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O-Zone: Give it time

John Oehser Senior writer jaguars.com Follow John on twitter Like The O-Zone on facebook

JACKSONVILLE – Let’s get to it …

David from Elgin, Scotland:

Hi John, made the 12-hour train journey to London for my first-ever NFL experience. Met some great people at Wembley and Regent Street (even managed a photo with three of the ROAR) from all over the U.K. and Jacksonville itself. How did the atmosphere compare with previous years? I feel more and more U.K. fans are adopting the Jags as their “second” team. I know of at least one who lost his voice from all the cheering and the booing of the Colts’ third downs.

John: There’s no question the Jaguars’ London fan base is growing. There are statistics to prove it, I’m sure, but I don’t care as much about those as the feeling I get from being in London and from interacting with Jaguars fans there. Most of the direct interaction I get is from those who attend the Union Jax party the Saturday before each Jaguars home game in London. The passion from those fans always has been off the charts, and the numbers have grown each year – perhaps not exponentially, but significantly. You also see far more people wearing Jaguars memorabilia walking the streets around Wembley and in London. Those things mean more than statistics to me. On those fronts, the growth has been notable.

Brian from Brandon, MS:

Why not have and both start in base defense going forward?

John: Because for now the Jaguars want the base defense to be balanced and strong against the run. And for now, that means having – or – at the strong-side end position.

Robert from Jacksonville:

John, Adrian from El Paso seemed upset the Jags played the Colts in London because it was a divisional game. As a football fan here in Jacksonville, I would like more of the London games to be division games. The reason is we get to see division rivals every year. If you take a non-division AFC home game and put it in London, we do not see that team in EverBank again for six years – eight years for an NFC team. This, of course, does not take into account preseason games. I am sure everyone has their opinion, but this is another way of looking at this topic.

John: One reason teams can’t spend inordinate time trying to please every fan equally is because there are many, many fans – and therefore many, many views on such things. Many fans never will love the annual London home game, so the Wembley game is probably never going to make all Jaguars fans happy. As far as an ideal London opponent, I get as many emails unhappy about giving up a division game as I do about giving up a “premier” team such as Dallas or San Francisco. My sense is the longer the NFL plays games in London the more the league is going to try to make those games attractive. As the Jaguars improve, that probably will mean playing more attractive games over there – whatever it is you mean by “attractive.”

Taylor from Germantown, MD:

I’m glad Jacksonville finally won, but why does Jacksonville struggle to hold leads? They blew a big lead to Buffalo last year in London before coming back to win, were ultra-conservative in the Baltimore game which led to the loss and almost let a 17-point lead slip in the fourth quarter Sunday. The Jags need to learn to step on an opponent’s throats when they have the lead.

John: The Jaguars play in the NFL. Getting leads is hard. Holding leads is hard. Very few teams are good enough to routinely “step on opponents’ throats” and win games by double digits. Denver seems to be doing it consistently this season and Seattle has done it the last couple of weeks. Those are two elite defenses. As the Jaguars’ defense improves – and it appears to have a chance to get very good in the next couple of seasons – I suspect you will see this team able to do this more consistently.

Bill from Jacksonville:

John, please explain the rationale behind having run a two-yard route toward the sideline on the short side of the field – and actually throwing him the ball – when you need to kill the clock. Please help me/us understand this play call/execution. Thanks! Go Jags!

John: The only rationale for that play is you’re trying to use a play you think will work in that situation. Perhaps that was the one they felt was best. But honestly: I didn’t like the call, either. I thought for the great majority of the game most of the Jaguars’ offensive approach made a lot of sense. That play to Benn that led him out of bounds indeed was an exception.

Jefferson from Phoenix, AZ:

Hey O-man, is the 2016 Jaguars draft class possibly the best top-to-bottom class in our history?

John: We’ll see.

Brian from Charlottesville, VA:

Last year, was without-a-doubt the best corner on our team. This year, he may be the fourth – at best. What in the world happened to him during the offseason? I know is playing elite, but House seems to have majorly regressed from his play last year.

John: Fair point.

Jim from Middleburg, FL:

If you could change any rule in the NFL what would you change? I would change the spot penalty for pass interference. That gives the refs too much power in deciding who wins a game. Go back to the college rule.

John: There’s no way I would change the interference rule. While you’re right that it does create huge yardage on questionable calls at times, the negative of changing the rule would be allowing defenders to intentionally interference on long passes downfield. That would create scenarios late in games where defenders would take the penalty rather than trying to play defense – therefore eliminating a lot of big plays. As for a rule I would change, I would try to do something to make the unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty for roughing the quarterback a little less extreme. There absolutely must be rules to protect the quarterback, but the penalties we see for very minor, unintentional brushes of a quarterback’s helmet don’t seem to be within the spirit of the game.

