Join jaguars.com Senior Writer Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Jack McCall from Savannah, GA:
Since it appears R. Jay Soward does not want to be a team player, have the Jags considered trading him? At the present, he his not worth his pay.
John Milne from Jacksonville:
I know there are many problems between the Jaguars organization and Mark Brunell. He has said many times that he wants to remain in Jacksonville for the rest of his career. It seems Mark is not being very cooperative. Is it Brunell or his agent who is holding out until Brunell gets his huge contract. It seems to me if he loved this city so much he would be more in a negotiating mood.
Mark Charney from Lake City, FL:
I hate to see the salary cap situation the Jags have now, but I'm glad they spent the money and tried their best to bring a championship to Jacksonville while they had that window of opportunity. Is it necessary to go through this in the NFL today, or is there a way to be good without tapping out the salary cap?
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Scott Jennings from Woodbridge, VA
: What do you think the chances are the Jags will come to an agreement with Brunell?
Wayne Lawrence from Cocoa, FL:
If the offensive line is the Jaguars' top priority, which of the top candidates fit best into the Jaguars system; Leonard Davis, Kenyatta Walker or Steve Hutchinson? After the right tackle spot is addressed, will the Jaguars focus on the defensive side of the ball? Will the Jaguars' look to acquire help via the draft at wide receiver, since this is a strong year for that position, or are there too many other holes to fill higher up on the priority list?
Jason Wulfekuhle from Cheyenne, WY:
Why is everyone so convinced this team can go to the playoffs because it kept its core players together? Isn't that what got them in salary cap trouble in the first place? Why doesn't Tom Coughlin concentrate on rebuilding the team? He successfully did it before, couldn't he do it again?
No one is convinced. They are hopeful, and they have reason to believe their cast of skill-position players can keep the team in the playoff chase. You raise good questions. However, as I've said before, the Jaguars had to do wholesale contract re-structuring of their veteran players because it was the only way they could make it under the cap. Not re-structuring those contracts would've accelerated those players' amortizations and further worsened the Jaguars' 2001 salary cap situation. Their options were: Move some of their cap trouble onto future caps, or forfeit the 2001 season. Contrary to the way it appears, the Jaguars are rebuilding. Unfortunately, the first stage of that rebuilding process has to be dedicated to dealing with past mistakes.