Join jaguars.com Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Tommy from Jacksonville:
I see that the Lions were able to put up 32 points on the Eagles this past weekend with their second-string QB. What do you think is the weakness in the Eagles defense that the Jags need to focus on to beat them?
Vic: It's not a power defense. The Eagles are 25th in overall defense, 23rd against the run and the pass. Run it, throw it, do it however you wish, but the important thing is to sustain long, time-consuming drives because the Eagles are eighth in total offense, second in rushing.
Bobby from Jacksonville:
Based on the way our team looks and is set up right now, I would have to say we are about two good drafts away from being where we need to be. Would that be a fair assumption?
Vic: Yes, I think that's a fair and logical approach to take. Look at the Saints. It didn't happen for them overnight, but when it did happen, it exploded. That's how these things go. Progress isn't always incremental. The Saints are an example. They went from 10-6 in 2006 and appearing as though they were on the verge of something big, to 7-9 and 8-8 in the next two seasons. Were they in decline? Hardly. They were in the process of accumulating talent in the draft and last year the accumulation of that talent reached a level at which the Saints became champions. It takes time. You have to be patient.
Kerry from Mt. Airy, NC:
The national media is very curious in how they report on the Jags. It seems to me they spent several more minutes analyzing the Jaguars' loss to the Chargers than they did their win against the Broncos. In regards to Garrard, I saw highlights of all of his picks multiple times and I believe I saw a replay of just one of his TDs against Denver. What's the deal?
Vic: Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you.
Chris from Jacksonville:
Since we have lost Luke as the number two QB for the season, why don't the Jaguars allow Zach Miller an opportunity to play QB? He would be better than getting Todd Bouman back. He could back up David and also run some type of "wildcat," if they wanted. They have too many tight ends, anyway, and he has numbers that compare or exceed Tebow's in his college career. He is equal in size and faster. He may be the spark the offense needs. If you do not have someone to push David, you can expect more of the same that we saw in San Diego.
Vic: Are you being serious? I'm giving you a chance to say you're just joking. Please take it.
Rebecca from Jacksonville:
How does Vicbow feel about icing the kicker? Is that timeout-before-the-kick stuff in bad taste?
Vic: I don't like it. It's cheap, almost unsportsmanlike, in my opinion, and I'm disappointed that the league hasn't done something to address it.
Manuel from Jacksonville:
Are the Texans for real?
Vic: Their offense is for real. Is their defense for real? That's the question. They're last in the league in pass-defense and number two in run-defense and I can't help but wonder if the only reason they're number two against the run is because they're so bad against the pass nobody wants to bother with the run. Having to win shootouts all year can wear a team out. At some point, especially late in the year, you need to be able to play defense. We'll see.
Steve from Jacksonville:
I have always enjoyed following your gameday blog during away games, but unless your IT guys can reduce the prominence of the Twitter/Facebook chatter located alongside your blog, I don't think I'll be able to continue. The chatter is distracting and embarrassing with respect to its illiterate, immature, inane and uneducated content. It's an embarrassment to the greatest NFL website. I surely hope the participants aren't really the Jags' fan base.
Vic: So you would rather read a sportswriter than read the fans? How's that for a little cold water in the face?
Don from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL:
Fans need to be careful what they wish for and be thankful for what they got. Luke McCown got hurt on his first real contact. David Garrard is like bull and although he stinks it up occasionally, he comes back to redeem himself. Jack was a good coach in 2007 when we were winning and he is a good coach now. Take a chill pill and calm down. Wait until the end of the season to hire and fire. Support what you got and let's see where it takes us. Every week changes. Heroes become goats and goats become heroes. This week the Jags are goats looking to change that. A big win against the Eagles and away we go.
Vic: Where's the anger? Where's the negativity? And you call yourself a Jaguars fan. Huh!
Brian from Nashville, TN:
Why would our offense take a knee and head to the locker room just before the half when we have the ball and there is still time on the clock? Isn't that a waste of an offensive possession? At least attempt a play, whether you have 80 yards to go or not.
Vic: Please, step away from the video game and put your hands on a book.
Alon from Malibu, CA:
Enough about the West Coast. The Jags are not coming back unless they make the playoffs. FYI, the 2011 schedule will have no West Coast games. The Jags will play at Tampa Bay, Atlanta, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Houston, Tennessee, Indianapolis and likely Buffalo.
Vic: That's fine with me. No seven-ounce pieces of fish in Cleveland and Pittsburgh.
Chris from Sherman, TX:
Tell me if you agree. This is exactly why you have to draft a young quarterback to groom, even in the later rounds. With McCown out for the year, we don't have any insurance should David play as poorly as he has this last game. If we had taken Colt McCoy or someone like that this year, then we could at least have a young guy to hope for some promise.
