The Jacksonville Jaguars (3-3) are on the road against the Tennessee Titans (0-6) Sunday and will be facing Vince Young, not Kerry Collins.  Young will be making his first start of the season against the Jaguars, so they have to prepare for a much more athletic quarterback this time.  They easily beat the Titans 37-17 earlier this month, but I think it will be a little bit more of a challenge since Vince Young can use his legs and not just his arm.  His arm is one of the most inaccurate and he has been sitting all year, so I am expecting him to throw an interception or two, something the Jaguars should take advantage of.

The Jaguars running game has been great, and since the Titans give up nearly 100 rushing yards per game I am expecting another big game from Maurice Jones Drew.  He had 133 rushing yards and a touchdown, along with five catches for 45 yards.  Tennessee has a pretty good running attack themselves, with Chris Johnson coming off a 128 yards rushing last week and now the athletic Vince Young under center.  I think this game will be a little close than last time, since Young will bring a new look for the Titans, but it should be the same result for the Jaguars:  victory.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Jacksonville Jaguars 28, Tennessee Titans 21

27-year old linebacker Daryl Smith is playing pretty well for the Jaguars right now.  He has played in 6 games this season and he has 38 tackles, 3 forced fumbles and he has defensed 2 passes.  The D-Line of the Jaguars needs to start keeping the linebackers clean.  If that starts to happen Smith will be even more involved in the defense.

The Jaguars had to fight tooth and nail before putting the Rams away in overtime yesterday at home.  David Garrard completed 30 of 43 passes for 335 yards but he threw 2 interceptions including one that was a pick six (Leonard Little, 36 yard return).  Garrard also rushed for 31 yards on 4 carries (7.8 ypc) in this game.  Maurice Jones-Drew got a heavy workload in this game as he carried the ball 33 times for 133 yards (4.0 ypc) with 3 TD runs!  He also caught 5 passes for 45 yards (9.0 avg) in this game.  WR Mike Sims-Walker was busy in this game as he caught 9 passes for 120 yards (13.3 avg).  WRs Torry Holt (5 rec, 101 yards) and Mike Thomas (7 rec, 52 yards) also pitched in for the Jaguars in the passing game.  The Jaguars finished up with 492 total yards (166 rushing, 326 passing) in this game as they had possession of the football for 42:12!

The defense was solid for the Jaguars in this game as they were only responsible for 13 of the 20 Rams’ points.  S Gerald Alexander (6 tackles), CB Derek Cox (6 tackles, pass defensed) and S Reggie Nelson (6 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss) led the way for the Jags on defense.  The Rams finished up with 262 total yards on offense (55 rushing, 207 passing) in this game.  The Jaguars improve to 3-3 on the season with this win.

This could be a interesting game as both teams are off to slow starts this season.  The best offensive players on each team are running backs (Steven Jackson, Maurice Jones-Drew) but both of these teams have pathetic pass defenses.  Does that mean this game could turn into a shootout?  Don’t bank on it as they combined to get outscored 79-10 last weekend!  The Rams will still likely try to get the ball into Steven Jackson’s hands as much as possible in this game.  The Jags allow 107.6 yards rushing per game but only 3.8 yards per carry so maybe the Rams should think about throwing the ball more than usual in this game.  Rams’ QBs have been sacked 12 times already this season but the Jaguars only have 4 sacks this year so Marc Bulger might actually have some time to throw the football this week.  The Jaguars are giving up 273.0 yards passing per game this season and opposing QBs have a Rating of 103.0 this year.  Look for the Rams to attack the Jags downfield with WRs Donnie Avery, Keenan Burton and Danny Amendola.  Bulger just must be aware of where Rashean Mathis of the Jags is because he is a solid cover corner who can make game altering plays.  TEs Randy McMichael and Daniel Fells could be trouble for the Jags underneath.

The Jaguars need to get back to getting the football in Maurice Jones-Drew’s hands and that could start this week against the Rams.  The Rams allow 125.8 yards rushing per game this season (4.0 ypc) so Jones-Drew could be in line for a big game.  After the running game is established look for David Garrard to attack the Rams deep with Mike Sims-Walker who is back in action after serving a 1-game ban last weeked in Seattle.  This should be the week that Torry Holt finally gets into the end zone for the Jags.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 24, RAMS 17

The Jaguars have to be happy with veteran Torry Holt’s performance this season.  After all, the veteran is leading the team in both receptions (22) and receiving yards (306).  The maddening thing about the Jaguars’ offense is the fact that they don’t throw the ball to Holt when they get near the end zone.  He has by far the best hands on the team and you would think they he would be the go-to guy in those situations.  What you see is what you get with him.  Mike Sims-Walker appears to be David Garrard’s favorite  receiver by he is not the most mature guy on the team as he was not allowed to play last week for violating team curfew the night before the game.  The Jags need to start getting the ball to Holt when they get close to the end zone.

