Join jaguars.com senior editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Jake from Macclenny, FL:
Do you still think it will be the Patriots and the Panthers in the Super Bowl?
Vic: No, after three weeks of the season I've changed my opinion. I think it's going to be Baltimore and New Orleans.
Cliff from Patuxent River, MD:
Redskins sign former Jags tight end Todd Yoder. Coincidence or strategy?
Vic: They'll empty his head. It's become a common thing. Once upon a time, however, it was a major no-no. If you played that game, you tended not to get job interviews. Even worse, there was physical retaliation. Ask Keenan McCardell.
Gil from Atlantic Beach, FL:
I tried to watch Monday Night Football and ended up first muting my TV and then turning it off after the first half. Why do the networks think I want to watch someone (Monday night it was Spike Lee) being interviewed while a football game is in progress? While I'm sure these people have lived interesting lives, if I wanted to know more I'd watch Oprah or Leno. When did the game itself lose its standing as the number one reason to tune in?
Vic: You're out of touch, Gil. Football is part of the entertainment industry now. It has been for quite some time. I understand your frustration because I feel it, too, but the TV networks pay a big buck to present these games and everything they do is with ratings in mind. The more entertainment they can cram into the show, the higher the ratings will climb. America loves celebrities. They broaden the show's appeal. They deepen the audience. That's what the Super Bowl halftime show does. It attracts women to the audience that otherwise would never watch a football game. I was sitting in the press box at the beautiful RCA Dome on Sunday, typing my blog, when all of a sudden my ears were stabbed by the sound of the filthiest song lyrics I have ever heard in my life. Of course, I grew up in a wealthy Pittsburgh neighborhood, so it's understandable that I would've been repulsed by such bad language. I looked at the guys around me and we each had the same expression on our face: Did I just hear what I think I heard? Oh, yeah. The fans at the beautiful RCA Dome are almost in the press box – one of the writers in the front row was even threatened by a couple of fans – so I was able to survey how many young kids there were in the section directly in front of me. It was substantial. I guess that's entertainment.
Donny from Lake Mary, FL:
Maurice Jones-Drew averaged 7.9 yards per carry and gained over 200 total yards. These are the kind of crazy stats expected from the vaunted Reggie Bush, not our second-round pick. If he comes even close to that every game, our offensive fortunes will change in a big way. How excited should we really be about Maurice "Cannonball" Jones-Drew?
Vic: You can be as excited as you want to be. I'm struck by your "Cannonball" reference. It reminds me of a player named Jim "Cannonball" Butler, a running back who was short and powerful, as Jones-Drew is, and also returned kickoffs. Butler played eight years in the league and scored 17 touchdowns: nine rushing, seven receiving and one on kickoffs. Jones-Drew will be a better player, but I bring up "Cannonball" Butler for a couple of reasons: 1.) He was a product of Jacksonville's Edward Waters College. 2.) He produced the funniest play I have ever seen on a football field. I'm doing this from the fuzzy memory of my teenage years, so please cut me some slack, but it goes something like this: It was in a game between the Browns and Steelers at Pitt Stadium in the mid-'60's. The Steelers were in punt formation but only had 10 men on the field. When they detected that they needed one more guy, Butler was sent onto the field. Instead of easing into formation on the near side, Butler decided to run to the far side, which meant he had to cross between the center and the punter. You already know what I'm going to say and I can remember the feeling that everyone in Pitt Stadium knew what was going to happen. The timing was perfect. The ball hit him right on his left cheek, and I don't mean his helmet. The immediate fan reaction was collective laughter. Would we laugh today or would the reaction be outrage? Think about it. What should it be?
Steve from Jacksonville:
I wish I could have seen the game film, but at the end of the game on the intercepted pass to Williams, did you think Byron underthrew the ball, or did Reggie Williams not adjust his route to where the ball was thrown or some combination thereof?
