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Jaguars News | Jacksonville Jaguars - jaguars.com

The truth about toes

Join Jaguars Inside Report Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.

Jonathan from King George, VA:
Leftwich is currently on pace for a 25-30 interception season. What is the record for the most interceptions by a rookie QB and the most by any QB in a season?

Vic: George Blanda holds the record for having thrown the most interceptions in a season; 42 in 1962 with the Houston Oilers. Vinny Testaverde is next with 35 in 1988 with the Tampa Bay Bucs. Published NFL records don't make distinctions for rookies, so I can't give you the name of the all-time rookie interceptions leader, but I will tell you Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions in his rookie season, 1998. He threw three interceptions in three games and two interceptions in eight games and only had two games in which he didn't throw an interception.

Sean from Jacksonville Beach, FL:
I've tried this before and I can only do it one more time. I'm going to buy two tickets to the Bucs game next month. I can usually only afford to buy one ticket for myself each year, but I want to do a little more to keep the blackouts away and support my team. So, I'm willing to part with my last Wilson NFL pro football that was autographed by former coach Tom Coughlin, if any person or company can show proof they have bought at least 10 tickets to our next home game. Win or lose, I always enjoy watching the Jaguars, but I'll never understand not blocking-out seats in a 73,000-seat stadium in the second-smallest market in the NFL. I think the only thing left is to make the highest five rows in the nose-bleed section $10 tickets.

Vic: I'm impressed by your gesture, but I want to update you on a couple of points you make at the end of your letter. You make reference to blocking-out seats. Well, that's exactly what the Jaguars did when they got permission from the league to put about 6,000 seats in special categories that subtract them from the blackout number. The bottom line is the Alltel Stadium blackout number is significantly less than its 73,000 capacity. When you also subtract the 10,000 club tickets, which don't pertain to the blackout number because they include a club fee, the Jaguars' blackout number is about 58,000. On your second point, about making the top five rows of the upper deck $10 seats, the Jaguars did that two years ago. A percentage of the two upper decks that is significantly greater than the top five rows is priced at $10 a ticket.

John from Jacksonville:
About the Jaguars' near total meltdown against the Titans: Do you think it was the black pants?

Vic: : I'm sure you're joking, but this uniform mania has to stop. This is football, not a fashion show. Besides, I thought the black pants and white shirt combination made the Jaguars look like altar boys.

Jorge from Orlando, FL:
I'm a season ticket holder and at the game Sunday they called intentional grounding and roughing the passer at the same time and I was confused because my definition of intentional grounding is when he's in the pocket and could get sacked, so why would there be a roughing the passer call?

Vic: Steve McNair was ruled to have intentionally grounded the football because he threw the ball for the purpose of avoiding a sack while he was still in the tackles box (between the tackles).

Mike from St. Augustine, FL:
You've said this for weeks on the radio and Sunday underscored it: The Peterson experiment at middle linebacker isn't working. Next year, can we afford to keep him at another linebacker spot, and does the structure of his contract permit us any options?

Vic: The structure of Mike Peterson's contract all but guarantees he'll be playing football for the Jaguars next season, but I have to believe every effort will be made to return him to his natural position, weakside linebacker. With respect to the salary cap and Peterson's remaining amortization, that's the Jaguars only real option.

Rob from St. Augustine, FL:
What is turf toe? All I know is that it's not always from turf.

Vic: The term "turf toe" is a product of the artificial turf period in football history. "Turf toe" is a painful bruise of the big toe that results from striking it or jamming it against the old-fashioned, rock-hard artificial surfaces, such as the one that still exists in Indianapolis' RCA Dome. "Turf toe" is always from turf. It's a distant relative of "beach toe," which results from falling asleep face down on the beach, and "bar toe," a painful and debilitating injury caused by losing your balance and striking the brass rail you forgot was there.

Derek from Fort Dodge, IA:
What is a "Flex Defense?"

Vic: It's legendary coach Tom Landry's creation, in which the defensive tackles are positioned a yard off the ball in somewhat of a flex posture. The purpose of doing that was to allow the tackles to read the movements of the offensive linemen and react accordingly. It was an especially good strategy in a day and age when "trapping" and "pulling" were oft-used blocking strategies. The "Flex Defense" was clearly a read-and-react strategy. Landry developed it when he was the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants in the 1950s. Now, here's a question for you: Who was the offensive coordinator on those Giants teams?

Jason from Mojave, CA:
Garrard seems like a much better QB than Leftwich. His release looks like lightning compared to Byron's, he finds receivers faster and just looks less awkward. Do you think there's a chance we might get to see him start and challenge for the number one spot?

Vic: David Garrard is a sensational athlete who would compare favorably in that regard with any quarterback in the league, including Michael Vick. We're talking about a big, strong, agile and elusive quarterback who has been compared physically to Steve McNair. Yeah, I think he'll get a chance to show what he can do. He's got two years left on his contract after this season is over.

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