Packers got a gift; Marrone for COTY

Ask Vic will publish on Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the football season.

Jimmy from Jacksonville, FL
It is settled: Blake Bortles is the Jaguars' franchise QB. He'll be inconsistent but, after his performance against the Patriots, there's no turning back. Thoughts?
I've never seen him play better. He was calm, decisive and delivered the ball on time and accurately. The Jaguars can win big games with that kind of quarterback. Doug Marrone also gets credit here. He just showed the rest of the league how to attack the Patriots: Go after their linebackers. How many times did Bortles throw that drag route over the middle. The Patriots never figured it out. Bortles was still throwing that route to move the sticks late in the game. Marrone armed Bortles with a beautifully conceived game plan: drags and fades. The risky deep-middle stuff that gets Bortles into trouble was kept to a minimum. Through two weeks, I think Marrone is the leader for coach of the year.

Joachim from Kassel, Germany
Still digesting the Packers game and I have to believe the Vikings are slightly more annoyed than us. I know I felt mostly relief yesterday, given how it played out at the end. What's your take, Vic? Some sloppy play and some sloppy officiating?
I think the Packers got a gift. I'm sure it doesn't seem that way to Packers fans, but in my mind the Vikings kicker turned what should've been a Packers loss into a tie.

Mike from Bridgeport, CT
Just win, baby! What a day to be a Jaguars fan!
I think you're going to like Wednesday, too.

Joe from St. Paul, MN
Is roughing the passer the new catch rule? It just seems like they've added so many conditions and sub-conditions that refs are seeing ghosts now.
Here's the new rule: The quarterback must be taken to the ground softly, unless it's Ben Roethlisberger. He can be driven into the ground on his right shoulder, and then you can bounce on him as though you're the bear and he's John Candy in the movie "The Great Outdoors."

Peter from Cserkeszőlő, Hungary
If these hits on QBs are illegal (by Kendricks and Matthews), the NFL is not worth watching anymore.
I'll miss you.

Tyler from Pierre (state undeclared)
I was obviously happy with the final miss, but I couldn't help saying to my friend, "That poor kid."
"Alas, poor Yorick!" If I'm Daniel Carlson, I hope I get cut this morning so I can get out of Minneapolis ASAP. It would be nice if Mike Zimmer would do it on the phone before I leave the house. By the way, what's happened to the kicking leaguewide? Boswell made everything last year and is now missing extra points. Even Gostkowski missed.

Justin from Waukesha, WI
Help me come to balance, Vic. I'm experiencing terrible nightmares where quarterbacks wear flags instead of pads, never to be tackled again.
OK, that's enough. My inbox is a whiny, whimpering, blame-the-refs fest. Vic to Packers fans: One call didn't cost the Packers the game, any more than the catch-rule call cost the Steelers that loss to the Patriots last season. The Packers defense didn't get it done at crunch time. That's where you point the finger. They didn't get it done in the fourth quarter and they didn't get it done in the overtime, either. Blaming one suspect call is a way of ignoring the truth, which is the Packers' pass defense got torched by Kirk Cousins when the game was on the line.

Adam from Fond du Lac, WI
Vic, this game looked like a win, felt like a loss, but ended in a tie. What do you make of the game?
A tie is not a loss. A tie has merit. In my mind, yesterday's tie sets the stage for the rematch between the two teams. Ask yourself how you'd feel today if Daniel Carlson had made that kick in overtime. A loss hurts. A tie doesn't. In some ways, this was a win for the Packers, thanks to Yorick.

Dave from Potomac, MD
Vic, I didn’t get to see the Packers game yesterday. What can your eyes tell me the boxscore and play-by-play can’t?
The Packers made all of the little plays. Aaron Rodgers was precision-like in a move-the-sticks, ball-control passing game. I also give credit to his receivers for winning their one-on-ones. The Vikings made the big plays, led by the bomb to Stefon Diggs. Neither team made the deciding play.

Craig from Cedarburg, WI
Is a legal QB hit something between what Clay did to draw the flag and what Mike Daniels did to let go of Cousins before it was whistled dead?
If I was a coach, I would have my team practice how to not hit the quarterback. That's the new NFL.

Tom from Hamden, CT
I have a feeling the tie game will hurt one of these teams in making the playoffs.
I don't think it will. I think the game in Minnesota on Nov. 25 will decide the NFC North title.

Eric from Colorado Springs, CO
Would like your take on two thoughts I couldn't shake from the Packers-Vikings game. 1. Refs decided that game. 2. The Vikings are beatable.
The officiating did not decide the game. The Vikings are certainly beatable, but they'll be a better team when the two teams meet again, and so will the Packers. It's game on in the NFC North for one of the best rivalries in football. This tie is just an appetizer for the full course meal that's ahead of us.

Dave from Madison, WI
After two games, what’s one thing you like about the Packers defense and one thing you don’t like?
I like that they're stopping the run. I don't like that Cousins threw for 425 yards and four touchdowns.

Bill from Good Vilbel, Germany
Vic, did I see the Patriots surrender? With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, they were running up the middle (for no yards), letting the play clock run all the way down, etc. Saving Brady to fight another day?
The Patriots were gassed. Last Thursday, as I was sitting pool side on a 97-degree day in Jacksonville, I looked on my phone at the weather forecast for Sunday. I laughed. "Mail it in, boys," I said to myself. The Packers played a bad Jaguars team on a 90-degree day in 2016 and nearly lost. The Patriots were beaten by a powerful Jaguars team in 97-degree heat yesterday. It was easy to see right from the beginning. The Jaguars were a step faster and had more energy in everything they did. The Patriots looked like a team that wanted a burger and an aisle seat. By the way, I am so proud of the Jaguars for wearing their teal jerseys yesterday. Real men wear teal in the heat! Marrone is my kind of coach.

Brandon from Huntington Beach, CA
That game had 3:52 written all over it. I can’t believe the Packers managed to get out with a tie. They’re extremely lucky that kicker has issues. What bothers me the most is not running the ball when we had it with less than two minutes left and in the red zone. They had two timeouts they would have had to burn. What would you have done in that situation?
So, they should've passed it in Seattle but they should've run it yesterday at Lambeau. As Coach Noll would've said, "What you're really asking me is why didn't we win?" I think everyone knows the answer to that question.