Join jaguars.com Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
John from Jacksonville:
What is a squat cornerback?
Vic: The "squat corner" is usually the right corner and he is referred to as the "squat corner" because he's the zone-coverage corner that "squats" or stops his backpedal 10-15 yards from the line of scrimmage. He is responsible for that zone. He's also referred to as a "cover two corner," which plays a lot of zone coverage. The "honey hole" to which I have referred as the place you must beat "cover two" is that area along the sideline behind the "squat" corner and to the outside of the near-side safety.
Kathy from Jacksonville Beach, FL:
Most of our current problems have been attributed to the poor drafting over the five-year period before Gene Smith became GM. Shack Harris gets the blame, but is Jack Del Rio getting a free pass on this? Weren't they drafting these players as a team?
Vic: Following the Tom Coughlin years, the Jaguars changed their "one voice" policy to one of consensus-building among the football operations hierarchy, but personnel always had final say and was fully responsible for the team's personnel acquisitions. Blame Jack Del Rio for the play-calling, if you wish, but don't blame him for the team's bad drafting. He bears no culpability for those picks because in any and in all cases he did not have final-say authority. That is the absolute truth.
Chris from Stratford, CT:
I completely agree with you about improving your team through the draft and with a few free-agent pickups here and there. What does that say about the Jets? They continue to trade their picks for players and signing big free-agent names such as Jason Taylor.
Vic: Darrelle Revis and Mark Sanchez were selected in the first round of the draft following aggressive trade-up moves. Those two players are the nucleus of that team. Yeah, the Jets have acquired a lot of players in free agency and via trade, and they can do that because they're in New York and they have a lot of money to spend, but that team is nowhere without Revis and Sanchez.
Abe from Orange Park, FL:
I think a big reason we are not playing well this season is because we are too stiff. I remember in 2007 the Jaguars were having fun playing the game. You saw the linebackers doing encouraging dances and what not. The Jags just need to let loose and play.
Vic: Yeah, dancing will fix it all.
Matt from Keystone Heights, FL:
Interesting statistic: Since 2001, the Colts have led the series between the Jags, 12-4. However, there have only been two games that were decided by more than 10 points, a blowout by the Jags and a blowout by the Colts. It's obvious the Colts have had the Jags' number, but it should be noted that this is almost always a very competitive game.
Vic: I've noted it.
Wallace from Jacksonville:
Who will provide the spark to get the Jaguars offense clicking again? Garrard has had two terrible games in succession, but there's not a QB in the game that hasn't had a bad game or two in his career. I think the arrow is still pointing up for this team. We just hit a rough patch here and need a spark to get back rolling again. Maybe Deji Karim will run back a kick for a TD.
Vic: Maurice Jones-Drew is the spark this team needs. He's this team's star. This is the time. This is the game.
Mike from Jacksonville:
That yacht Ed spoke of is owned by Southeast Toyota and is frequently moored downtown throughout the year to entertain business guests.
Vic: That makes more sense than a bunch of guys from Philadelphia sailing the open seas. Had that boat been navigated by a bunch of drunken Eagles fans, it would've sunk before it reached Hatteras.
Jeff from Jacksonville:
You've lost two in a row, badly. Your leader is undoubtedly shaken. A new QB has been brought in, as a backup for now. Your running game is not what is expected of it. Your secondary is what is expected of it. How's the confidence in the building among players?
Vic: You made me too depressed to ask. What is it about fans from Jacksonville that they enjoy feeling bad?
Andrew from Palmetto, FL:
Can we go back to the I-wouldn't-worry-about-that answer on all Tebow questions? It was a nice addition.
Vic: I wouldn't worry about that.
Stuart from Morgantown, WV:
Fans shouldn't base their support for a team on the team's record, should they?
Vic: It's not about support, it's about the heart. Your heart tells you what to do. You have no say in the matter. There's no choice about whether or not to support the team. You're in love with it and you can't stop loving it. If it's not that way, it's no good.
