Gus’ Midnight Mailbag: Jaguars vs Lions Week 11 recap

Welcome to the Week 11 edition of the Midnight Mailbag! I’ll be asking for your lingering questions after each Jaguars game on 1010XL’s Facebook and X/Twitter pages, with the submission deadline set for 11:59 p.m. the same day.

Here were your questions following Jacksonville’s 52-6 loss to the Detroit Lions.

From Boris — How did we get here? A year ago we were 6-2 and looked to have finally tuned the corner. Now we’re talking about tearing it all down again. So hard to fathom.

Trevor Lawrence made up for razor-thin margins that have recently reared its ugly head. The Jaguars were 6-2 until Lawrence was overridden with injuries last year, and though they began this season 2-7, the last two weeks have shown that the offensive infrastructure isn’t anything close to being professional. Shad Khan likely would have fired general manager Trent Baalke years ago if it weren’t for Lawrence dragging the team to the playoffs in 2022.

From Buddy Gray — What is Shad waiting on?

From Craig Ramey — One question… why does the GM and entire staff still have jobs

Beats me! Khan’s patience is infamous because he tends to give the people he hires a long leash. Firing Urban Meyer in the middle of the 2021 season was a rarity, but it’s clear to anyone who watches football that the Jaguars are a lost franchise so long as Baalke and Doug Pederson are employed. It’s long past time for a change.

From 🃏 ¡sʇɐԀ ʅʅoɹꓕ 🃏 — Should this be turned into an AEW storyline in an effort to boost ratings? Doug Pederson vs Tony Khan at #AEWFullGear or #AEWWorldsEnd Turn Trevor’s shoulder into a storyline.

I don’t know anything about wrestling, but the fact that Tony Khan wore a fake neck brace in Jacksonville’s draft room a few months ago shows the unseriousness of this organization.

From Mark Register — Do the Jags (coaches and players) watch Sunday night football? Do they have any thoughts on how hard people play and coach on SNF compared to how they perform?

I wouldn’t assume the team tunes into each primetime game, but your point is taken. One of the biggest differences between the Jaguars and the 31 other franchises is simply effort level. Defenses especially thrive when its players are motivated to play hard until the whistle. I’d think that some Jaguars players do wish they received more/better inspiration from their coaches.

From Darrell Foster — CONGRATULATIONS #1 Pick again and Shad will not fire Trent Baalke

A salute and a prediction! Indeed, the 2-9 Jaguars would pick first overall in the 2025 NFL Draft if the season ended today. It’d be the first time in league history that a team held the top pick three times in five years. And indeed, at the time of this writing, Khan has yet to fire anybody.