Paul from Jacksonville:

Now that I have had time to breathe, I felt better about the loss to Green Bay than I do about the win over the Colts. I am starting to get on board with the group that is blaming the coaching for the Jaguars’ poor performance. In the Green Bay game the team played hard the entire game. …

John: Your email went on for a long, long time about how conservatively the Jaguars played to allow the Colts back in the game. I didn’t cut short your email out of disrespect, but because … c’mon, the Jaguars won for the first time this season Sunday and they did so beating a quarterback who has made his mark in the NFL by finishing off rallies like the one he started Sunday. The Jaguars figured out a way to win Sunday. Rallying late in games is what Andrew Luck does. Against pretty much every team. Remember, too, that Jaguars quarterback had been struggling mightily entering the game. I’m not sure putting the ball in his hands the entire second half and asking him to attack with intermediate and short passes without a complementary running game would have been a very prudent approach. And this really wasn’t a case of the Jaguars being too conservative. They threw a lot in the second half of the game. They threw deep relatively often. They also ran enough to try to run clock. I didn’t love the late pass toward the sideline to Benn that stopped the clock, but overall this team did enough to win the game. The Jaguars got six sacks from a young defense that appears to be improving. Mostly, they got the victory. That’s what mattered.

John from Cape May, NJ:

An apparent strength of Fowler’s coming out of college was his versatility along the defensive line. You saw him line up on the right side, the left side, play the three technique, play over the center and rush the passer standing up. Yet, through his first four games he mostly just has been lining up on the offensive’s right side. What gives? He is clearly on his way to being a disruptive force and I would think it would behoove the Jags to start getting creative with him and lining him up in different spots.

John: A couple of thoughts on your thoughts. One is that the NFL is a far different sport than college football, so it’s going to be tougher for any player to be effective in as many spots as he was in college. Another is while I believe the Jaguars will move Fowler around the defense, Fowler is a couple of weeks into his NFL career. A few weeks ago there was concern over him needing to “become a better pro in a hurry.” Let’s let him get good at his current positon before having him try to function at others.

Pages: 12

O-Zone: Magic man

John Oehser Senior writer jaguars.com Follow John on twitter Like The O-Zone on facebook

JACKSONVILLE – Big one for the Jags in the U.K. Good to be home.

Let’s get to it …

Ryan from Nashville, TN:

During the offseason all the experts were picking either or for defensive rookie of the year. If keeps it up he’s gonna make a strong case! #DTWD

John: This is true. While there’s little point in getting geeked up about postseason honors at the season’s quarter pole it is OK to get a little geeked about a trend that’s becoming pretty obvious. That trend is that the Jaguars have five first- or second-year players on defense who all have a chance to develop into good players. And when I say good, I mean really, really good. Ramsey, , Ngakoue, Jack and all made plays that mattered Sunday. It was Jack’s first game playing significant defensive reps and the others all have made big defensive plays this season on more than one occasion. I said throughout the offseason that I believed the Jaguars’ defense had a chance to be good by the end of this season with a chance to approach elite in 2017. The unit appears to indeed have a chance to prove the first statement true this season. As far as approaching elite … we’ll see, but the future looks really bright for this young group.

Nick from Panama City Beach, FL:

I’m happy today!

John: Well, goodie for you.

Adam from Lynwood, NY:

Blake has progressed #DTWD

John: Sunday’s game obviously doesn’t mean Bortles has arrived as an NFL quarterback any more than the first three games of the season meant he couldn’t play in this league. Bortles still has a lot of things he must improve – accuracy, decision-making, etc. – and until the drive that ended with ’ touchdown Sunday, Bortles honestly had played just OK in a lot of ways. What was better than OK was his playmaking late and what was also better than OK was his decisiveness in the pocket. What was a lot more than OK was that Bortles threw no interceptions Sunday and therefore hurt the Jaguars far less than he had the last three weeks. I don’t know if that’s progression or not, but it sure was a reason the Jaguars won Sunday.

Jeff from Rutland, VA:

The Hurns TD showed an offense that can respond under pressure. And then it became overly conservative, which nearly cost us the game. Oh well. It’s good to win, even if it ends up being much closer than it should have been.

John: The Jaguars passed on first down holding a three-point lead with just over 3:03 remaining. They also passed on third down on the same series. This also is a team that went for it on fourth and three holding a 14-point lead in the third quarter Sunday. I don’t know that the Jaguars could have been all that much more aggressive Sunday without being reckless. At some point it’s OK not to take undue risk offensively and let your defense win the game.

MrPadre fom Kingsland, GA:

It’s crazy to think how different things would be if we were able to manage one win against the Packers or Ravens. While the division is obviously still within reach the whole feel of the season is much different at 1-3 along with almost blowing a 17-point lead. The difference one win makes early in the year for this team is big!

John: The Jaguars won Sunday. It would be great for them if there were 3-1 or 2-2 – and they probably should at least be the latter. As it stands they are 1-3 and the season is now far from over. Considering the state of the team last week … well, they’ll take this one and get ready for Chicago.

David from Jacksonville:

If the Eagles can clean house and turn into a powerhouse in the offseason then why not the Jags? First step: fire the coach and GM, and get rid of that quarterback. He’s an ogre not an NFL player. The next coach should be a defense minded coach, and draft defense, build a defense. There’s enough decent quarterbacks who aren’t playing until they can draft a real starting QB. Manziel or Tebow or both should be QB’ing this team. Bortles should be in fairyland playing with Donkey. You can’t keep racking up losses and say you are moving in the right direction. I’m embarrassed that Caldwell has turned the Jags into a second rate WPFL team stocked with players without any pride.

John: I admit this was sent before Sunday’s game. I wasn’t going to run it but then I remembered “Manziel or Tebow or both should be QB’ing this team.”

