I'm saying there is any connection, that it was the first week you wavered on the answer that they went out and won. It's like you have this incredible reverse superpower.
John: I'm a powerful man. It stems from great core strength.