Jacob from Missoula, MT
Could you please explain BAP to everyone? It seems some people believe if you follow it you could end up with over seven players at the same position, when that is not the idea at all. Winston falls to us, he is most likely not the BAP to us since we have Rodgers, hopefully, for years, but if Cooper happens to fall to us, we are stocked at WR but getting a potential star WR is better than an ILB that isn't believed to help the position. It kills me when talking about BAP and I always hear about these magical QBs that are BAP every time we are up. BAP is about not going directly to the first need of the team, but someone who has potential to be a better player than the need. Drafting need, you're willing to give up on drafting a star at a stocked position for a potential below average player that fills a need.
Congratulations, you're in the "Ask Vic" Hall of Fame.
Roger from Auburn, CA
Vic, you have referred a couple of times to the Packers probably being able to grab a good defensive lineman at the bottom of the first. Does this mean teams already have a good idea who everyone else is likely to pick?
Teams have a very good idea of where players fit; that's the issue.
Craig from Menominee, MI
If the league is so concerned about injuries and concussions, why can't it increase the gameday rosters to 53? They pay them anyway.
First of all, it would be a decision on which the owners and players must agree, since the current rules regarding roster sizes are mandated by the CBA. Secondly, I don't understand why fans so desperately want to increase roster sizes. What's the problem? The current rules appear to be working perfectly. Hey, the game is big enough. Actually, it's too big. The bigger it gets, the more expensive it gets. We don't need more. We need less.
Jimmy from Hankinson, ND
Vic, I have a Super Bowl championship poster from Super Bowl XLV hanging in my college dorm room. There are 10 players on the poster: Aaron Rodgers, Charles Woodson, Greg Jennings, Tramon Williams, James Starks, Nick Collins, Clay Matthews, James Jones, Donald Driver and A.J. Hawk. You talk about how teams have yearly turnover of their players. It is crazy to think just four years removed from the team's Super Bowl run there are only three players left on the team from my poster. I am amazed at that fact.
It's a game of replacement and the draft is where you find the most affordable and long-lasting replacements.
Bobby from Normal, IL
Vic, I see the Eagles signed Tim Tebow. Do you think they did that in preparation for the possibility of the two-point play becoming a more frequently used play? It may be a brilliant signing for them. Tebow is the perfect QB for that scenario. He's a capable runner and passer from that distance.
I had the idea first. I'm not sure what's going on in Philadelphia, but Chip Kelly certainly has my attention.
Brian from Waterford, WI
My company recently rented Ford Field for an industrial trade show. The seminar I taught was in the visitors' locker room. Are all visiting team locker rooms as underwhelming as Ford Field's? Not much room for 25 engineers, let alone 53 players and coaches.
Ford Field is a unique facility because it's built into the remains of an old building, and that's where the visitors' locker room is. The bowels of Ford Field are a maze of hallways. I always get lost down there. Space is at a premium. I like what they did with Ford Field. I like the way they fit it into the downtown area, as opposed to building it in the middle of a massive parking lot. You should've seen the visitors' locker room in old Cleveland Stadium.
Ron from Round Lake, IL
I went for a long walk yesterday and the "Video Ask Vic" music kept running through my head. Can I sue you?
I didn't pick that music. It's driving me crazy, too. I began humming "Hail to the Victors" the other day trying to get that VAV song out of my head. It didn't work, so I started singing "Save the Last Dance for Me." It worked; now I'm stuck on it.
Drew from Anaheim, CA
What would be the benefit of trading down with the first pick?
The benefit of trading down is you get more picks. The downside of trading down is you're likely trading away from a better player than the one you'll draft. The perfect scenario allows you to trade down for a player who's at the top of your board and you believe he'll still be available when you pick. In that scenario, you get the better player and the picks. Trading down merely for the extra picks isn't something I would do unless my team was in rebuilding.
Chris from Green Bay, WI
Vic, how do you think Capers would use Shaq Thompson? He is bigger than Richardson, but small for an ILB.
**
Thompson reminds me a little of Carnell Lake, who was a linebacker at UCLA and then moved to strong safety in the NFL. Dom Capers' 3-4 would allow Thompson to stay at linebacker. Thompson has the kind of chase-linebacker qualities Coach Capers has always been able to utilize in the tweener types.**
T.J. from Chicago, IL
Vic, if Jalen Collins, Jordan Phillips, Maxx Williams and Eric Kendricks are all available at 30, who do you lean more toward the Packers picking. I would say Jalen Collins.
I'm developing a fondness for Kendricks.
Eli from River Falls, WI
When a team gets into the late rounds of the draft, what kinds of things are they looking for in players?
You're always looking for talent, but talent lessens as you get into the late rounds and you have to look harder at a prospect's intangibles because he'll likely need to be motivated to be able to overcome his talent deficiency. You find the try-hard guys in the late rounds.
Jason from Petersburg, VA
Being 26 years old, I definitely wasn't around for the 1978 rules changes. Could you explain what the major changes were and how they affected the game?
Linemen were allowed to use their hands to block and pass-defenders couldn't chuck a receiver beyond five yards of the line of scrimmage. The game was changed forever.
Raymond from San Antonio, TX
How would the trio of Franco Harris, Rocky Bleier and Frenchy Fuqua fare today?
Franco was a fullback; he'd be a running back today. Rocky was a halfback; he'd be a fullback today. I doubt Frenchy's coach would allow him to wear his count's outfit with the glass high heels with water and a goldfish inside. He'd probably have to get rid of the pearl-studded cigarette holder, too.