Cir-Ike Love from Sunrise by Way of Duval:

John, I don’t understand why so many fans are writing off so early into his career and into this season. I don’t think fans really want (or do we need) a do over. Yes he’s struggling, but to throw in the towel a functioning NFL-caliber quarterback … they must have forgotten what we have had behind center over the years. #1ferBortles.

John: People have been writing off Bortles because he has been struggling and the NFL is a world of short-term expectations/quick-trigger reaction. That’s true of the fans. It’s even true of media. As a team, the Jaguars must be patient with Bortles – and they will be patient to an extent. He has shown enough in two-plus seasons to merit an extended decision-making progress. He doesn’t have forever, but he has longer than a difficult early-season stretch. But sure … despite all that has gone on in the last few weeks … one fer Bortles!

Nathan from York, UK:

I just saw on Twitter that me and Shadrick own the same tie. Does this make me unfashionable or Shadrick a maverick? I’m undecided.

John: I’m not sure what it means, exactly, but from your perspective I wouldn’t interpret it as a “positive life event.”

Mike from Section 238:

Getting lost in these first four games is the performance of . Can I get one for Jason?

John: You’re right that Jason Myers has been lost in the first four games of the season – and that obviously is a positive for the Jaguars. Kickers are ideally pretty unnoticed until they convert game-winning field goals. Then they are the hero for a night before returning to obscurity. But it is worth noting Myers’ consistency early in the season. His three field goals Sunday were key points and helped the Jaguars take control of the game’s momentum in the second and third quarters.

BCB Member Chris from Jersey:

This team gives me heartburn lol. Hey one fer Sheldon Day, when he was in he was making solid plays.

John: Heartburn is a way of life in the NFL, where most games are decided by seven points or less. Now that the Jaguars have improved their talent level you’re almost certainly going to experience a lot more of the burn you felt Sunday. And absolutely one fer Day. He’s a guy the Jaguars loved before the draft and during training camp and preseason. He’s a fourth-round selection making plays in the first month of his rookie season. That doesn’t always happen.

Steve from Hudson, FL:

When does Olson get fired?

John: Not after Sunday, that’s for sure.

Nate from York, PA:

It’s great to have the win, but the fact that we squandered a big lead like that to a less than impressive Colts team is a bit concerning. If we can’t put teams away we won’t win games.

John: You should have stopped at “great to have the win.” The Jaguars won a game they needed to win and did it against a team that has Andrew Luck, who is one of the NFL’s best young late-game quarterbacks. Most NFL teams have trouble putting teams away. That’s because NFL offenses are hard to negate for 60 minutes. The Jaguars won Sunday. That’s what mattered.

David from Broward County:

O-man, WE WON, WE WON, WE WON!!!!! It was sloppy, dare I say bad football. Many thing to be correc…….wait a minute, JAGS WIN JAGS WIN JAGS WIN JAGS WIN,!!!!!!!!!!

John: And that’s what mattered.

Bill from Hawthorn Woods, IL:

That breeze pushing its way down the St John’s River is a huge, collective municipal sigh of relief. The penalties were ugly but a win is a win. Bottles was better, the defense was solid again minus that bad Ramsey beat in the fourth quarter. Now how does this turn into some momentum and confidence going forward?

John: You win again.

Steve from Stevensville, MD:

Hey! One for the good guys!!!

John: Indeed.

Erik from Jacksonville:

So when did sign with the Colts? Seriously though, the penalties John, the penalties. It’s almost to the point where teams can game plan utilizing the undisciplined nature that the Jags play with. When will they figure it all out?

John: The Jaguars were penalized 11 times for 145 yards Sunday. They are averaging nearly 100 yards a game in penalties, which is far too many. I will say this about the penalties: some of the interference penalties Sunday appeared to be tough calls. In particular there was an interference penalty on that at first glance was a bit sketchy and another on Davon House in the second quarter that was a lot more than a bit sketchy. But even taking those away there were too many instances in which the Jaguars gave the Colts opportunities rather than the Colts having to earn them. The competition level is too good in the NFL to win consistently doing that.

Bob from St. Augustine, FL:

Oh, Bortles plays smarter thus Jags are magically better. Nice work, O-Man

John: Yes, it’s cool how that works, isn’t it?

Pages: 12

O-Zone: Big beyond doubt

John Oehser Senior writer jaguars.com Follow John on twitter Like The O-Zone on facebook

LONDON – Game-day in the U.K. … It’s coming sometime and maybe …

Steve from Denver, CO:

O, last season I suggested Blake Bortles have three-to-five designated run plays. You shot it down saying he needs to be a pocket passer. We have used a second-round pick and signed a high-dollar free agent running back and how are we ranked? BB still averages a few yards more per carry than any of our running backs. Now, I read draft polls saying we will go after Big Leonard from LSU. Won’t you admit Blake needs a few more carries per game? Give their D more to think about and adjust their D?

John: I’m very rarely going to bang the table for quarterbacks to get more called running plays and I’m certainly not going to bang anything in this case. Running plays expose quarterbacks to injury risk and great quarterbacks usually can win from the pocket. And while the running yardage from designed quarterback runs are nice, they usually don’t accomplish a major objective of the run in the modern NFL, which is to establish the threat of the run and therefore help the offense overall. Bortles may average a few more yards per carry than Chris Ivory/T.J. Yeldon, but defenses aren’t going to commit extra defenders to stopping him, so the aftereffect of those runs is relatively minimal. I think Bortles probably would benefit from a few more designed rollouts and he probably would benefit from running with decisiveness when the pocket collapses, but no … I’m not a fan of the idea of game plans that plan for him to be a third running back.