Mark from Panama City Beach, FL:
I can't believe the Eagles came to town and there was no discussion about their cheerleaders. Are they still your favorite in the league?
Vic: They didn't bring their cheerleaders with them, which is a good thing because when we went up there for the preseason game, I took a look and I started to get chest pains. I can't look at that stuff anymore.
Chris from Jacksonville Beach, FL:
My Colts? Hey, Vince, you were standing in a cornfield 26 years ago when NFL football happened to land in central Indiana. Ask the people in Baltimore whose Colts they are.
Vic: That's what I'm talkin' about, baby. You da man, Chris, you da man. They stole that team. Thieves! Thieves! Their quarterback must go down and their quarterback must go down hard. This one's on you, Kampman. You hear me, Alualu? Manning must go down and Manning must go down hard.
Matt from Jacksonville:
Still all the Tebow questions. When will the madness end, Vicbow?
Vic: I wouldn't worry about that.
Keith from Jacksonville:
Here we are four games in and we are already at a fork in the road. We lose this game on Sunday we are in a big hole that this team won't be able to come out of, and headed to a 6-10 season, and we all know what we will be up against with the team moving. If we win, then all of a sudden we are in the thick of the race for the division crown and all is forgotten.
Vic: You have not exaggerated the range of perspective that will result from this game.
Josh from Harrisburg, PA:
What is it that you miss the most from your home state? I know after two trips to the desert, I missed the golden Appalachian Mountains of the fall.
Vic: Yeah, I miss that, but I found that in North Carolina and it's even better there. What I miss the most is the smell of football in the air. It's the smell of wet leaves drying in the sun. It's the smell of burning leaves. It's the smell of chill in the air at a high school game on a Friday night. There's nothing like it. You start to feel it coming in late August, on the first night that doesn't feel as though you're standing in the shower. For the first time in a few months, you reach for a jacket or a sweater. You know what the chill means and you love it. Mostly, it's the smell. It's difficult to describe. It just smells like football. My office at EverBank Field is off the hallway that leads to the tunnels and every once in awhile that smell wafts in under my office door. It's the smell of wet grass. It's close to that other smell, but it's not the same. There's something about fall in Pa. that smells like football and I've never experienced that smell anywhere else. If somebody asked me what I'd miss the most about Jacksonville, I would say it's playing golf on a sunny, crisp winter day. It's so crisp the grass crunches under your feet. I absolutely love that, especially coming from a place that takes six months to dry out after the first snowflake falls.
Eric from Jacksonville:
Who are the defensive backs that were still available during the Jags' original second-round slot in this year's draft?
Vic: Only two defensive backs – safety Taylor Mays and cornerback Javier Arenas – were selected in the second round following the Jaguars' original slot at the 44th overall pick of the draft. Neither Mays nor Arenas is a starter on their teams' depth charts currently. I feel strongly that had the Jaguars held onto that pick, Sean Lee would've been their selection. He was picked by Dallas with the 55th overall selection.
Jeremy from Jacksonville:
If Tebow parts ways with Denver, do you really think Jacksonville will waste their time and roster spot for a Florida QB?
Vic: I wouldn't worry about that.
Scott from Chattanooga, TN:
To help me get through until the Jags figure things out, I've been listening to the swingin' Bobby Darin instead of Tony or Frank. Try it, Vic, it works.
Vic: I have some Bobby Darin. I've told this story before but what the heck: My first sports hero was a star running back on my hometown's high school team: His first name was McKinley. They called him Mack and the hit song that year was Darin's "Mack The Knife," and they played it every time he scored. I prayed that just once in my life I could be that cool. My prayers have never been answered.
Charles from Toronto, Ontario:
Did I read wrong or did John from Jacksonville Beach imply we should trade our 2011 first-round pick in a draft where they may be five franchise quarterbacks for a guy who was overdrafted and probably couldn't throw a screen pass? I am appalled at the football IQ.
Vic: Welcome to my world. Won't you come on in? Miracles I guess, still happen now and then. I'll be waiting here, with my arms unfurled. Waiting just for you. Welcome to my world.
