JACKSONVILLE – Let’s get to it…
Caldwell said improvement is possible and the talent is there. So what gives? What’s the problem? Is it effort, plan, poor execution or coaching? I can’t help but think he’s blowing some smoke and overestimating the talent level, but what do I know?
Defensive coordinator Mike Caldwell was actually asked this week if the Jaguars had enough talent to have a “top-tier” defense. That’s the kind of question coordinators are asked at the end of seasons in which their units struggle, and it’s the kind of question that was inevitable after a 40-14 loss to the Detroit Lions on Sunday, in which the Jaguars allowed scores on the Lions’ first eight possessions. Caldwell said the Jaguars actually have enough talent. That’s the kind of answer coordinators give when asked about talent. Coordinators don’t criticize players, even when there are deficiencies on defense that help teams score on eight consecutive possessions. And they’re not saying there isn’t enough talent to win.
John, I was thinking about your frequent response that it typically takes two-three years for even top-end draft picks to develop to fulfill their potential. Apparently that hasn’t happened in Jacksonville in a very long time. So my question is: have we been bad at identifying talent? Or have we been bad at helping those players develop to fulfill their potential?
My frequent answer that it takes two to three years is not my opinion. It’s a long-standing NFL truth, even if it’s often overlooked by the most knowledgeable fans and observers. But you’re right that the Jaguars haven’t had many top-end draft picks live up to their potential in recent seasons. This is because they have not prepared well enough for a long time. They also had a bad stretch of not keeping many of their good draft picks. They remain for a long time trying to break that cycle. They have to wait for the players to develop and have faith that they will. It’s part of breaking the cycle, and the patience required is what makes breaking the cycle difficult.
John, please tell Wade is awake from the west side that “doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result” is NOT the definition of insanity, even though Einstein allegedly said so.
I know. But correcting people all the time is boring. It’s hard work to be this good.
Going into a season cash-strapped with all those holes on the roster after having $100 million and the first pick in each round of the draft the last two seasons isn’t a good look for the punter.
This is a common refrain these days, especially when the Jaguars defense struggles. And while the refrain is understandable, part of the culprit here is the nature of free agency. The Jaguars had several areas to improve in recent offseasons and therefore felt they had to participate more than ideally in the free agent market. When you do, you run a high risk of paying premium dollars for less-than-premium talent. This is not to say that mistakes have not been made. That is to say, at least some of these mistakes can be attributed to having to right the wrongs of previous regimes with a less than ideal means of doing so.
Oh, I don’t remember the opponent, but I do remember they lost two offensive line starters during the game and the Jags still couldn’t get to their quarterback. 3-4 doesn’t seem to work. How difficult would it be to switch to a four-three during the season?
Is football fun? For a franchise that has had a winning season since 2008, please explain to me how all this losing is fun.
Football is fun compared to other things like work, disease, plague and torture. This is true even at its most frustrating—and even at its most frustrating, sports should provide a sense of diversion. If they provide no distraction or joy – if watching games or reading this column hurts you so much, or if one’s outlook on life is so tied to a football team’s results that losses affect you like disease or plague – perhaps there is greater problems at stake than a win-loss record.
Hey Zone, Trent Baalke joined the Jaguars in February 2020, over two months before the draft where we took cornerback C.J. Henderson and outside linebacker K’Lavon Chaisson in the first round. I know he wasn’t the “general manager, but why does he get a free pass on those picks?
Because he was not the day-to-day manager.
Contrary to what Gary from St. Augustine says don’t you suck John. I think you sometimes have a deeper shade of rose colored glasses than most. But I really appreciate you giving us a voice to “rant and complain” about this team that we love (and hate). We are fans after all.
When teams lose, fans and observers want to hear that everything is sour. They want blame, calls for layoffs, and short-term reactions. This is understandable and there are plenty of places fans can hear these things. While problems are acknowledged here in the O-Zone, I try to make this a place where fans can better understand why things happen the way they do and why the Jaguars make the decisions they do. That is it. That’s the job. That’s what this is. But I still stink. Ask someone.