Will from Orlando, FL:

Just win, baby. Win.

John: OK.

Jason from Section 140:

From Chris Simms: “I am confident in saying the Blake Bortles experiment is over. They are going to have to start reevaluating what they want to do at quarterback … We’re three games into his third year and we’re still seeing the same issues from Blake Bortles that we saw at the beginning of his NFL career… He does not make routine NFL throws. He is very inaccurate throwing the ball. He’s got one of the longest motions throwing the football. He’s also one of the worst three-step passing quarterbacks in all the game.” Perhaps a little harsh, but a fairly accurate assessment. What say you?

John: That’s indeed a harsh way of saying many things we discussed about Bortles throughout the offseason. These of course were many of the same issues that existed last season when he looked very much at times like a player who was ascending to the point of being a very good NFL quarterback. Bortles has some weaknesses. They have overshadowed his strengths thus far this season. Are they going to continue to do that and define his career? It’s too early to know that no matter what Chris Simms might believe. And I’m going to hold off on researching Simms’ ascension to the high altar of quarterback evaluation. I’m still sort of tired from the trip and don’t want to get into it.

Reinhold from Glendale, AZ:

Hey, John. I went to high school with Prince Amukamara and I was wondering if you think Prince’s absence hurt the secondary in the past weeks?

John: Without question.

Terry from Miami, FL:

If the Colts score on their first possession they will win the game. Bortles will panic, try too hard to catch up and the Jags will fail to score enough. If the Jags hold the Colts on the first possession the Jags have a chance. The Jags cannot win a shootout, due to panic and poor play calling. What do you think?

John: The Jaguars have struggled enough early in games that this indeed is a reasonable conclusion. It’s a bit extreme and it’s probably not all-inclusive. It also needn’t be the case moving forward, but through three games? Yes, this is a reasonable conclusion.

Kenny from Rochester:

What do you think is more probable: Jaguars score on the first offensive series or Bortles throws an interception on his first pass of the game? I believe Vegas would have the odds on the latter.

John: Bortles has struggled enough early in games that this indeed is a reasonable conclusion. It’s a bit extreme and it’s probably not all-inclusive. It also needn’t be the case moving forward, but through three games? Yes, this is a reasonable conclusion.

David from Ada, OK:

Wow. I was just looking at Wikipedia, and found that they have the all-time winning percentages for all 32 NFL teams. We rank 27th. I think that is the reason we have so many disgruntled fans.

John: The Jaguars have struggled enough over the last four or five seasons that this indeed is a reasonable conclusion. It’s a bit extreme and it’s probably not all-inclusive. It also needn’t be the case moving forward, but right now? Yes, this is a reasonable conclusion.

Joel from Jacksonville:

Many years ago, Mark Brunell was having a real tough preseason. Jimmy Smith was out. Jimmy came back and suddenly Brunell looked fantastic. A local sports writer was asked why and he said Mark got his security blanket back. I think the fact that Blake sees the Allens double covered, causes him some mental issues – i.e., he lost his security blanket. He needs to get past that.

John: There’s probably an element of this. Robinson was double covered quite a bit down the middle third of the field against Green Bay in Week 1. Though offensive coordinator Greg Olson said that hasn’t been as much the case the past two weeks, it stands to reason teams will defend the Jaguars’ best receiver at least a bit differently until Bortles and Robinson figure a way to beat it consistently.

Chris from Columbia, SC:

Maybe I’m an ignorant optimist but I think firing Gus if we lose this week would be a horrible mistake. This roster is incredibly talented but they’re making stupid mistakes – some coachable, some not coachable. At least give the guy the year unless every game is a 40-point blowout. Do you still think Gus is the guy? I still do. DTWD

John: I’m on record saying I honestly don’t know if Bradley is the guy. I say that because he hasn’t won – and until a coach wins, you can’t know if he’s the guy. He didn’t have the talent to win early in his Jaguars career and he hasn’t had enough talent long enough to prove for certain that he’s not the guy. Also, let’s keep the Jaguars’ talent in perspective. Yes, they have more talent than they did in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Yes, they have talent that they should be better than 0-3. But I would not say they yet have veteran, experienced talent where I would necessarily consider it a horrendous coaching job if they miss the postseason. I thought realistically this team could get to eight-to-nine wins, but I also thought the offense would perform better early. Can the Jaguars win enough the rest of the season where we get a better idea if Bradley’s the guy? Stay tuned.

Scott from Section 137 and Ponte Vedra, FL:

Can you explain two things about Bortles? Why do many of his passes seem to waffle in the air compared to pretty much every other quarterback in the NFL? Secondly, why does he have problems shuffling around in the pocket like most of the other good quarterbacks in the NFL? Does he have problems feeling the pressure?

John: One, I don’t know. Two, apparently.

