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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Curly didn't wear khakis

Join jaguars.com Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.

Thomas from Stillwater, NJ:
So you're joining the Packers: Lambeau, Lombardi, Ketchman?

Vic: I consider myself a devotee of pro football history, but I learned something in my visit to Green Bay: The relationship between Curly Lambeau and Vince Lombardi was a little chilly. Lombardi was a law and order Democrat; he was extremely disciplined in his lifestyle and views. Lambeau, on the other hand, was a flamboyant dresser and a man about town, as word would have it. Lombardi liked tab collars, blazers and tightly-knotted ties. Lambeau wore sweeping overcoats, scarves and wide-brimmed hats. He was married three times and his second wife was a Miss California. I kind of like Curly. I hope my khakis won't offend him.

Mike from Fleming Island, FL:
I've often heard that the Green Bay Packers franchise is publicly owned. Can you explain their ownership structure? Is this an option for Wayne Weaver's exit strategy?

Vic: The Packers are owned by their fans; there are 112,158 shareholders. Shares of stock include voting rights, but the redemption price is minimal, no dividends are ever paid, the stock cannot appreciate in value and there are no season-ticket privileges associated with stock ownership, according to the Packers media guide. In other words, it's fans expressing their support of the team in a financial manner. There have been four stock drives. The third drive, in 1950, saved the franchise. The fourth drive, in 1997, added 106,000 new shareholders and raised more than $24 million. None of this is a necessary option for the Jaguars. Wayne Weaver has provided for the team's financial well-being and has vowed to provide for the team's future stability when the time comes for him to sell the team.

Jim from Nottingham, England:
Sad to see you go, mate, but before you do, answer this: Can you ever see the Lombardi coming to Jacksonville?

Vic: Of course, I can. It would've been laughable in the 1960's to suggest the Steelers would win four Super Bowls in the next decade. The Packers were a struggling franchise coming off a one-win season when Vince Lombardi took over. Fans live too much in the moment. They need to see the big picture.

Brandon from Orlando, FL:
I recently read that MoJo was a player singled out for comparing Jay Cutler's early exit in the game to Urban Meyer. I feel that his tweet might have been something that should have stayed to himself, but he has the freedom to bring any type of press to himself, positive or negative.

Vic: Every offseason for the past several years, I've gotten a ton of e-mail from people wanting the Jaguars to sign a Terrell Owens or a Chad Ochocinco. They tell me they want the Jaguars to sign a player who will bring attention to the Jaguars; they want a high-profile SportsCenter kind of player. Well, now you got one.

Maxwell from Columbia, Nicaragua:
The key to good sportswriting is getting them excited, isn't it, Vic?

Vic: Yeah, I think it is. Grantland Rice didn't have to go to the trouble of writing about a blue-gray October sky and creating the "Four Horsemen" tag for the Notre Dame backfield. He could've played it straight and just made sure he got the names and the score right, but who would've ever remembered that lead? Writers are judged on the quality of their prose. The more exciting and entertaining it is, the more valuable they are to the publication for which they write and to the sport they cover. I would imagine readers also value style.

Jose from Madrid, Spain:
This isn't a goodbye because I'm going to follow you no matter where you write or which team you cover.

Vic: Is Spain ready for this day, sir?

Adam from Cypress, CA:
I wanted to write to express my gratification for your time with jaguars.com, but I assumed it would get lost in the hundreds of other e-mails. Now that you've said you will read every one of them, I feel I can't pass it up. Four years ago, I found your column and grew connected to the team I cheered for in a way I didn't know possible.

Vic: I'm gonna read them all. I owe that to you and to everyone who's cared enough to express themselves to me.

Mark from Jacksonville:
Are coaches part of the new CBA negotiations?

Vic: The coaches are not involved with the players in seeking a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. The coaches have no financial stake in the process.

Nick from St. Paul, MN:
What happens if the "third quarterback" goes down with an injury?

Vic: I'm assuming you mean if the "third quarterback" has entered the game before the fourth quarter begins, in which case neither of the first two quarterbacks can return to the game. I guess it's Matt Jones time.

