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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

I'd call it 'Hell'

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

Dennis from Indianapolis, IN:
Is it safe to say that in Sunday's game Peyton showed how he'll be remembered: Playing in Brady's shadow, not being a clutch QB?

Vic: Peyton Manning is a player who has a strong support system but an equally strong cast of harsh critics. You're either one or the other. His fans will remember him as the greatest quarterback of all-time and they'll elect to excuse his postseason failures as having been someone else's fault. His critics will point directly to those postseason and big-game failures, which began in college. Are the failures starting to spill over into the regular season? That's the question I have. He's thrown interceptions to close the deal in games against the Eagles and Patriots recently. The one on Sunday made no sense at all.

Paul from Arlington, VA:
You've got a great point about these facemasks. Peyton Hillis looked like he was wearing a Humvee grille on the front of his helmet.

Vic: It had a Hannibal Lecter quality to it that kind of freaked me out, especially since Colt McCoy kind of looks like Jodie Foster.

Matt from Gainesville, FL:
At least twice a week I get a text or phone call from my brother and Dad alerting me to their "making Vic." I'm sick of it. What do I have to do to "make Vic?" What do I bleeping have to do?

Vic: You can't make your bones, baby, until you make Vic. You made it.

John from Jacksonville:
The Jones-Drew catch and run ended at the one-foot line and at the two-minute warning. The Jaguars were out of times out, so they couldn't challenge whether he crossed the goal line. With exactly two minutes left, is that a booth review or is it based on when the play started?

Vic: The coach can challenge up until the first legal snap or free kick after the two-minute warning. So, if a play ends with the two-minute warning, a coach can challenge that play. Once the first play after the two-minute warning has been run, a coach can no longer challenge and reviews must be initiated by the booth.

Mac from Fernandina Beach, FL:
That win was better than the Colts win, to me; another blast of a time. Too many empty seats, though. What was the attendance?

Vic: The actual attendance was 54,380.

Stephen from Jacksonville:
When was the last time the Jaguars led the division this late in the year?

Vic: In 1999, in the old AFC Central.

Lou from Verona, PA:
Let's say you're Goodell. What do you do with Richard Seymour? Fine? Suspension? Both?

Vic: The league fined Seymour $25,000; there's no suspension. I'm fine with that, but I won't be fine with that if James Harrison incurs a fine for the roughing-the-passer penalty that was called on him on Sunday. It should not have been called, in my opinion. It bothers me that Harrison is being targeted and roughed up by the league, despite the fact that he is clearly making an attempt to soften his game and play by the "new" rules. His hit on the Oakland quarterback was right on the approved target area, it was not late and he did not drive the quarterback into the ground. It's going to tell me a lot about what the league is trying to prove, based on what they decide as to further punishment of that play.

Kamen from Bethel, CT:
I've noticed this trend of giving up leads late, as well, Vic. I'm pretty sure the overuse of prevent defense has something to do with it.

Vic: I have an idea. Teams are getting down two and three touchdowns and not having to pay a penalty for their poor play because the game favors passing and now they have to pass every down and they get four downs to do it, instead of three, right? In my mind, you have to make this team pay for their predictability. They put themselves in this situation and now they have to pay for not being able to run the ball. So how do you make them pay? By getting the defensive linemen off the field and getting every defensive back and speed linebacker you have on the field, for the purpose of creating havoc in the pass-rush. Let's say we're playing "dime." In front of that coverage we've got three defensive backs and two linebackers rushing. They are creating havoc because they are running side to side in pre-snap, waiting for the snap of the ball, at which time they dart into the gaps between the blockers. The blockers are going crazy because they don't know which guy they'll have to block. They're getting edgy and then one of them false-starts. We could also do this out of sunburst formation. Crazy? Sure it is, but how crazy was it to drop the nose tackle into pass-defense in the zone-blitz? The prevent is outdated. It doesn't work. It's better not to get a big lead because you'll just find yourself having to recover an onside kick with a minute to play. Attack! That's the key. Always attack! This defense allows you to attack with speed players and a scheme that will overwhelm offenses until they have an offseason to scheme against it. Isn't that what the "wildcat" did to defenses? It caught them by surprise. What would I call this defense? I'd call it "Hell."