Billy from Orange Park and Section 412
In the limited time I’ve focused on watching Jaguars outside linebacker Josh Allen’s pass rush, he hasn’t used a variety of pass rush moves. It seems the bull rush is the only technique he uses and it doesn’t work. Has he given up other moves? Is he hurt? It is obvious that this is not the Josh Allen that we knew before. Help me understand this.
I agree that Allen doesn’t look the same as before. While he has consistently pressured the passer with a team-high pressure this season, he hasn’t had anywhere near the sack production he or anyone else expected. He also hasn’t been as disruptive as last season when he was healthy. My sense is that he’s pushing a bit and maybe dealing with some confidence issues, both of which could lead to him using limited techniques and not playing as well as he has in the past. I don’t think injuries are a problem for him. I just think he’s struggling.
Hi Zone. Looking at the injury reports, the Jags look in pretty good shape compared to Tennessee. I think if we didn’t come out of a lopsided game we would all have a bit more confidence going into Sunday. I think the Jags bounce back and squeeze out of Nashville with a W.
The 1999 season still sticks in my hand after all this time. The Jaguars will play a tight-knit Titans team in Nashville that hasn’t won since 2013. The Jaguars’ two best wins this season were against teams with significant holes from injuries. How handicapped are the Titans this week? The Jags is the little kid from “A Christmas Story” and the bully is at it again, but this time he’s answered. Go Jags!
John, while perhaps a bit scarred by life and therefore a bit “all over the place” in his Ralphie analogy, also remains “all in”.
Hello KOAGF. I have to say it’s refreshing to have a meaningful Jags game as late as December 11th. This Sunday will either escalate the postseason talk with a Jags win (and give us another meaningful game next Sunday), or it will put the finishing touches on that discussion. I hope our boys are ready to fight hard for 60 minutes.
Sunday is really big in that sense – and the Jaguars really aren’t out of the running for the AFC South title. If the Jaguars win Sunday at Tennessee, they will be two games behind the Titans with a home game remaining against Tennessee in the regular season finale. It feels like a very distant scenario as of this writing. It will feel a lot closer if the Jaguars win on Sunday.
John: “I could be wrong about that too. I’m often wrong.” Did your wife hack your account and publish the Saturday column? If so, does that end the streak?
My wife didn’t hack my account. This is beyond her technological level. So is resetting the wifi, although thankfully she’s always ready with “helpful advice” when I address such issues. But I’ve actually been wrong before. And I’m actually often wrong. This remains true and I nonetheless remain the king of all funk.
What is ozone and why is it important?
A layer of ozone high up in the atmosphere is called stratospheric ozone. This layer, far away from where people live, reduces the amount of ultraviolet light that enters the Earth’s atmosphere. This may interest you : Vicksburg native Sanders selected for Falcons cheerleading team – The Vicksburg Post. Without the protection of the stratospheric ozone layer, plant and animal life would be seriously harmed.
How does ozone affect humans? Inhaling ground-level ozone can trigger a number of health problems, including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation and congestion. It can aggravate bronchitis, emphysema and asthma. Ozone can also reduce lung function and inflame the lining of the lungs. Repeated exposure can permanently scar lung tissue.
What is ozone and its importance? The ozone layer acts as a shield for life on Earth. Ozone is good at trapping a type of radiation called ultraviolet radiation, or UV light, which can penetrate the protective layers of organisms, such as skin. This can then damage DNA molecules in plants and animals. There are two main types of UV light: UVB and UVA.
What is ozone in simple words? Ozone definition. Ozone is a colorless, odorless reactive gas consisting of three oxygen atoms. It occurs naturally in the Earth’s stratosphere, where it absorbs the ultraviolet component of incoming solar radiation that can be harmful to life on Earth.
When did the O Zone form?
When did the problem with the ozone layer start? Beginning in the late 1970s, a large and rapid decrease in total ozone, often by more than 60 percent relative to the global average, has been observed in spring (September to November) over Antarctica. To see also : House GOP’s inclusion of ‘salacious’ Commanders cheerleaders photos in official memo draws blowback. Farman and his colleagues first documented this phenomenon over their BAS station at Halley Bay, Antarctica.
When was ozone formed? The amount of ozone required to protect Earth from biologically lethal UV radiation, wavelengths from 200 to 300 nanometers (nm), is believed to have existed 600 million years ago.
