Join jaguars.com Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Brad from Jacksonville:
I am a season ticket holder and know the scrimmage is for ticket holders only. Do we need a special ticket to get into the scrimmage and how do we get these?
Vic: In order to obtain your tickets for this event, please visit www.jaguars.com/myaccount and click on the "My Jaguars Account" sign-in icon to log into your Jaguars season-ticket account. If you don't know your Jaguars ID or password, click on the "Forgot Password" link and enter your Jaguars e-mail address. An email will be sent with your log-in information. To print your tickets, go to "2010 Jaguars Scrimmage" listed under "My Upcoming Events." From there, click on the "Manage My Tickets" link to print your tickets. If you need additional tickets above what is available on your account, please send an e-mail to Cody Hendrix at ticketing@jaguars.com and he'll be happy to add the additional tickets to your account. This print-and-forwarding option is available to you for all games this season, in the event you misplace a ticket or would like to forward your tickets to friends or family rather than arranging to leave them at will call.
Jonathan from Jacksonville:
Is the scrimmage this Friday full contact? Last year, the players seemed to hug and tap each other. I am planning on going but I might not if they won't be tackling each other. Hugging and tapping makes for a boring fan experience.
Vic: The older I get, the less I like hugging and tapping. I prefer full contact, too.
John from Jacksonville:
Every time I go to the stadium, I get a nice big glass of Pepsi from one of the stadium dealers. I have come to notice that the Pepsi in the stadium tastes far better than any other Pepsi I have ever had, and I have had people agree with me. So, Vic, what do they put in the Pepsi at the stadium to make it taste so delicious?
Vic: It tastes that way because of where you are. Everything tastes better at the ballpark, especially hot dogs. I've cooked hot dogs in water at home, attempting to create that same dog-in-dirty-water look and taste, but it's just not the same. This will be my first season without a halftime dog in the press box and I'm anxious about it. I know I'll smell them, but I can't crack and eat one or I'll go into a dog feeding frenzy.
Jim from Jacksonville:
I just wanted to thank you for your work with the "Inside Training Camp" videos. Each year you seem more comfortable in front of the camera and this year you look and sound great.
Vic: One of these years, I'm going to burst into song. I'm kind of torn between "Summer Wind" and "Mood Indigo."
William from Jacksonville:
Too tough and not enough love? Have we had a blame-it-on-the-commissioner, yet?
Vic: You're right, that was our first blame it on the commissioner. One of these days we're gonna find out exactly who or what it is we should blame.
Matt from Richmond, IN:
Gene got hammered immediately following the draft for selecting so many defensive linemen. After hearing of Smith's injury, the first thing I thought of was another reason to draft BAP: You never know when an injury will occur.
Vic: That was always the number one reason to draft the best available player: because you never know when he'll become the player you need. I'm starting to lean toward another draft philosophy: draft the best available big guy (BABG). Observing the Jaguars in training camp, it is so easy to see what the difference is between this team and that of two years ago: This team has quality big guys. I said to Mel Tucker recently that you can play chess with the guys in the back, but there's not much you can do with the pieces you have up front. He agreed. You gotta have the horses up front on both sides of the ball. That much about football has never changed. You must control the line of scrimmage and the players who will allow you to do that are at a tremendous premium. You're just not going to find them very often in the later rounds. Everybody wanted the Jaguars to draft Michael Crabtree, and I understand that he's a talented player, but you can find receivers of his skill several times over, but you only get one shot at a Eugene Monroe. If I was a GM, I would be big-guy crazy. I'd draft one I like every chance I had.
Jeff from Fullerton, CA:
What's the oddest part of a player's contract you can remember?
Vic: I remember Terry Bradshaw having it in one of his contracts that Art Rooney would provide him with a specific number of quarter horses.
Jo from Jacksonville:
Breaking news, Brett Favre isn't retired. People like to jump on Favre for this stuff, but the media needs to stop reporting stuff until they here it from the horse's mouth.
Vic: Maybe he could text the news to us.
Bill from Lancaster, PA:
For the life of me, I can't get over the fact that people would hold Brett Favre responsible for having left the Vikings in a bind. If you ask me, the Vikings did this to themselves. What say you?
Vic: The Packers did it the right way. They drafted their quarterback of the future and then committed to his development. The Vikings tried to reclaim the Packers' past, which they were able to do for a year. Now, what about all the other years? Take care of the future and the future will take care of the present.
Jim from Jacksonville:
Is it just that I'm a Steelers and Jags fan, or have there been more Achilles injuries than usual this offseason? Is it the year-round workouts?
Vic: Yes, I think we're seeing a rash of Achilles injuries and I think I know why. There are certain parts of the body that can't be made bigger and stronger. They are what they are and it's a lot easier for them to function in low stress than in high stress. The Achilles is an example. The more stress it bears, the more likely it is to tear. The quest to be bigger, stronger and faster is putting tremendous stress on body parts such as the Achilles, labrums, disks, etc. I know of no exercises that make the disks in our back bigger and stronger. They are what they are. Football is a tough game for tough guys. It's also a young man's game because bodies get old quickly under the stresses the game demands.
Bobby from Jacksonville:
I don't know about you but I was very impressed with what I saw from both Manuwai and Alualu. Manuwai looked like he was getting low, which is encouraging with his knee issues. Also, Alualu showed good strength to get off the block and throw the lineman around. What do you think?
Vic: I think that's a good analysis. Clearly, Vinny won the first fall. It was a classic lift-and-turn-the-defender block by Vinny. I thought Tyson won the second fall by getting off the block in time to knock the back into the bag. I gave the overall edge to Vinny because I thought he occupied Tyson long enough in the third fall for the back to get across the line of scrimmage and between the bags before Tyson could shed Vinny's block. It may have been too close to call, but you can't do all that hype about the championship of the Hawaiian islands without proclaiming a champion, so I gave it to Vinny. They each had their moments.