"Ask Vic" will publish on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the football season.
Here's the "Ask Vic" Week 16 power rankings: 1. Saints -- Hanging on. 2. Chargers -- Might have to settle for wild card. 3. Rams -- Slumping. 4. Chiefs -- Can they hold on? 5. Texans -- They run the ball and stop the run. 6. Titans -- Muscle team. 7. Ravens -- No. 1 defense. 8. Bears -- 3-2-10 on defense. 9. Colts -- Peaking! 10. Cowboys -- Inconsistent. 11. Eagles -- Here they come. 12. Seahawks -- Rally halted by 49ers. 13. Patriots -- Brady beginning to look mortal. 14. Vikings -- Sack mania. 15. Browns -- Defense on the rise, too. 16. Steelers -- Chargers may hold their fate. 17. Dolphins -- No. 29 on offense, No. 30 on defense. Yuk! 18. Broncos -- Keenum is just a guy. 19. Panthers -- Complete collapse. 20. Washington -- Injury ruined their season. 21. Packers -- It's all about the next coach. 22. Giants -- Manning is the problem. 23. Lions -- Stafford not getting it done. 24. Bucs -- No. 1 passing attack. 25. Falcons -- Major decisions lurking. 26. Bengals -- They should be better than this. 27. 49ers -- Still playing hard. 28. Bills -- Holding their head high. 29. Jets -- Darnold is for real. 30. Jaguars -- Coughlin time? 31. Raiders -- No words. 32. Cardinals -- Rosen isn't the answer. Matthew from Oshkosh, WI Vic, Green Bay has two first-round picks in the upcoming draft. Would GM Vic take a QB in the first round? That decision was made the day the Packers signed Aaron Rodgers to a new contract. T.J. from Tampa, FL The offensive fumble into the end zone has got to be about the dumbest rule in the book, no? I don't like it, either, but if it's changed to give the ball back to the offense, I don't think the offense should be allowed to take possession at the one-yard line. I think giving the ball to the offense at the one-yard line would result in guys "throwing" the ball at the pylon. I favor penalizing the offense for fumbling the ball through the end zone; assess a 10-yard penalty from the original line of scrimmage. Matt from New York, NY The scheme-crazy folks aren't looking so hot right now, huh? Teams catch up throughout the year. Players, not plays. Schemes win early, players win late. Joshua from Mankato, MN Live with hope, not expectancy, And allow perspective to set you free, For expectation, evil sister of hope, Morphs man into lycanthrope, While hope keeps us going, When all is lost. I’m Joshua from Mankato, Did you expect Robert Frost? When the season is done, We'll know who's No. 1, And offseason predictions, will become contradictions. Malcolm from Ossian, IA If the Jaguars can get a first and second for Ramsey, what do you think the Packers can get for Rodgers, if they want to trade him? They might get two ones. Remember, Rodgers' bonus amortization would stay with the Packers, which would make him very attractive in a trade. A team trading for Rodgers could even restructure his contract, push money out and make room on their cap to use in free agency. The Packers have too much invested in Rodgers, in cap room and in real money, to bail on his contract after just one season. The bonus money acceleration on the Packers' cap would be devastating. Curt from York, PA Vic, here’s another Bill Fralic story. Penn Hills High School just played in the 5A state title game on Dec. 7 in Hershey, a long drive from Pittsburgh. It was reported Fralic had the team travel on 12/6, then he paid for all the hotel rooms for the team that night so they would be fresh for the game on 12/7. A class act to the end! By the way, Penn Hills won. That's a wonderful story about a great player and the game we love. It's a game of the heart. Randy from Medicine Hat, AB If there was such a thing as a time machine that transported today's starting quarterbacks to a season in, say, the sixties, which ones would excel in that era? Could any of the sixties' quarterbacks thrive in today's game? All of the sixties top quarterbacks would excel in today's game, but not all of today's top quarterbacks would excel in the sixties. Jonathan from St. Joseph, MO As of now, who is your league MVP? I feel Brees' struggles on the road hurt his chances. Brees and Mahomes are the easy picks. I'd like to see Aaron Donald get it because I'm tired of the MVP award going to quarterbacks. Mike from Rochester, MN If you could build a team around one QB/coach combination (past or present), who would you choose? Can't say Belichick/Brady or Noll/Bradshaw. Walsh/Montana. Shawn from Kissimmee, FL Do you think Jimmy Graham will be on the Packers' roster next fall? His dead money isn't the issue because his cap hit spikes next year and he'd become a cap savings cut (don't pay roster bonus). There are two main issues: 1) Do you walk away from the $11 million signing bonus paid to him after just one season? 2) Or do you pay him the $5.3 million roster bonus he's due on 3/15/19 and risk wasting more money on a bad signing? I think I'd go one more season with him. His cap structure makes 2020 his out year. Zahir from London, UK Perhaps I misunderstood but I thought you always said teams that didn't abuse the cap by going all in on free agency did not have periods when they went dark? That was supposed to be the upside to Ted's philosophy of draft and develop. But if consistently drafting at the bottom catches up with you, why wouldn't you take a few shots in free agency/trades? First of all, there's a big difference between "all in" and a "few shots." I'm all for a few shots in free agency and/or trading. I've been a strong advocate of patching. What I don't like is expensive free agency, and too much of it will absolutely turn you dark. You think this is dark? Zahir, this isn't dark. Going dark is defined as a long non-playoffs run and period of hopelessness. Going dark is what the Broncos are doing. They went all in on free agency, got a title and killed their cap. Now, in their desperation to avoid going dark, they're trying to catch lightning in a bottle. They signed Case Keenum, whose salary spikes to $18 million next season and will likely force the Broncos to find another answer at quarterback. The Broncos are in the kill-the-cap death spiral, which is defined by pie-in-the-sky change: coaches, quarterbacks, philosophy, etc. The Packers have a healthy cap and I expect them to clear more room in the offseason. They have young talent on the rise and I have no reason to believe they're going dark. Take care of your cap and your cap will take care of you. You'll never be without hope.
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AuthorVic Ketchman Archives
March 2021
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