Here's what they need

"Ask Vic" will publish on M-W-F through the football season.

Braden from Milwaukee, WI
GM Vic, what do you do for the three teams you covered before the trade deadline?
The Packers need a tough guy on defense, the Steelers need a grunt linebacker, and the Jaguars need a burger and an aisle seat.

Ryan from Stevens Point, WI
Did Aaron Jones’ value to the Packers just decrease?
Based on a win over the Texans? Come on.

Rob from Superior, CO
After the 2020 draft, you said you had the sense the Packers want to play big boy football. Do you still have that feeling?
Yes, I do, but you don't make it happen with attitude, you make it happen by drafting players who fit that scheme year after year after year.

Dennis from Olympia, WA
Is the Dallas roster that much worse than Washington's? McCarthy is in over his head. His hiring in Dallas is a disaster.
OK.

Bill from Sheboygan, WI
What are your thoughts on the Steelers' win over the Titans?
The Steelers were dominant in taking a 27-7 lead, careless in nearly losing it.

Zachary from Jacksonville, FL
Vic, can you beat a fast defense up the middle with power?
One of my all-time favorite scouts was fond of saying, "Size defeats speed." He was speaking of the point of attack.

Mike from Boscobel, WI
It's been tough these last years watching my beloved Jaguars. I still watch, root for them and wince at their hapless ways. I find myself thinking not so long ago -- whether we won or lost -- the teams we played knew they had been in a hard-fought game, a fracas, if you will. I was hoping you might have a good story from those years. Anything come to mind?
Two of the best games I ever covered were the two the Jaguars and Steelers played in 1997. They each ended on a touchdown.

Brock from St. Louis, MO
How many muddy fields are there in the NFL these days?
Scouts speak in coded language. "Little guys fall down in the mud." Little guys also fall down in the snow. A.J. Dillon is perfect for a snow-covered field.

Isaac from Nashville, TN
Vic, what exactly am I looking for when I'm trying to determine whether a running back has heavy or light feet?
Peter Pan had light feet. Yum Yum Eat 'Em Up didn't. Get it?

Tyler from Red Deer, AB
Wouldn't a perfect offense consist of a whole lot of grind to set up the giggle?
If you grind a lot, you can giggle a little. Teams that giggle a lot can't stop giggling.

Morgan from Little Chute, WI
Could the Vikings rebuild with Zimmer?
That wouldn't be my expectation.

Paul from Cumming, GA
To borrow an aphorism from golf, "Scheme for show, execute for dough?"
You throw to score, you run to win.

Matt from Houston, TX
Thoughts on Pitt's uniforms against Notre Dame? I don't understand why a team with a great, classic look doesn't just stick with it.
What do you call that color, soot?

Samuel from Jacksonville, FL
Which team would not draft Trevor Lawrence if they had the No. 1 pick?
The Jets and Jaguars, in my opinion, are the candidates. I think the Falcons will win a few more times. If the Jets get the first overall pick, they'd likely be able to move Darnold to draft Lawrence. If the Jaguars get the first pick, and I think their schedule gives them a shot at it, Minshew is the perfect quarterback to transition to a first overall pick. I also think the team that gets the second overall pick of the draft could get the plum pick of the draft, Trey Lance of North Dakota State. He's 6-3, 224, and he's the kind of athlete that's defining the position in today's game.

Brad from Jacksonville, FL
Vic, it’s very clear this is going to be a very long season down here in Jacksonville. It looked like some players were already giving it less than their best. How much damage will be done to the youngest roster in the NFL before they hopefully clean house?
A new regime hits the reset button. There are no preconceived notions. Immediately, every player on the roster will be evaluated as to how he might fit in the new regime's plans. Some players won't fit and will be traded or released. Damage? I wouldn't worry about that.

Matthew from Las Vegas, NV
After seeing multiple replays, I feel Bostic did nothing wrong. He dropped down to tackle a runner around the waist, and then that runner dropped into a slide. Dalton is responsible for his own injury. What else can a defender do against a running QB? The NFL has misled everyone by saying a slide is a QB safety measure. Sliding late is an almost guaranteed injury.
The game has changed, Matthew. This one doesn't require a drool bucket.

Aaron from White Hall, AR
I know teams pipe in crowd noise, but during the Jags/Chargers game I noticed on all the screens they would flash lights repeatedly right before the play (usually on fourth down), when the Chargers were on defense. I don’t think it would’ve changed the outcome of that game, but flashing lights seem a bit far.
The artificialness is entertaining me. The Panthers' crowd noise is on a rise and fall loop, which resulted in cheers for a dropped pass. The crowd noise in New Orleans sounds like little kids singing "It's a Small World." In one stadium, TV was doing a postgame interview and somebody forgot to turn off the crowd noise. Football doesn't need the fans, it needs the fans' money.