Episode 48 – Daytona Talk and the Jaguars Last Chance
Lonnie and Tom debate the “are race car drivers athletes” discussion and its almost decision time for the Jaguars.
Entries by Sam Kouvaris
Lagasse Continues Speed Tradition
There’s always been a connection between North Florida and NASCAR. LeeRoy Yarbrough called Jacksonville home and won 14 times on the top -rated NASCAR Grand National Circuit. Speedway Park, also know as Jacksonville Speedway, was a half-mile dirt track at Lenox Avenue and Plymouth Street in what was then called “Southwest” Jacksonville. The track hosted […]
Episode 47 – The AAF Gets Some Buzz and How Players Think
Lonnie and Tom reveal how a player looks at the game and the new league. And they still want to hit somebody.
Episode 46 – Super Bowl LIII and Boselli Will Get In
Tom and Sam thought the Super Bowl was just fine. And Sam reveals what he can about what happened in the HOF “room.”
Boselli Misses HOF Selection
No gold jacket for Tony Boselli again this year. It’s the third year Tony has been among the final fifteen players up for selection to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. For the second straight year, Boselli made the cut to the 10 finalists but not to the final five and was passed over for […]
Episode 44 – Super Bowl Haters and the Case for Tony Boselli
Tom and Sam recall Super Bowl week antics and review the case for the PFHOF for Tony Boselli.
The HOF Case for Tony Boselli
As noted in this column two weeks ago, 2019 is the third consecutive year former Jaguars Tackle Tony Boselli has been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And for the 24th year, I’ll be the Jacksonville representative on the Selection Committee and again I’m charged with presenting the case for Boselli’s […]
Episode 43 – NFL Championships Fun But Flawed
Lonnie, Tom and Sam thought the games were exciting to watch but the league has some problems to fix. Don’t you agree?
Episode 42 – Championship Weekend!
Lonnie and Sam go over the Patriots culture and the home field advantage.
How The Patriots Do It
In the past eighteen years, the New England Patriots have won sixteen AFC East titles. They haven’t had a losing season. They’ve played in twelve AFC Championship Games including eight in a row from 2011 to 2018—and won eight of them. How is it that New England has that kind of sustained success that most […]
Episode 41 – Playoffs? They Are Special!
Lonnie and Tom explain how fun, and not fun the NFL postseason can be.
Pro Football Hall the Toughest
This is my 24th year on the Selection Committee for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’ll be the third straight year I’ve presented Tony Boselli’s case as a candidate for induction into Canton. This year, 102 former players were nominated for the Class of 2019. That list was sent to the 48 members of […]
Episode 40 – Quiet Time Doesn’t Nothing’s Happening
NFL Playoffs bring out the best, and worst in teams. And Clemson will be around as long as Dabo is running the show.
Episode 39 – Culture Change Starts at the Top
As they move into the off-season, the Jaguars are trying to change the locker room culture. They can’t do much before they make a decision on the quarterback.
Jaguars “Can’t Miss” Offseason
Last week’s column about the Jaguars future elicited the full gamut of responses. From “I agree” to “stop drinking and writing,” fans are clearly passionate about what the team should do going forward. A friend of mine once said, “When the reader agrees with you, they’re brilliant. When they disagree, you’re an idiot.” My favorite […]
Episode 38 – Rework or Rebuild?
Lonnie and Sam look at the off-season changes for the Jaguars. Lonnie gives a players perspective as to how the offseason works. Or doesn’t.
Episode 37 – Future for Bortles, Marrone
Sam and Tom don’t necessarily agree whether Bortles and Marrone should return. If so, new rules. If not, start over?
Bortles, Marrone Should Stay
There will be changes to the Jaguars for 2019; the question is, how many? There’s a lot of strange stuff that happens early in the offseason, so despite what you might have read or heard, I don’t think any decisions have been made about the Jaguars near future. Every NFL roster turns over about 20 […]
Episode 36 – Great Stories for Christmas: How the NFL Works
Lonnie and Tom share stories about their careers, free agency and how the league works. Great stuff here, Merry Christmas!
A Pro Stop in North Florida Can lead to a Lifetime in Jacksonville
As the Christmas season unfolds, families will gather this week, many of them coming to North Florida for the holidays. A professional stop for Navy veterans and football players in Jacksonville often has led to those two groups staying here, living here and raising families here. “It starts with the friendship of the people in […]
Episode 35 – The Fix Starts at the Top
Lonnie, Tom and Sam talk about the start of the fix of the Jaguars. Right now.