Vic: I was with you until you got to McCoy. It doesn't do any good to draft a quarterback who can't throw a ball across a two-lane road. Yes, you need to draft and develop quarterbacks, and the Jaguars haven't done a good job of that at all. The previous administration was downright negligent about it. That's why I was in favor of drafting Brady Quinn and Chad Henne. Do you remember when Jack Del Rio literally volunteered his desire to draft a young quarterback to reporters when he met with them following the Reggie Nelson pick? He knew he needed youth at the position. Gene Smith knows that, too, but the past two drafts haven't been good quarterback drafts and he wasn't going to waste a pick on a player he didn't believe was worthy of the selection or offered a realistic expectation of making the roster. Next year's draft is the time. I've said it over and over. I guarantee the Jaguars will draft a quarterback. I guarantee it because the crop is so deep that it's nearly impossible that a quarterback wouldn't fit where the Jaguars are drafting, at some point in the draft. Why do you people beat on this? I've answered this question a zillion times.
Kevin from Jacksonville:
Two weeks ago, I would have never thought this, but I honestly think trading for Vick would be the only chance we would have at a Super Bowl. That's what it's all about, right? If you're not first, you're last. For us to be first, we need major changes.
Vic: You're absolutely right. The Jaguars need to make changes immediately. Change anything; change everything. Just change, baby, change. It's not about the Jaguars' future, it's about the terrible pain we feel this week. How will we ever make it through another week? Oh, the pain. I think I'm gonna cry now.
Ray from Jacksonville:
Quinn, Kolb, Schaub, Garcia, Brees, Vick, Roethlisberger, Kolb, Henne, Tebow, Clausen; we passed on them all, in one way or another.
Vic: Roethlisberger and Henne, in my opinion, were the big misses. Roethlisberger for the obvious reason and because the player they selected instead of him was such a reach; Henne because he would've been a bargain pick, instead of taking a player that required trading up and giving away picks for a guy who was, as it turned out, also a major needs reach.
Jess from St. Louis, MO:
I'd like you to check my reasoning here. If one of the main goals in the game is to control time of possession and keep the other team's offense off the field, then why, when you win the coin toss, would you defer and allow the opposing team to start the game with possession of the ball, thereby giving them the opportunity to score first and immediately put yourself in the hole in time of possession?
Vic: You're allowed to stop the other guys. You know that, don't you? You do what Jack Del Rio did with the idea you'll force a three-and-out, get the ball in decent field position and then dictate the tempo of the game with a ball-control scoring drive. Here's the best part: You get the ball to start the second half. I think you're making too big of a deal about the whole coin-toss thing. When they have the ball, stop them. When you have the ball, score. It doesn't matter when you do those things, just do them. You're trying to visualize victory. You don't visualize it, you make it happen.
Davis from Washington, DC:
I understand your point about three of the four members of the secondary being unexpected starters and this playing a role in our defense's struggles, but what about the notion that our pass-rush would save the day? Did the pass-rush not do its job on Sunday?
Vic: You say you understand, but you really don't. You have to be able to hold your coverage long enough for the rush to get there. When number 85 is uncovered, the rush isn't going to get home.
Evan from Pensacola, FL:
It seems to me that special teams was addressed more than our secondary or interior line. I feel this organization could have done a better job in acquiring more talent.
Vic: OK, give it to me. Tell me how they could've done it. I would prefer that you tell me before the fact instead of after, but I'll accept after the fact this time. Tell me what they should've done.
Chris from Jacksonville Beach, FL:
Does Derek Cox actually have a foot injury? I can't buy the loss-of-confidence thing. The guy started every game as a rookie.
Vic: He played with a foot injury all through training camp and I don't think he missed a practice. Every day he'd go out to practice wearing a compression bandage on his foot and he never said a word. Have you ever worn one of those things? It makes your foot feel like wood. This is an example of the problem I have with the NFL's don't-tell injury policy during the preseason. Nobody tells, so nobody knows, and that means the public isn't able to make allowances for a player who's playing hurt. What message does it send? I'll tell you what message it sends: If you're hurt, shut it down.
Ryan from Las Vegas, NV:
I once had a torn hibiscus. My mother cried and cried.
Vic: She must be from Jacksonville.
Eric from Jacksonville:
Six years of bad drafting/free agent signings and it's supposed to be fixed in two years?
Vic: Two? They were whining and crying last year.
Stephen from San Diego, CA:
I was at the game on Sunday and it was the most disrespectful experience I have ever endured. I was heckled. I had an old man throw his soda on me and after I reported him to security, nothing was done and I was still pelted with ice and peanuts. All because I had a sign saying "San Diego's number one Jags fan," but I didn't let them beat me down because no matter how bad the Jags play, I'll always be "San Diego's number one Jags fan." So I stayed until the end and watched my team finally score and walked out of there with my pride and dignity.
Vic: That's the important thing. Never lose your dignity.
