Join *Jaguars Inside Report *Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
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Alex Thompson from Jacksonville:**
In Friday night's game, late in the fourth quarter, the defense made some huge plays that gave the Jaguars the opportunity to win the game, but a lot of those big plays came from new name rookies such as Radell Lockhart (75). Where did we get this guy? And please tell me we're keeping him. I haven't seen a sack like that from a rookie since Warren Sapp's rookie year. A big play-maker like this guy could really keep fans like me thinking future rings for the whole
team.
Vic: Calm down, Alex. First of all, Radell Lockhart is an undrafted rookie free agent from Catawba. You may remember that Catawba is that North Carolina football "factory" that gave us LA Rams wide receiver Bucky "The Catawba Claw" Pope in the 1960's. You don't remember that? Well, anyhow, Lockhart is a serious contender for a roster spot, but the big sack to which you are referring in the win over Carolina was mostly the result of Lockhart not having been blocked on the play. Let's get Lockhart his own number (he's currently sharing 75 with guard LeShun Daniels) before we begin comparing him to Warren Sapp.
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Linda Thornhill from Jacksonville:**
Could you please tell me when the Football 101 class is going to be held? I am interested in attending that class.
Vic: Football 105, formerly Football 101, 102, 103 and 104, will be conducted on Oct. 9, Nov. 6 and Dec. 11.
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Stephanie Guckenberger from Camden, TN:**
I was very surprised when I came to the Jaguars web site to listen to the game and didn't hear Matt and Brian. I was just wondering why the announcers for the Panthers were doing the play-by-play, and are the announcers from the other teams going to do that each week instead of Matt and Brian.
Vic: jaguars.com is part of the nfl.com network, which provides a link to jaguars.com. nfl.com provided the audio for the Carolina at Jacksonville game and nfl.com chose to use the Carolina radio feed. jaguars.com is attempting to correct that problem.
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Eric Blackman from Jacksonville: **
The Jags waived offensive lineman Mark Baniewicz for the purpose of putting him on injured reserve. What does that mean? Since when does someone have to clear waivers to go on injured reserve? This one's been making me crazy since I read it.
Vic: You don't have to cut a guy to put him on injured reserve, but, at this time of the year, it helped the Jaguars to do so. If they had put Mark Baniewicz on injured reserve without him first clearing waivers, the Jaguars would not have been able to add another player to their training camp roster. Players placed on injured reserve prior to the final roster cuts count against the total roster limit.
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Jim Zambelli from Jacksonville:
Much of the Titans' and the Ravens' success came from a coaching scheme that emphasizes the fundamentals that lead to strong, aggressive tackling and blocking. Have you seen the current Jaguars coaching staff focus any additional time to improve this part of the Jaguars game?
Vic: This training camp will not be remembered for its fierce blocking and tackling, however, I can tell you that new defensive coordinator Gary Moeller is dedicated to making the Jaguars better tacklers. The fundamentals of sound tackling is primary in Moeller's philosophy of defense. Jim, nobody is bigger on blocking and tackling than I am, and it bothers me that there hasn't been more of it in this training camp, but I am repeatedly informed that it can't be done these days.
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Jason Dooley from Green Cove Springs, FL:**
I have seen where Tom Coughlin has said he would like to add veteran depth at defensive line, offensive line and fullback. Would any of these veterans be good fits in your opinion: defensive end Chidi Ahanotu, offensive tackle Erik Williams and fullback Kimble Anders?
Vic: I've heard there was some interest in Chidi Ahanotu, of course, let's not forget that the Jaguars have their noses pressed against the salary cap. Jason, in my opinion, it's time to move on. Youth must be served. The Jaguars need to get younger and cheaper, not older and more expensive.
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Jason Proios from Long Island, NY:**
In this current age of huge contracts and salary-cap problems, having both an outstanding offense and defense is becoming harder to maintain. As the past two Super Bowl teams have shown, one half of the ball can be average, as long as the other half is outstanding. Since the offensive skill positions on the Jaguars can only be rivaled by, maybe, the Rams, would it have been wise for them to have used their top two picks next year on offensive linemen and wait on defense until later, much like Detroit did this year? Do you think the Jags would be better this year if they had drafted guard Steve Hutchinson in the first round, instead of Stroud, and still drafted Maurice Williams in the second?
Vic: I applaud your thinking. I'm not saying I agree with it, but you've presented a very interesting philosophy of building a football team. Maybe your Hutchinson and Williams idea will prove to have been better than Stroud and Williams, but any personnel man will tell you that a blue-chip defensive tackle is more valuable than a blue-chip guard. One bit of advice: If you're going to build a team by concentrating on one side of the ball, do it on defense, because defensive players are a lot cheaper and you can have more of them on your salary cap. The Rams were able to do it on offense because Kurt Warner was making minimum wage. That quickly changed.
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Vic Ketchman is the Senior Editor of Jaguars Inside Report, the official team newspaper of the Jacksonville Jaguars. One-year subscriptions may be purchased by calling 1-888-846-5247.