Brian from Neptune Beach, FL:
After reading your 10-most memorable plays this morning, I saw you left off one of the most memorable plays to myself. I'll never forget when Morten Andersen lined up to kick what would have been the game-winning chip shot. I looked to my dad and said, "Dad, what if he misses it?" He replied, "Son, he's one of the best; he won't miss." Well, the rest is history and that is my first most vivid Jaguars memory. So, where does that rank among your Jaguars memories? I know I'll never forget it.

Vic: I think it might be the most important play in Jaguars history or the biggest play in Jaguars history but, for me, it's not memorable because I had a terrible view of it and have very little recollection of anything other than seeing the ball wobble wide of the uprights. You see, I was down on the field at that point in the game. I was standing right behind the goal posts with Pete Prisco when the ball was kicked. I was expecting to hear a thump and then see the ball tumbling between the uprights, but I heard nothing and then saw something wobbling through the air as though Jaxson de Ville had kicked it. I turned to Pete and asked, "What happened?" I saw replays, of course, and found out Andersen slipped, etc., but how can I say it's one of my most memorable plays when I didn't even see what happened and I have almost no memory of it? It would've been a lie. I have a vivid recollection of all the plays I listed.

Kevin from Jacksonville:
I am going to miss the sexy matchups that you request every year in training camp. Who's going to make the Oklahoma drill requests to Jack Del Rio in your absence?

Vic: Coach Del Rio knows what I like. He'll take care of it. I would like for the event to be known as the "Vic Ketchman Memorial Oklahoma drill." It would be the greatest distinction of my professional life.

Kenny from Jacksonville:
How many Jaguars games have you attended over the years? How many have you missed?

Vic: I've missed four, all on the road: at Houston and at Dallas in 2002 (indigestion) and at New England and at Cleveland in 2009 (heartburn).

Albert from Memphis, TN:
I've been reading your column for about a year now. Now that you're leaving, I want the hard truth. Do you see this team in the playoffs next season?

Vic: If this was a normal offseason, I would ask you to wait until after the draft and then ask me, but this is not a normal offseason. First of all, the CBA uncertainty is casting a shadow over free agency, so we don't what is going to happen there. Secondly, I won't be here for the draft so I can't ask you to wait. What I can tell you is the Jaguars, in my opinion, will make it into the playoffs next season if they can fix their defense. I believe that to be true.

Kevin from Jacksonville:
The only thing standing between the Jets and a Super Bowl appearance was two quarterbacks with five rings.

Vic: Yeah, the quarterback position is very important, but Mark Sanchez played pretty well in both games and he's off to a 4-2 start in postseason games. I think Rex Ryan hurt his team last week when he told that story about Bart Scott separating the shoulder of a Steelers player some years ago following a trash-talking exchange. I think Ryan drew a target on Scott's chest with those unnecessary comments, and Scott got blocked long and hard on Sunday by Chris Kemoeatu and Heath Miller. Scott had two tackles on the day; that's all. He had no sacks, no forced fumbles, no fumble recoveries, no passes-defensed, etc. I don't put a lot of stock into the effect of words, but I think it would've been better had Ryan toned down his rhetoric last week.

Lance from Jacksonville:
Do you think we will avoid blackouts next season as well as we did this past season?

Vic: I sure hope so. What I know is this: It's completely in the hands of the fans.

Doug from Jacksonville:
Whatever are we to do? No cheerleaders at the Super Bowl?

Vic: I wonder what they're going to do with those platforms in the end zones for the go-go dancers.

Ed from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL:
I give up. Exactly what is the "third quarterback rule" trying to prevent? I can't think of any special benefits of switching quarterbacks throughout the game.

Vic: It's not trying to prevent anything. It's just giving you an extra quarterback in case of emergency. That's the only intent of the designation. If you attempt to use that designation in a manner in which it is not intended, then you have to pay a penalty.

Joy from Jacksonville:
I have a nice little collection of teal waving items. I have towels, twirlers, pompons, banners, lights, etc. Buy a season ticket and get there reasonable early. They do give away some of this stuff if you actually attend games.

Vic: Just wave, baby, wave.

Brett from Jacksonville:
How does Jake feel about the move?

Vic: We haven't told him about it. He's a Bears fan.

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