Join Jaguars Inside Report Senior Editor Vic Ketchman as he tackles the fans' tough questions.
Josh from Las Vegas, NV:
With Hanson on NFI, do the Jags get any money from his salary or is he still going to be paid in full?
Vic: The non-football injury list is for players who've sustained non-football-related injuries, which means their teams are not required to pay their salaries. In Chris Hanson's case, Wayne Weaver has said he will pay Hanson's full salary.
Gerry from Jacksonville:
What does being on the non-football injury list mean? How long can a player be in that status before he goes on injured reserve?
Vic: A player who has sustained a non-football-related injury can not be placed on the injured reserve list. The two lists are separated by the nature of the injury the player sustained; one is football-related and the other is not. That's the only distinction.
James from Jacksonville:
Last Thursday night on "Inside the NFL," Jacksonville was not shown in the highlight reel. My question is, did the blackout from the San Diego game keep the Jaguars from being seen? Or is it the small market thing coming back to haunt us?
Vic: It was neither. It was the 0-8 thing.
Kyle from Jacksonville:
I attended the (Miami) game and it seemed much closer than the final score. What do you think the Jags can do to improve when they have momentum going for them as they did many times yesterday?
Vic: If they had done something as simple as execute the center-quarterback exchange, hand the ball to Fred Taylor and score on third-and-goal from the two-yard line, the game would've been tied at 17-17 and there's no telling what would've happened from there.
Larry from Jacksonville:
Is it me or is Fred Taylor going back to his juke style of running. I can remember when he first returned from his injury he started hitting the holes hard and strong, now he seems to be trying to dance his way through. Watching Toefield and Fu, and then watching Fred, it was like night and day. I know Fred is a good running back, but if he is not gaining yards is he really a threat opposing defenses need to worry about?
Vic: Fred Taylor's long-run ability makes him a threat every time he touches the ball, even when he's having a bad day, as was the case against the Dolphins. But that's really not the issue here. What's more important is that Taylor was so out of sorts. He seems to go through a little bout of this every season; looking for holes instead of hitting them. But I have never seen Taylor run that bad in the six seasons he has been with the Jaguars. The holes were there and when Fu (vowel rationing) and LaBrandon Toefield hit them, they gained significant yardage. Toefield was 3.8 yards per carry, Fu was 3.7 and Taylor was 2.2 with two fumbles. It just wasn't his day. How does it get fixed? Well, maybe someone will ask Taylor a question about being a finesse, cutback runner. He hates that and every time somebody refers to him that way he snaps out of his funk.
Roger from Jacksonville:
I thought it was against the rules to fumble the ball and advance it forward inside the 10-yard line. Is that not why they put in the "Holy Roller" rule? How were the Dolphins able to fumble a ball forward for a touchdown?
Vic: The "Holy Roller" rule pertains only to the last two minutes of each half, and it has nothing to do with the yard line.
Shawn from Three Rivers, MI:
I love your column. Don't take this wrong, I think Byron Leftwich has a bright future for the Jaguars and is a very smart player with poise, but he seems to me to have a really slow release. His step toward the receiver and release seem to take three seconds. Do you think this is a problem or am I just being picky?
Vic: You're not being picky. Byron Leftwich has what's called a "long arm," and he needs to shorten and quicken it. Kerry Collins is another quarterback who has a "long arm" release. Leftwich's mechanics need work and he's been working on them since last spring's mini-camp. It's part of his development into an NFL quarterback. This is not the Mid-American Conference.