CC from Duval:

I’ll say this for some optimism for our squad. Chemistry seems to be gaining on the offensive line (as well as getting healthy) and pass protection seems better, but we have to figure out something in the running game. But this defense with all its new players seems to have the potential to be special. Prince only played one game and the coverage looked pretty good. To think we have Aaron Colvin coming back after the bye makes me excited because somebody will be left out as a result of the true competition with our cornerbacks. I believe Davon House will be left out because he cost the most and he’s our weakest link, to be frank. Colvin, Prince and Jalen Ramsey should be our starting three. Give Prince House’s deal after this year lol. DTWD

John: I’m not sure who you are, but at some point C.C. from Duval’s going to know you hacked his account. #toopositivetoreallybecc #dtwd

Richard from Orange Park, FL:

You and I both know Indy’s secondary is as deep as a kiddy pool. This game has season, career, regime, draft and financial implications to it. Blake needs to play adequately. Stop forcing the ball to A-Rob, do his progressions and throw to the open man – and get a W or the talk will become legitimate. God help us all if that happens. What a long plane ride home. Good luck.

John: It’s a big game. No doubt about that.

Bill from Hammock Beach, FL:

O man, has there been a bigger game in the last 10 years than the one this Sunday? The Jags lose and the coach is likely fired and things are chaotic for the remainder of the year. With a win, we are right in the division approaching the weaker part of our schedule with a quickly improving defense. Go Jags. I don’t want to wait another year.

John: It’s a big game. No doubt about that.

Pages: 12

O-Zone: Paradise lost

John Oehser Senior writer jaguars.com Follow John on twitter Like The O-Zone on facebook

LONDON – Let’s get to it …

Robert from Fort Bliss, TX:

What’s up with all this hate towards Bortles? People need to understand there is no offensive line, which means there is no run game. No one respects the play-action pass. There are only two options – run or pass. When you take one option away you know what’s coming.

John: There’s certainly some truth to this – and it’s very, very possible that all of the analysis, thought, commentary and pontificating on Blake Bortles’ issues on this site and elsewhere has been a bit premature. Just because he has struggled to start this season does not ensure those struggles will continue. If anything has defined him in two-plus seasons it has been the ability to accurately self-assess and successfully improve when he sees areas that need improvement. There also indeed are many factors that have played into the Jaguars’ disappointing 0-3 start – with a struggling offensive line chief among them. Are people overanalyzing Bortles? Are some people over-hating on Bortles? Perhaps. But however much we’re overanalyzing, Bortles hasn’t played well enough in the first three games of the season. His level of play may not justify hate, but it does merit concern.

Brian from Greenwood, IN:

The glass is half full. Jags could be 2-1. They should be 2-1. They are only two games out of first place in the South, with every team still to play. The season is not over, but they absolutely have to win Sunday. If not, three games back in Week Four … even if they go on a run it will almost be impossible to overcome. What say you?

John: I say the Jaguars need to win Sunday for many, many reasons.

Scott:

Hi John, I believe the lack of effective run-blocking (we’re on pace to gain 880 yards this season) is a major reason for Blake’s struggles. I think opponents know they can successfully take away our run game and force Blake to become one-dimensional. The defense is doing their job, but they will get gassed late in games without a run game. The team has just got to figure it out.

John: There’s no question the troubles of the run offense have hurt Bortles. Fans roll their eyes and get angry when they hear Jaguars coaches and players talk about needing to run, but this offense must run to be effective. Bortles thus far hasn’t shown himself to be a quick-timing, precision, accurate intermediate short passer – at least not enough of one to win consistently solely by passing at all costs and eschewing the run. It’s also difficult to have consistent success trying to hit enough big pass plays early to spread out the defense. The hope for the Jaguars’ offense on this front lies deep within the first two games of the season. There were times against Green Bay in Week 1 and early against San Diego in Week 2 – when the offensive line was healthy – that the run game showed signs of moving effectively. The Jaguars get Chris Ivory back this week. Remember early in the preseason? When Ivory and T.J. Yeldon were both healthy running behind an almost-healthy line? There were times the run game looked really good. A couple of preseason games isn’t much on which to pin the hopes of an entire run offense. Right now, it’s what the Jaguars have.

Al from Coldwater, OH:

Time to end the Bortles experiment. He is not the future. Dave made a huge mistake and needs to admit it.

John: It absolutely is not time to bench Bortles. I don’t know that he is the future. I do know he has struggled to start this season but I also know he showed enough last season to at least show signs that he might be the future. Whatever the end result, he must play this season to find out for sure.

Zain from Orlando, FL:

Zone, let’s talk line. Who is struggling? Who needs to improve? Is the right side struggling as bad as they say?

John: When an offensive line struggles it’s rarely one player because there’s so much teamwork involved. A lack of continuity hasn’t helped. Kelvin Beachum started one preseason game and two regular-season games at left tackle, and the absence of Beachum and center Brandon Linder against Baltimore last Sunday contributed to the struggles. Right tackle Jermey Parnell indeed appeared to have some rough plays on Sunday, but I wouldn’t say he’s remotely alone on that front.

Mike from Des Moines, IA:

Jalen Ramsey is covering like a corner and tackling like a safety. Stop me when I get something wrong. Jalen Ramsey is the best cornerback on the Jaguars. Jalen Ramsey is the best cornerback in the division. Jalen Ramsey will be one of the five best cornerbacks in the league by December. Jalen Ramsey will soon be a perennial pro bowler. Jalen Ramsey is already a better tackler than most corners in the league. As far as his talk, maybe we should look at some of the things Michael Jordan used to say to his opponents. He can say those things if he keeps shutting them down.

