Join jaguars.com Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Daniel from Jacksonville:
Cox was targeted by the best QB/WR combo in the league. The Jaguars certainly expected that. So why wasn't Reggie Nelson assigned to cover Wayne, also?
Vic: Come on, folks, you're acting as though the coaches are idiots. There wasn't just one receiver on the field and the Colts had coaches, too, and those coaches, led by part-time/full-time/former coordinator/consultant Tom Moore was going to make sure you couldn't double up on both Reggie Wayne and Dallas Clark. When the Jaguars went to seven defensive backs, the Colts quickly adjusted and ran the ball. The video game part of football is easy. These coaches know exactly what buttons to push and all it does is even the playing field so it's players against players. Stay away from the X's and O's part of the game, please. You think you know, but you don't know.
Mike from Kissimmee, FL:
After one of the Titans scored a touchdown on Thursday night, he ran toward the crowd as if he was going to hand the ball to a fan. Right before the fan could grab the ball, he did a "syke" move and walked away from the fan. What are your thoughts on something like that?
Vic: I have no idea what a "syke" move is but I'm assuming you're attempting to convey that the Titans player deceived the fan into believing he or she was going to have a fond memory for the rest of their life. Isn't that childish? Oh, well, I guess that's what the Titans are and what the Titans do. They taunt fans and wipe their feet on and blow their noses in symbols of charitable causes. Let's see, how has that worked for them? Hmmm, they haven't won a game since they did that, have they?
Z. from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL:
There will always be people and owners that buy the hype and select/sign the wrong players. The small-market teams just can't be the ones doing that. I can already tell that Gene Smith isn't into the hype. He's into football players.
Vic: You, sir, are an intelligent and learned football fan.
Chad from Vero Beach, FL:
I was wondering what happens if a player like Michael Crabtree goes the whole season and re-enters the draft? Do the 49ers get some type of compensation for losing a first-round pick or is it just tough luck, they shouldn't have picked him?
Vic: The deadline for trading unsigned rookie draft picks for 2009 was Aug. 14. The 49ers may not trade Crabtree until the first day of the 2010 NFL year, which is scheduled to be March 5. At that point, they will have until draft day to trade him and acquire compensation for holding his rights. They'll get something, but it won't be nearly as good as the pick they spent on him, and Crabtree won't be drafted nearly as high as he was and he won't get nearly as much money as the 49ers were offering. It would be in both parties' best interests to come to contract terms, which I expect will happen.
Grant from Jacksonville:
The "Wildcat" debuted at a poor time.
Vic: The whole "Wildcat" craze was stupid. The Ravens stopped it cold, twice. They showed everybody how to do it. I never understood the phenomenon in the first place. Take the snap and run forward. Big deal. Now, if you wanna stir in run or pass, OK, but not just catch the snap and run.
John from Jacksonville:
Why is it during your Colts game blog you talk about how soft the Colts defense is but then, after they give up 228 total yards and kill Garrard on that final drive, you waste no time in taking your ball and going home? You're in a hurry? Oh yeah, are you really so retarded to believe jets were going to fly into an NFL stadium? You really are an idiot, aren't you, Vic?
Vic: Yeah, you got me there. I asked why the Colts decided to open the roof and someone told me they planned to do a fly-through, and they pointed to that giant window that was opening behind the end zone and said the jets would come in through there and then go out the roof. How dumb am I, huh? Seriously, though, I really was in a hurry once the game ended. I had to get down to the locker room for interviews and the press elevator at Lucas Oil Stadium isn't nearly as modern and efficient as the rest of the stadium.
Ed from Ponte Vedra Beach, FL:
What happens now with the defensive end position?
Vic: My guess is that Derrick Harvey will put his hand on the ground and Quentin Groves will become the standup end. The Jags will have to sign somebody, too.
Rich from Jacksonville:
Just curious, how were the local TV ratings for the game this Sunday? Did it do a little better than the Gator game?
Vic: The Jaguars at Colts game did a 23.1 rating and a 39 share. Troy at Florida pulled down a 13.7 rating and a 27 share. The Bears at Packers (13.3, 20) and Redskins at Giants (12.6, 20) did nearly as well as the Gators. College town? When does the lie stop?
