Join jaguars.com senior editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Kevin from Savannah, GA:
It appears to me the Jaguars have stopped marketing the team in Georgia and especially in the Savannah area. I believe there's a tremendous market for ticket sales in this area since it's only a two-hour drive. Last year was the first year Jaguars games were not broadcast locally on radio. The NFL recognizes Savannah as being in the Jaguars market area by blacking out home games when ticket sales are slow. Send me Marcus Stroud and a couple of cheerleaders and I'll get you a few hundred season ticket holders with no problem.
Vic: I'd like to see the Jaguars and Falcons scrimmage in Savannah. I've always thought that would be a natural for both teams.
Joe from Jefferson City, MO:
I'm curious as to what you think is more important in defining the best coach. Do you think it's years coached, such as Bill Cowher, or would you say it's Super Bowl titles, such as Mike Shanahan and Bill Belichick? I personally think in today's game that years coached with one team is more important just because it's not often you see a coach in the same place for more than five or six years.
Vic: If you want to go down in history as having been a truly great coach, you gotta win the big one. Bill Cowher's longevity and his record for keeping the Steelers on top during his 13 years as head coach is magnificent, but he hasn't won a Super Bowl. Cowher is dogged by those four AFC title game defeats. Bill Belichick's reputation, on the other hand, has risen from the ashes to being compared to Vince Lombardi, on the strength of three Super Bowl wins in four years. I think Belichick rightfully deserves his new-found fame but now he has to sustain success for a period of time, as Cowher has. That's what Mike Shanahan hasn't done. He won two Super Bowls but he didn't sustain success. I'm not saying a coach has to keep winning Super Bowls, but he needs to prove he can keep his team at a high level over a long period of time. In other words, great coaches are a combination of Cowher and Belichick. They win for a long period of time, and at some point during that period of time they win the big one. That's what Noll, Shula and Landry have in common, and those are the three men who immediately come to my mind when I think of great coaches. There are, of course, several others.
Mario from Oviedo, FL:
Ever since Matt Jones returned to the OTA's, all I've heard is that he hasn't had any new hamstring injuries? Is that all there is to say about him? What about his performance in the OTA's?
Vic: Matt Jones was impressive on Wednesday in the final practice of the spring, which was open to the media. Tuesday's practice was not open to the media but from all accounts I've heard Jones was at his absolute best in that practice. Jack Del Rio made a point of telling me about a great catch Jones made and Byron Leftwich told me on Wednesday that Jones' performance on Tuesday was way better than Wednesday's.
Paul from Temecula, CA:
I understand the team is very high on the competing young right corners it has now, but would you agree that it's worth signing a player of Law's caliber for the price he will probably sign at? Plus, Law would be a great mentor to the young guys.
Vic: It's all a matter of which Ty Law you'd be getting. If you're getting the one that intercepted Peyton Manning three times in the 2003 AFC title game, then, by all means, sign him. If, however, you're getting the Ty Law who missed most of last season due to a foot injury that required major surgery in January, then I think you need to pass. Don't get hung up on the name. It's not about what he was, it's about what he'll be. The thing that would concern me is how can I know what he'll be based on one workout? What about the wear-and-tear factor? Can I be sure the foot will hold up over a whole season, and will he have to sit out practices during the week to be able to play on Sunday? My tendency is to steer away from old and injured players. I truly believe it's a young man's game. I don't just say that because it sounds good. I believe it's a game of speed, which means it's a game for young feet. Oh, by the way, I'm not into that mentoring stuff. You don't sign players to be coaches. Players play, coaches coach.
Ben from Phoenix, AZ:
Vito Stellino reported that the Jaguars playbook is 600 pages long. Isn't that just a little too much to expect an offense to memorize and grasp in one training camp, or is that par for the course regarding NFL playbooks?
Vic: All playbooks are thick. One play will include several variations, according to minor formation changes. The playbook is a reservoir of ideas from which the offensive coordinator draws. The game plan is what's most important because it includes the plays that will be used that week. Those are the plays that are practiced during the week and will appear on the offensive coordinator's play chart.