John: I haven’t stopped you yet.

Benjamin from Jacksonville:

I agree with Bob from Blackshear that Blake has lost confidence, but not in himself. I think he has lost confidence in Greg Olson. After some of these failed bubble screens and attempts to “establish the run,” he throws his hands up like, “What’d you expect would happen?”

John: I don’t doubt that there instances when frustration causes Bortles to look irritated-ly and frustrated-ly to the sideline when plays don’t work. Are failed bubble screens frustrating? Sure. But I’d be surprised if Bortles deep down is very frustrated with attempts to establish the run. It’s very difficult for any team to pass effectively without at least the legitimate threat of the run, and it’s particularly hard for Bortles because of how good he is with play action.

Josh from Fernandina and currently Fort Lauderdale, FL:

Wins against Indy and Chicago give the Jags the confidence and momentum needed overcome their next two beatable opponents (Oakland and Tennessee) and get to 4-3, in theory. In one sentence (other than referencing the need for better quarterback play), what is the most instrumental key to that happening? Thanks O-hog!

John: More offensive production, which sort of ties into that one sentence that I’m not allowed to write.

Scott from Aurora, IL:

So perhaps a question. Did everyone overestimate the talent on this team or is it, for whatever reason, simply not coming together?

John: Overall the talent on the roster is starting to show up, especially on defense. It was reasonable to expect that side of the ball to take a few weeks to jell considering the new faces and young players. The surprising thing to many people is that the offense has started so slowly. There was an assumption that the Jaguars would take a step forward offensively this season. There was an assumption that step would happen sort of automatically. There was an assumption that some of the flaws we saw last year would go magically away with a year experience. To date, those assumptions were incorrect.

Jeff from Keystone, FL:

Describing the Colts’ season thus far you said they “avoided a disastrous season” in reference to saving themselves from a 0-3 start. Does that mean you describe the Jaguars thus far as “disastrous”?

John: It sure ain’t paradise, Jeff. That it ain’t.

Pages: 12

O-Zone: No guarantees

John Oehser Senior writer jaguars.com Follow John on twitter Like The O-Zone on facebook

LONDON – Let’s get to it …

Mike from North Optimism:

Maybe I’m being too optimistic or maybe I’m just fanning, but when I look at the schedule, the Jags have yet to play an AFC South rival. The season can’t be over before we play a game in division, especially considering the one the Jags play in. Just a thought.

John: Your thought is correct. An NFL season never is officially over at 0-3. Though 0-3 teams rarely make the playoffs, the Jaguars have done enough in the first three games to give the optimistic among us hope. Two close losses. Some decent defense. Some flashes by some good players. If they jell, grow up and reduces mistakes, could they win enough to get back into a very get-able AFC South? Absolutely. The problem is this team in recent seasons hasn’t done those things and it’s hard to picture the Jaguars doing them until they … you know, do them.

Mike from Jacksonville:

Game 5 in two weeks. Get ready. Right?

John: Um, no.

Tim from Jacksonville:

It seems to me that Blake Bortles’ issues are based on the very poor play of the offensive line. How much of Blake’s poor play would you attribute to a lack of confidence in the offensive line?

John: Some perhaps, but not much. The offensive line definitely needs to run block a lot better. Doing so would certainly help everything offensively, and it would be of particular help to Bortles in the play-action passing game. But the line actually appears for the most part to be pass-blocking at least as well as it did last season – if not better. Overall, what’s going in front of Bortles is not bad enough to be the cause of his struggles.

Richard from Starke, FL:

With no credible run threat, opposing teams will continue to play their safeties deep.

John: Yes.

Ben from Jacksonville:

Why don’t we ever see Bortles pumping up the offense on the sideline? Every time the cameras pan over to him he’s sitting there looking depressed. Is he just not a vocal leader? I feel like sometimes that’s what this team needs.

John: We’re overthinking this a bit. Bortles is fine as a leader. He’s actually better than fine. Offensive players believe in him and the team as a whole believes in him.

Nick from Orlando, FL:

Howdy O, I have a comment about Blake’s body language. When I was a student at UCF, I noticed that every time Blake made a mistake that was under his control he would lean his head back in disgust and show that body language everyone is bringing up. He is an emotional player who expects a lot of himself. I don’t think the body language is a new thing, or something we need to worry about.

John: I guess I’m not smart enough to know exactly how a quarterback’s body language affects a team. I do know I covered Peyton Manning for a lot of years and it was pretty clear that he was upset when he walked off the field after an interception. I never thought much about Manning’s body language one way or the other and I don’t honestly think about Bortles’ body language that much. He gets disgusted with himself when he makes a poor play. He sometimes throws his head back. He sometimes slumps his shoulders. He’s upset. It happens. I’ve never gotten the impression he’s pouting or that it lasts long or that he blames his teammates or that his teammates worry much about it. His decision-making, accuracy and pocket presence must improve. If they do, I think fans will worry a lot less about his body language.

Jay from Duval:

I find it somewhat odd that the players on this team refer to their coach as “Gus.” I know that’s his name, but this shows the respect level they have for him. I never see any Patriots players referring to their coach as “Bill.” What’s your take on this?