John from Ramsey, NJ:
I thought once a receiver catches the ball and gets both feet down he becomes a runner. Why was Sean Considine flagged for unnecessary roughness on the tackle?
Vic: His tackle was judged to have been unnecessarily rough. The NFL is attempting to change the football culture.
Craig from Orlando, FL:
First it was all about having a quarterback. Now you're saying Big Ben has the receivers to be successful. Garrard couldn't even get a first down. This is not the first time he couldn't move the ball in crunch time. The receivers we have got the job done in preseason and were praised. Garrard is just not the quarterback to get it done.
Vic: OK, so what is your suggestion, because I took a walk out back and looked at the quarterback tree and there aren't any more quarterbacks on it. I even gave it a shake but nothing fell. I mean, I was the one who said draft Roethlisberger. I was the one who said draft Brady Quinn. I campaigned for Chad Henne. So what do you want me to do? I shook the tree and nothing fell.
William from Jacksonville:
How long does it usually take for the Jaguars (players, coaches, trainers, staff, etc.) to go wheels up at the airport after the final whistle blows for an away game? It must be an incredible logistical challenge. How does it work?
Vic: Rule of thumb is in the air two hours after the game ends. That's why I'm in a hurry to end my blog and get to the locker room. When the game ends, it's go time for me. Everything is rushed. It's a circus in the postgame locker room; jerseys in one pile, pants in another, etc. The place is packed with players and reporters and equipment guys running around trying not to bump into each other. The guys I feel bad for are the injured ones, such as Reggie Hayward, because the pace doesn't slow for them. Poor old Reg dragged his broken leg onto the plane Sunday night and the only thing he had to look forward to was a burger, an aisle seat and a little somethin' from the doc. Reggie sat a few seats behind me and I marveled at his toughness. He never let his pain show. In 38 years, the postgame part of it has never changed. Rush to the locker room, rush to the bus, rush to the plane and start writing as they're loading the equipment into the belly of the plane. The goal has always been the same: Finish writing before the wheels touch down. The only difference is that when I started doing this, it was with a Royal portable. Now it's with a laptop. I finished early enough Sunday to relax before we landed. I listened to Reggie behind me and I couldn't help but recall a player named Chris Kolodziejski. That's a story for another day.
Paul from Fleming Island, FL:
I did not see them try to roll the pocket at all during the game. I know the rookies might provide better protection if they know where the QB is, but since that did not work very well, why not try rolling out away from Freeney a few times?
Vic: I proposed in our pregame radio show that the Jaguars might try to move the pocket. I saw the Jaguars do that once in the game and it resulted in a poorly-thrown pass. That told me all I needed to know: David Garrard is a pocket passer, and there's nothing wrong with that. I like pocket passers and they have reason to expect to be provided a pocket from which they might throw.
Dave from Ada, OK:
Which is a greater concern, the two-minute drill failure or the third-and-goal failure?
Vic: The greatest concern is for having gained only two yards in four plays in the final possession, needing only 30 yards to kick the game-winning field goal. This league is about crunch time. You have to be able to get it done at crunch time or you will not be able to compete at the championship level. We saw that in last year's Super Bowl and we saw it most recently in the Thursday night game and in last night's games, too.
Hardy from Jacksonville:
Who's correct, Vic or Tony Dungy? Dungy gave a different version of the 35-yard Wayne touchdown pass play. He even gave the number of the play and played a film review of the play. He explained it was a fake run designed to draw Reggie Nelson in on the fake. He showed how Nelson bit and the play took advantage of him and the safety was not able to cover his mistake. Dungy revealed that was about the 25th touchdown from that one play.
Vic: Vic said it was Derek Cox who bit on the play-action fake and Vic was right. The Jaguars were in "cover three," which looks like "cover two" until the ball is snapped. In "cover three," a safety charges the line of scrimmage in run-support when the ball is snapped, which is what Nelson did. He did not bite on the play-action fake. Cox bit, which he shouldn't have done because he had no run-support responsibility. Wayne was his sole responsibility and he had help over the top from Sean Considine, but because Cox bit, Wayne was able to blow by him and run straight up the field and stay away from Considine, instead of Cox squeezing Wayne toward the middle of the field. Being media is tough, even for a great coach and a brilliant man such as Tony Dungy. Watching the tape is OK, but asking is still the best way to find out what the defense was.