Glenn from Richmond, VA:
What do we need to do against the Giants?

Vic: The Jaguars need to achieve full consistency.

Jordan from Charlotte, NC:
Dallas Clark gone for the season, Colts roster riddled with injuries, 59-yard field goal for the win, Texans WRs injured, "Hail Mary" win, Cribbs hurt, win with six turnovers, Titans lose to the Redskins, Vince Young is done; this has got to be a playoff season.

Vic: If you're saying the chips have fallen in the Jaguars' favor, you're right. Josh Cribbs would've given the Browns an outside running game Sunday that would've made Peyton Hillis more effective inside. His absence was a big loss to the Browns. He's their difference-maker, not Hillis.

Dave from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL:
I remember not that long ago that the ground couldn't cause a fumble. Is that still a rule? I'm watching the Giants-Eagles game and it seemed like Eli's late fumble was caused by the ball hitting the ground from when he dived forward. Does that not matter anymore?

Vic: A runner in the NFL is live until he has been contacted by a defender to or on the ground; Manning had not been contacted by an Eagles player when Manning's contact with the ground knocked the ball loose. By the way, that was a very awkward-looking slide/fall/flop. In the NFL, the ground can cause a fumble, but only if the player hasn't been contacted by a defender before the ball comes out. In college football, a player is down immediately upon hitting the ground, whether he is contacted by a defender or not, therefore, in college football the ground cannot cause a fumble.

Mark from Jacksonville:
Looks like Randy Moss wasted no time mentoring his new QB.

Vic: Hmmm.

Dane from Gainesville, FL:
Hear the boos, Vic? The fans are getting tired of hard hits being penalized.

Vic: Yeah, well, there'll be more boos because this isn't going away. I've talked to coaches about this and they've told me that we ain't seen nothin', yet. That two-point stance stuff is just around the corner. They're going to completely take the head out of the game.

Richard from Atlantic Beach, FL:
After Cleveland's first touchdown, Hillis went down on his knees and pointed up. A couple of weeks ago we got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for doing the same thing. What is the rule for this one?

Vic: Would you penalize God?

Tom from North Port, FL:
I saw Garrard get wacked in the head on at least two plays and not get the call. Is there any chance the calls will ever be the same for every quarterback?

Vic: No, there's a separate rulebook for Garrard and Ben Roethlisberger. You can hit them on the head, as long as they're not on the way back to the huddle. That's the mistake Seymour made.

Lee from Jacksonville:
The remaining home-road schedule of the three AFC South contenders: Indy four at home, two on the road; Tennessee 3-3; Jacksonville 2-4. How much do you think this will work against the Jaguars, if at all?

Vic: It's something that has to be overcome.

Adam from Ocala, FL:
Can we all just accept that Mark Sanchez is a very good quarterback?

Vic: No, he must achieve full consistency and it must happen immediately. There can be no allowance for development. Once he has achieved full consistency, then Jets fans can start going to the games again.

David from Jacksonville:
You made the prediction and, once again, you were right. You said the Colts would lose and the Jaguars would win and be in first place. Everyone's talking about the Jaguars and not about blackouts or moving. We even had a pass-rush. This year does have a 1996 feel to it. Here we are, 6-4, any predictions? Four wins in the remaining schedule would be incredible.

Vic: The Jaguars must win one of the next two games to make it into the postseason.

J.R. from Green Cove Springs, FL:
I was very disappointed to see when I flew into JIA at three p.m. this Sunday that all the televisions in the concourses were turned to the Minnesota-Green Bay game. It made me question whether the Jaguars game was blacked out or not. How is Jacksonville supposed to change the national perception of the way the city supports the team when the airport fails to show the city's team on television?

Vic: There must be a logical explanation for that. That's just too stupid to have been by choice. Please, somebody at the airport, give us a reasonable explanation.

Dane from Jacksonville:
What do you believe the factors were that contributed to such a dominating performance by the defensive line?

Vic: What were the factors? How about having drafted a defensive tackle in the first round? How about having drafted standout defensive tackles in each of the last two drafts? How about having made improvement on the defensive line the major concentration of the offseason? Do you think this happened by mistake? Do you think it's plays, not players?

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