John: Non-issue.

Chris from Houston, TX:

Now, the Jags are giving reps at Otto?? It is beginning to feel like the Jaguars’ coaching staff has wasted Jack’s rookie season (which is especially disappointing since his knee issues may shorten his career). They should have created a role that would allow him make an immediate impact while exposing him to other areas that he might grow into. This 0-3 team is not talented enough to have Jack sitting on the sideline.

John: I’ve been as surprised as anyone that Jack hasn’t been on the field yet this season. I didn’t think he would play early as a starter, but I did think he would be in some sub-packages before now. From the sounds of things this week I would be surprised if we don’t see Jack on the field Sunday – possibly at Otto at some point, but somewhere. Finally. Still the Jaguars’ linebackers and defense as a whole have played OK this season and they seem to be improving. You can point to a lot of issues about why the Jaguars are 0-3, but defensive play/not playing Myles Jack yet would be comparatively low on my list.

David from London:

The correct PR response to my question is “it’s way too early to talk about that.” But I’m hoping for some candid honesty from the senior writer. What if Bortles is not the guy? Surely, David Caldwell understands the need for a contingency plan. Surely he has one. Is there any chance we’re in the market for a new Franchise QB in 2017?

John: It is way too early to talk about that. That’s reality – not a public-relations response. But as far as a contingency plan, it would be pretty simple. You watch this season and decide afterward if you think Bortles is the guy. If he’s not the guy you draft a guy that you hope is the guy.

Tyler from JAYcksonville:

I’m going to have to call you out on throwing Bortles under the Gus Bus. Bortles has been hampered for three years with an incredibly inept staff of coaches. Any regression or bad play from him will be excused pending getting him a halfway decent coach. Greg Olson averaged 28th in the league for scoring offense over a decade career before coming here. Stop defending these people John. If Gus got a pass his first three years because he supposedly had no talent, surely Blake should get a three-year pass for having one of the absolute worst offensive minds in the game that keeps getting coveted positions because he is really cool to hang out with and his hair is really slick. It isn’t that Blake has regressed; it’s that Greg Olson’s offense has returned back to its rightful place at the bottom of the league after an almost career year for him last year. I wrote to you horrified when news broke he was interviewing for the position. I wrote to you when he was hired and said that Gus would be fired within two years, because EVERY COACH OLSON WORKS FOR IS FIRED WITHIN TWO YEARS… Am I taking crazy pills here? How is this not painfully obvious to anyone and everyone associated with the Jaguars? Is the organization run by ostriches? Is my logic machine broken or is yours?

John: If I didn’t know better I’d say you think Olson’s an issue.

John from Orange Park, FL:

Opening drive touchdown on Sunday?

John: It sure would go a long way to curing a lot of ills. And if it doesn’t do that, it would at least make things seem better for a few minutes. Shoot, it might even help Tyler sleep.

Kris from Neenah, WI:

So, I recently finished my first season as the Jaguars on Madden 17. When it came time to renegotiate contracts, I let walk. Do you think we will see the same next year as well considering how under-performing he has been?

John: We’ll see. This will depend largely on what Joeckel thinks will be available on the open market. My guess is he will want to go somewhere with a chance to be the starting left tackle. His opportunity to do so probably will depend on how he plays the rest of the season. He has played pretty well at guard and tackle this season, so we’ll see.

Scott from Chelsea, NY:

Is your seat on the plane any better on the way home from London if the Jags win or lose?

John: I’m just always relieved when they let me on. Life holds no guarantees.

Pages: 12

O-Zone: Bottom line

John Oehser Senior writer jaguars.com Follow John on twitter Like The O-Zone on facebook

JACKSONVILLE – Let’s get to it …

DUVAL DOOM from Section 217:

I have waited for something to be addressed here, and it hasn’t. Not once. I was extremely angry and disappointed Sunday. I booed. We’ve waited eight years to be a functional team and the frustration just got to me. To have tell us as a fan base to either believe in them or go find another team to root for? That REALLY made me mad. We’ve been here, watching this putrid version of a football team year in and year out since Telvin was in grade school, and when we weren’t here we were made to feel guilty – and that the team might be taken away from us because of it. We put up with losing a home game every year because we’re told we aren’t good enough to support the team financially although I kind of wonder if the revenue wouldn’t improve if the team did – but what do I know? WE are this team and have been for a LONG time. Whew. Yeah. Suffice to say I didn’t appreciate his comments at all. Hope you are willing to print this one. I think it needs to be stated this fan base deserves a little more respect, whether we booed or not.