Players Know Change is Coming
Like any other group, a football team is made up of a lot of different individuals. Guys come from the city, the suburbs, farms and ranches, from all kinds of different backgrounds. The common thread is that they’re all tremendous athletes and have supreme self-confidence in their athletic skill. They need both to get to […]
Episode 34 – Lots of questions, No Answers
Lonnie and Sam are mystified as to how the Jaguars could get this bad this fast.
Episode 33 – Early Discord Scorched the Jaguars
Lonnie and Tom agree with Sam: Locker room issues were a problem early and never got fixed.
Wrong Tone Early Sinks Jaguars
Again this week, Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone was asked if he was “coaching for his job.” It’s the kind of question that’s asked with some regularity when your team is suffering though a disappointing year. “Every day. Same as last year,” Marrone answered with an unusually clipped response. Any different than last year? “I […]
Episode 32 – Army/Navy is Special, Jaguars Are Not
Lonnie’s son is at the Naval Academy and we all have stories about the game. Plus big changes coming for the Jaguars.
Episode 31 – Bad Time in Music City
It was ugly in Nashville and it could mean more changes than expected in the off season.
Something Magical About High School Football
This season both Mandarin and Raines made it to their state high school football championship games. While this weekend’s appearance in Orlando is a crowning achievement for those teams, it also marks a swift and sudden end to many players’ football careers. “I know how special it is,” Mandarin Head Coach Bobby Ramsey said this […]
Episode 30 – Thursday, Fournette Problems
Your body has to get right quick for a Thursday game. And Lonnie talks about Leonard Fournette’ “off field” development.
Episode: 29 – A Win, a Start?
Lonnie Marts and Sam Kouvaris noticed the Jaguars defense looked a step quicker in the win over the Colts.
An Encounter with President George H.W. Bush
Sitting in the men’s locker room in the early ‘90’s at Marsh Landing Country Club, there was a steady stream of guys coming through as usual or a weekday afternoon. I knew most of them and we exchanged the normal pleasantries as they passed through. It’s not unusual to see guys in all levels of […]
In Retirement, Poz Still Knows
So what happened? Last year’s Jaguars team was, according to Vice President of Football Operations Tom Coughlin, “one whistle away” from going to the Super Bowl. And with virtually the same players, some free agents and draft picks sprinkled in, the Jaguars fell on their face in 2018. “Aren’t you going to fill other pieces […]
Episode 28 – It’s Over, What Happened?
Lonnie, Tom and Sam dissect what happened to the Jaguars and what happens next.
Jacksonville Gets a Team, 25 Years Later
Friday, November 30th will mark twenty-five years since the NFL awarded Jacksonville the league’s 30th franchise. It’s still an amazing, improbable story: Mayor Jake Godbold realized, in the 1970’s, that the people in town didn’t think much of themselves or the city. He believed a pro sports team could change that. As a reporter following […]
Missing Poz, and a Lot More
To hear Jaguars Head Coach Doug Marrone’s comment about replacing players, it sounded eerily similar to Tom Coughlin’s answer to a similar question in 1995. “You’ve got to see if someone you put in there is going to be better,” Marrone said when asked about lineup changes, particularly at quarterback. “You can’t just replace people […]
Episode 27 – Team, Not Self
Lonnie, Tom and Sam solve all the Jaguars problems. If they’d only listen! Seriously, there are some good solutions here. Happy Thanksgiving!
Episode 26 – Whatever You Do, Be A Pro!
A look at the Jaguars mistakes and how to be a pro. Plus Sam and Tom Discuss the team/coach/player/media relationship.
Social Media a Fact of Life in Pro Sports
Walk into the Jaguars locker room during the “media availability” time on any given day and there will be a smattering of players arrayed in front of their lockers in various positions of repose with one thing in common: They’re all on their phones. Not talking on their phones, not texting, but looking at their […]
Episode 25 – Problems in River City
Tom and Lonnie give the best analysis you’ll hear on the nuts and bolts of the Jaguars issues. And some locker room talk as well!
Only the Jaguars Can Stop the Slide
At 3-6, this Jaguars team doesn’t resemble last year’s squad at all. It doesn’t feel like the ’96 team that was also 3-6 but made the playoffs. That team was young and playing with a bunch of exuberance that carried them through the second half of the season. It doesn’t even feel like some of […]
