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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

Finally, somebody gets it

Join jaguars.com senior editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.

Tim from Jacksonville:
"If Cassel doesn't sign the tender and signs with another team, that team would owe the Patriots two first-round draft picks as compensation. The picks must be one in each of the next two years." Does this mean that teams who have already traded away a first in either of the next two years can't sign Cassel?

Vic: That's exactly what it means, unless a higher first-round pick has been acquired. You must have your own first-round picks or higher in each of the next two years to be able to sign a "franchise" player.

James from Orange Park, FL:
Instead of talk such as dropping short of the goal line on Fitzgerald's long run, switching the Jags to a 3-4 defense, us having a "predictable offense," and trading Jones-Drew, can we please hone in that we need to sell tickets this year more than ever? Last year we came off a playoff win and couldn't sell out season tickets as big-name clubs do. If we don't show up, then we will not have a "Pride of the Jaguars" to put Jimmy Smith into and I fear the day when Pete Prisco's story of England becomes Vic Ketchman's story as well.

Vic: What's to say? I think it's understood that sellouts are good and blackouts are bad.

Saleh from Dubai:
How difficult do you think it's going to be to trade out of a top 10 pick this year if Mark Sanchez and Matt Stafford are selected before it's the Jaguars turn to pick?

Vic: That would pretty much be your dash 30 dash, although Nate Davis could shoot up the board should he have blockbuster combine, pro-day and personal workouts. Rule of thumb is that teams come up to draft quarterbacks. The Jaguars' hope is that one or two quarterbacks will be a hot commodity and they'll fall right about where the Jaguars are to pick, which is the number eight spot overall. If a team was hot on a particular guy, as Baltimore targeted Joe Flacco last year, though they traded down to where he fit, the Jags could get a gaggle of picks to move out of the spot. Whether or not that happens is going to depend on how Stafford, Sanchez and Davis work out at the scouting combine and at their pro and personal days. I think all three guys are intriguing and I could see them shooting up on the strength of postseason workouts.

Tom from Jacksonville:
How is the average of the top five salaries at a specific position figured? Does it include prorated signing bonuses, past incentive bonuses, playoff/Super Bowl bonuses, etc.?

Vic: It's based on a player's salary cap number, which would include salary and proration. The top five cap numbers at a position are averaged and the average becomes the "franchise" figure for that position.

Eric from Jacksonville:
Chemistry is why we lost? Please, we lost because our impact players from 2007 got old and/or injured. If this team, players and coaches alike think that improved chemistry will cure our losing ways, they are sorely mistaken. We need to get young and talented in a hurry.

Vic: I agree with you. Better chemistry will help, but this team is in need of significant roster repair.

Scotty from Jacksonville:
Players not plays? Out of 43 Super Bowls, there have only been 26 head coaches who have won the game. To me this is a somewhat surprising statistic but it clearly tells me the man calling the plays must be of a certain caliber in order for a team to have a chance at the prize. Your thoughts?

Vic: Terry Bradshaw won four Super Bowls and he called his own plays. What's that, players calling plays?

Dan from Washington, DC:
Brett Favre and Jay Cutler made the Pro Bowl and Ben Roethlisberger did not. Do you think the increased interest in the Hall of Fame could be partly related to the fact that the Pro Bowl has lost legitimacy as a recognition of great performance?

Vic: I don't know what it is. All I know is that it's a mess and that it really doesn't bother me because the game has never held meaning for me. I think the big problem with the Pro Bowl has always been that it was after the fact. What kind of football game can you have after last week's Super Bowl? I mean, come on, how do you follow that? The Super Bowl is the king of all games and it should be the last game played every season. Finally, somebody got it and the Pro Bowl is going to be moved up two weeks and will be played in the dead week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl. Who cares that the Pro-Bowl players from the two Super Bowl teams aren't going to be in the game? All that matters is that they were selected. They can be easily replaced by reaching into the list of alternates. The game needs to be defined. It is not a game featuring the best players in the NFL. That stopped the year the fans were allowed to vote. The new definition of the game is that it is a celebration of professional football, featuring several of the stars of the game. That's all it is but that's really good enough. Please don't attempt to attach significance to the game because there is none. It's just a fun event and the Sunday before the Super Bowl is a perfect time for it and it will allow even more hype for the Super Bowl.

William from Jacksonville:
Could those nuns stop the run?

Vic: Best two-gappers I ever saw. You give them a three-sided ruler and one of those wooden pointers with the black tip and you're not goin' anywhere.

Kevin from Jacksonville:
Larry Fitzgerald did it again. It seems as though the guy can perform at the highest level no matter what stage he is on, and he seems to be a real class act, too. What more could a team ask for in a receiver? I agree that receivers are a dime a dozen, but this guy is most certainly the exception to the rule, is he not?

Vic: Yes, Fitzgerald is the exception to the rule. His talents are so extreme that they separate him from other receivers. You can find Anquan Boldin in the second round and Hines Ward in the third round and Nate Washington in undrafted free agency, but you gotta go high to get a guy like Fitzgerald. The question is: Do you have to have a wide receiver that good, or can you win with lesser guys?

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