John: I absolutely will run this, Doom, because you’re unquestionably right. I got caught up in the avalanche of other emails/issues in the inbox, but it should have been addressed here early in the week. Fans without question have EVERY right to boo – and Jaguars fans had EVERY right to boo Sunday. You know how serious I am about this because I twice used CAPITAL LETTERS in a sentence (I sensed your seriousness on the topic because you twice used them in your email). I kid about the capital letters, but I don’t kid about the topic. Fans have every right to boo during a loss. They also have every right to boo during a victory if they choose to do so. Shoot, if the Jaguars won the AFC Championship Game and struggled to run the ball fans could choose to boo the offensive line – because fans can do what they want. The fact that the team isn’t performing to expectations makes Sunday’s booing far more reasonable and understandable than the ridiculous scenario I just laid out, but the point remains. And you’re absolutely right about this fan base, too. I consider it the most underrated fan base in the NFL, and I always have said the fan base is remarkable in its passion, loyalty and support for a product that has been difficult to support for a long time. As for Smith’s comments, remember: as disappointed and angry as you were Sunday, he and other players were equally disappointed and angry in the aftermath of that game. They indeed work hard and give everything they have to what they’re doing, and to be booed by the home crowd surely is hurtful and emotional. That doesn’t mean Smith was right, because he wasn’t. Players never gain anything from criticizing fans for booing, and I don’t agree with what he said. But that perhaps helps explain why a player who appreciates the fans – as Smith certainly does – might say what he said about Sunday’s booing.

Greg from Jacksonville:

What do you think the chances are we see Jack get out there finally?

John: If you’re asking if you’re going to see in the starting lineup Sunday, I don’t think so.

Jordan from Little Valley, NY:

With the offensive line underperforming wouldn’t it be a smart decision to switch up coaches at that spot? The Jaguars could set records with how bad they are running the ball.

John: The Jaguars are also pass-blocking bit better than last season, so would switching up coaches change that, too?

Ryan from Apopka, FL:

Blake is 6-5! He cannot have this many passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.

John: Apparently he can.

Chad from Jacksonville:

#BecauseJaguars. When is enough, enough?

John: Apparently not yet.

Bob from Blackshear, GA:

Everybody has an idea what is wrong with ’ play. I agree with some of it, but I watched his face and body language after every bad play on Sunday and to me this is a quarterback who has lost his confidence. What do you think?

John: It wouldn’t be abnormal for Bortles to be struggling with confidence. He has struggled this season enough that it would be natural for that to be the case. As far as body language and his confidence level and all of the whys and why nots … we’re probably to the point of overanalyzing Bortles a little bit. He has had a couple of bad games and his body language hasn’t been great. He has to get better on the field. As to just where his confidence level is and all of the whys and why notes … we’ll see. We’ll see.

Steve from Nashville, TN:

Good teams find ways to win games in the fourth quarter. Not-so-good teams find ways to lose games in the last period.

John: True. Teams also sometimes to learn how to win games in the fourth quarter. Perhaps the Jaguars are a bad team or perhaps they are a team learning how to win. We’ll see.

Alex from Annandale, VA:

When will Myles Jack be starting? And would he start over ?

John: I don’t know. No.

Ryan from Apopka, FL:

So, it’s look-ahead time. So let’s look ahead to the Colts and our team’s trip to London. What is the schedule? When does the team fly out? Practice schedule? I know it has been different for the past three years.

John: The Jaguars will leave for London Thursday afternoon and arrive Friday morning London time. They will practice Friday afternoon London time. It is relatively the same schedule as last season as opposed to the first two games at Wembley Stadium when the team left on the Monday and Sunday before the game, respectively.

Daniel from Urbandale, IA:

Unfortunately, I don’t get to see a lot of the games in Iowa but maybe you can clarify. Does it look like the teams are playing Bortles a little differently than last season? I thought he looked great in the game against Green Bay, seemed to be quick and decisive with the football. Did San Diego and Baltimore do something different?

John: Teams generally speaking seem to be playing the Jaguars and Bortles to defend against the deep ball, which means dropping safeties back to defend over the top. That’s particularly true in how they’re defending wide receiver . This isn’t the case on every play, but it does seem to be a general approach. It’s also a smart approach. Much of the Jaguars’ offensive production last season came on deep balls to Robinson. Teams are going to take that away and make Bortles beat them on intermediate and shorter routes with accurate passes until he proves he can win that way.

Tim from Atlantic Beach, FL:

John, I know that a lot of teams have moved away from using a fullback, but with our current o-line situation would the addition of a fullback help or be irrelevant (in your opinion)?

John: It would be irrelevant in most situations, because you’re not usually going to play a fullback in normal down-and-distance situations. It takes a receiver off the field and tips the defense that you’re going to run. It might help in short yardage, but the question becomes whether that roster spot is worth the benefit of having a fullback for short yardage.

Rich from Chicago, IL:

I’ve heard that offensive linemen would rather run block than pass block. So what’s the problem? Because we started out as more of a passing team have they forgotten how to block, or has the system changed?

John: The Jaguars’ offensive line entered the season comparatively new – with starting for the first time at center, starting for the first time at left guard and starting for the first time with the Jaguars at left tackle. There were times during the first two games when the running game showed signs of life. Those signs weren’t enough against Green Bay to get the running game fully established and the Jaguars fell behind too far too early to run much against San Diego. The run was ineffective against Baltimore with two first-time starters: at center and at guard. Considering that run blocking often takes longer to come together as a unit, it’s not uncommon that the Jaguars would be struggling early to run with so much newness and so much early uncertainty. This area absolutely needs to improve. It’s probably second only to Bortles’ play in terms of what’s hurting the Jaguars early in the season. But there have been enough signs early that it’s not unreasonable to think improvement in the running game will happen.

Jerell from Columbia, S.C.:

Do you believe this roster is better? If so, why does it look worse than last year?

John: I do believe the roster absolutely is better. It looks worse because the quarterback isn’t playing as well as he did last season.

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