Join jaguars.com senior editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Rob from Limerick, Ireland:
"Ask Vic" is a great way for people outside the States to pick up information on the Jags. After reading the article about the "Hard Knocks" documentary: Do you think it will become available on DVD or VHS for those of us not able to see it on American television?
Vic: I'm going to use your question to update and correct information about the TV documentary NFL Network will be creating in Jacksonville this summer. The official name of the series will be "Inside Training Camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars." NFL Network Media Director Seth Palansky says there are no plans to offer the documentary on DVD or VHS, and Palansky said the opinion I offered last week, that ESPN will pick up the series in re-runs, is not correct. Palansky said ESPN has never bought the rights to a show they didn't produce. "Inside Training Camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars" will be the most expensive undertaking in NFL Network's young history, and NFL Network also wants to safeguard the integrity of its programming and the identity of the work it produces. In other words, it would seem there are only going to be two ways to see "Inside Training Camp with the Jacksonville Jaguars:" on NFL Network or on Direct TV, which is currently offering subscription specials that include free dish. Jacksonville's local cable provider doesn't include NFL Network in its lineup, and those who want to encourage the local cable provider in adding NFL Network should voice their opinion to the cable company. Those who don't wish to call the cable company may call the 866-NFL-Network hotline number, which will then send a message to the cable operator that you want them to add NFL Network. The local cable provider can add NFL Network immediately.
David from Oviedo, FL:
Why doesn't NFL Films allow for the purchase of entire games on DVD or video? What good is it doing the NFL or the fans to have them gathering dust in some warehouse? Why sit on a gold mine?
Vic: The gold mine is NFL Network. That's where you're going to see those old games.
Dale from Atlanta, GA:
I've asked a couple of times now for a comparison between this year's team and the second team in Jaguars history. Do you see a similarity or did that team surprise us all?
Vic: It seems as though every Jaguars team is compared to the 1996 team. After the 2002 team started 3-1, it was being compared to the '96 team. Even before last season began, last year's team was being compared to '96. The fact of the matter is that '96 was a rare team and a rare season that stands on its own. Frankly, it was not a very good team, but it caught a gust of wind at the right time of the season and then everything fell its way. If you're asking if this year's team can be a "Cinderella," as the '96 team was, the answer is yes, but it won't happen as it did in '96. The circumstances in '96 that led the Jaguars on a seven-game winning streak to the AFC title game were bizarre, to say the least.
Luke from Jacksonville:
If Peyton Manning isn't the best quarterback in the NFL, then who is? What factors do you, personally, consider when rating a quarterback?
Vic: Tom Brady is the best quarterback in the NFL. I think you can figure out what my factors are in rating him.
Mike from Jacksonville:
Who are the 10 best Jaguars of all time?
Vic: In my opinion, they are: Tony Boselli, Mark Brunell, Jimmy Smith, Fred Taylor, Keenan McCardell, Leon Searcy, Tony Brackens, Kevin Hardy, Gary Walker and Marcus Stroud.
Chad from Orlando, FL:
Several football prediction magazines have said Reggie Williams will be a bust his rookie year due to his absence from spring practices and "inconsistency with his hands." What do you think?
Vic: I know of no rap on his hands and I think he can overcome having missed most of spring practices, but, in my opinion, it's critically important that he not miss much of training camp. I think that's the issue for whatever success Reggie Williams might achieve as a rookie.
David from Orlando, FL:
Has a Super Bowl ever been played in bad weather?
Vic: The NFL has enjoyed an amazing run of good weather for the Super Bowl. Even when the weather has been bad all week, it has usually rebounded on game day. The weather in Atlanta a few years ago was bad, but, of course, the game was played indoors. The one outdoor Super Bowl that had bad weather was Super Bowl IX, which was played in cold, damp weather in Tulane Stadium, but it didn't rain and the game was unaffected by the weather. The answer to your question is that no Super Bowl game has been negatively impacted by weather.
Joseph from Pensacola, FL:
Since active rosters are 53 players, why are only 45 allowed to dress on game day? Wouldn't having more players play reduce injuries?
Vic: Roster size is about a lot more than injuries. Roster size is provided in the Collective Bargaining Agreement and it has always been an issue in negotiations between the owners and players. It's about payroll. These guys have to be paid. Inactive players is a means of giving the players union the roster size they want, while protecting an active-45 is a means of giving the owners the low-water mark they want to maintain. Another important concern is maintaining roster stability. Inactive players are protection for bottom-of-the-roster guys who become injured. If teams dressed-out all of their roster players, then any player who was injured and couldn't play would probably be cut that week so the team could add a player who would put them at full strength. That would start to become rather expensive, too. By having inactive players, the bottom-of-the-roster player who sprained his ankle can be de-activated for that week's game but remain on the 53.
Erika from Atwater, CA:
Answer me this, Vic. When did this become a forum about golf? I expected this site to be about football, seeing how it is part of the Jaguars official website. But it has increasingly become a forum about getting free BBQ sauce (talk to your friends about that stuff on the phone, but don't waste our time with it), where fans are at when they e-mail you ( who cares if they are on a toilet or wherever, just as long as they have valid football-related questions), and golf (give me a freakin' break, golf sucks). I am a die-hard Jaguars fan and I am only interested in info about the team. It makes me so mad to think of all those good questions being sent to you by true fans and you have the gall to ignore them and post questions that have little or nothing to do with the Jaguars or football in general. At the top of every "Ask Vic" installment it clearly says you tackle the fans' tough questions. What a joke! When you do get a tough question you seem to dance around the issue and never really answer it at all (such as you continue to do when asked about the Ogunleye issue). He's worth the money and the draft pick; 15 sacks and run-stopping ability says it all. I love the Jaguars, but your forum is getting very lame. Post this if you have the guts, Vic; some serious issues brought up by a true fan.
Vic: I guess I have the guts.