Vic: Steve, I'm speaking to all of the people who think Reggie Williams was open on that play, so don't take what I'm going to say personally. I'm going to tell you exactly what happened. If you reject what I'm going to say, then hold onto your misinformation but please don't waste it on me. The Colts were in a deep zone. They were not going to allow anyone to get behind them, as you would expect. Mike Doss executed perfect coverage. I looked at it closely on the coaches' tape on Tuesday. Doss is five yards beyond Reggie Williams when Leftwich begins to draw his right arm back, and three-quarters of Doss' body is turned toward Leftwich and Doss is looking directly at the Jaguars quarterback. He is playing the ball all the way; the equivalent of fielding a punt. When the ball is released – yes, it was slightly underthrown – Doss slows down and cuts underneath Williams to make the interception. Williams was not open. Whether the ball was underthrown, overthrown or thrown perfectly is immaterial. The only potential for a catch rested with Williams winning a battle with Doss for the ball, and Doss was clearly in better position to make a catch than Williams was. The pass should not have been thrown. Blame Leftwich for throwing it, and blame him for overthrowing George Wrighster, but don't tell me Williams was open.
Scott from Woodbridge, VA:
Since you're coming up to my neck of the woods for the game at Fedex Field … do you ever talk to fans at the games? Just wondering if myself and my two Jags buddies would get a chance to meet you this Sunday?
Vic: I'd love to be able to do that. I even got a dinner invitation from a Colts fan last week. I had to decline the dinner invitation because my travel plans are very tight. NFL teams are in and out very quickly and we have a Saturday night group that watches college football in the hotel, and Michigan State was playing Notre Dame and a certain member of our party draws his every breath from South Bend, Ind., which made him vulnerable to great torment on Saturday night which, of course, was provided. I couldn't pass that up. I arrive at the stadium about four hours before kickoff and go to the press box, which is a secure environment. After the game, I go to the locker room, the bus, the plane and home. If, in the future, there are enough "Ask Vic" readers at a road site to warrant a Saturday get-together, I'd be happy to do it.
Tyler from Jacksonville:
My friend and I have been arguing about whether or not Fred Taylor was at fault for his two-yard loss on the Colts' three-yard line in the second quarter, which was followed by Scobee's first missed field goal attempt. Did Fred get too cutback happy? Could he have just run hard up the middle and scored?
Vic: Fred's a cutback runner. He's not a pounder. You don't want a cutback runner on the goal line. You want a pounder. Greg Jones was supposed to be this team's pounder. The effect of losing him to a knee injury was realized in that situation. Losing him may have cost the Jaguars that game. I understand that's a speculative statement, but it's no less the truth. That situation is a perfect description of what his role would've been. The Jaguars need to find a pounder. I thought Derrick Wimbush would fill that role, then he hurt his knee, too. I think Jones-Drew has pounder-like qualities, but you want a bigger guy on the goal line. After the bye week, I expect Wimbush to ease into that role.
Eric from Pittston, PA:
I read your power rankings for this week and I believe Oakland should have been last.
Vic: The Lions then lost at home to the Packers. When you're 0-3 and coming off a loss at home to the Packers, I think you deserve to wear the hair shirt. I don't think the situation in Detroit has been fully appreciated for how awful it is.
Evan from Jacksonville:
If two teams exchange players in a trade, does either team get a cap penalty for it?
Vic: When you trade a player, all of his remaining amortization accelerates onto your current cap.
Andrew from St. Augustine, FL:
Are the Jaguars fortunate to be 2-1 after scoring 15.7 points per game, or are the Jaguars lucky to have a great defense? I guess it's all about how you look at it.
Vic: I think there's only one way to look at it: They need to score more points. Everybody wanted 30 points in a game last year. I could care less about the 30-point mark. It's meaningless because this team won't need 30 points to win. Let's start with 20. I think that's a fair expectation.
Justin from Jacksonville:
I really enjoy your power rankings. Do you enjoy writing the snippets about the loser teams as much as I enjoy reading them?
Vic: The whole thing is about having fun. Anyone who takes power rankings seriously needs to check himself, or maybe herself. I'm not saying I don't put the teams in the order of respect I have for their performances to date, but I absolutely play games with the rankings to stimulate conversation. The Colts fans are killing me this week that I have their team at number four, up from number five. I don't know where they think the Colts should be, but apparently it's higher than number four. Why? Didn't they see that game on Sunday? I can't put a team that was snowplowed up and down the field at number one. The Colts' failure to win in the playoffs is another reason. Every year they prove, in the playoffs, that they don't belong at the top. But what does it matter? It's just one man's opinion. It's frivolous stuff. For a long time I resisted doing a power rankings because I believe it's such a waste of time, but I got e-mail after e-mail asking me to do a power rankings, so I did. I got an e-mail on Tuesday from a guy who used incredibly foul language in haranguing me about my rankings, and it happens quite often. What is happening to our minds?