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ (2-3) talented RB Maurice Jones-Drew let his frustration be heard Wednesday, as he ripped teammates, coaches, and the play-calling.  The inconsistent Jaguars were destroyed last week by the Seattle Seahawks, as they were shutout and lost 41-0.  Jones-Drew went out of his way to make sure everyone knew he is not happy with the play calling, but you can’t really blame the guy.  He has only gotten 18 carries in the last two games, which is not nearly enough touches for your best offensive player.  The play calling isn’t the only problem though.  Some players are not giving it there all and it is obvious on the field at times.  This outburst by Jones-Drew could offend or anger some teammates, but it could also spark some life in the under-performing club.  I think head coach Jack Del Rio took it the right way, saying that Jones-Drew is a fierce competitor and that is why he blew up, because it hurts him so much to lose like this.  Hopefully for Jaguar fans the rest of the club takes these comments as a motivation to improve and it does not start any locker room drama.

WR Mike Sims-Walker got deactivated before this game due to a violation of team rules and the rest of the team appeared to be sleepwalking on the field in Seattle.  David Garrard had a terrible game as he completed 18 of 31 passes for 188 yards.  He also lost two fumbles one of which was returned 79 yards for a TD by Seahawks’ DE Nick Reed.  He got yanked late in the game for Luke McCown who completed his only pass attempt for 2 yards.  Maurice Jones-Drew also couldn’t get anything going against the Seahawks as he carried the ball 12 times for 34 yards (2.8 ypc) and he also caught 5 passes for 23 yards (4.6 avg).  Torry Holt turned into the #1 WR before the game and he responded with 7 grabs for 95 yards (13.6 avg).  The Jaguars finished up with only 199 yards of total offense in this game (38 rushing, 161 passing) as they only had possession of the ball for 25:16!

Linebacker Russell Allen (10 tackles) and CB Derek Cox (7 tackles) led a poor Jaguars’ effort on defense in this game.  The Seahawks finished up with 379 total yards on offense in this game (143 rushing, 236 passing).  The Jaguars drop to 2-3 on the season with this loss.

This should be a entertaining, high scoring football game in the Upper Northwest.  These are two teams going in opposite directions as the Jags have won two in a row outscoring the opponents 68-41 while the Seahawks have lost three games in a row by a combined score of 82-46!  The Jaguars will likely come out running the ball in this game with Maurice Jones-Drew (296 yards rushing, 4.7 yards per carry) against a Seahawks’ D which is allowing 124.0 yards rushing per game and 5.1 yards per carry.  When the Seahawks sneak up to defend Drew look for David Garrard to hit them over the top to Mike Sims-Walker and Torry Holt.  The Seahawks have 9 sacks this season and they will need to put pressure on Garrard on passing downs or they will be in deep trouble.

The Seahawks would be served well in this game if they came out running the ball with Julius Jones (251 yards rushing) against a Jags’ D that is allowing 98.8 yards rushing per game and 4.0 yards per carry.  They don’t want to get into a shootout with the Jaguars especially if Seneca Wallace is starting again.  He is solid on the short stuff but he can’t stretch the D like Matt Hasselbeck can.  If Hasselbeck can return in this game the Seahawks will have a fighting chance as he can get the ball to the receivers down field.

PREDICTION:  JAGUARS 30, SEAHAWKS 24

The Jacksonville Jaguars’ quarterback David Garrard has done a good job not turning the ball over this year, but until this week Garrard was not making enough plays.  The Jaguars need the David Garrard that showed up against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday, where he threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns on 27/37 ( 73%) pass attempts.  Going into Sunday’s game, Garrard had only two touchdown passes and was completing 54% of his passes.  Garrard has been doing a good job of not forcing anything, but there is a difference between being careful and being timid.  Garrard figured that out on Sunday and looked like a Pro-Bowl quarterback.  It was against the 0-4 Titans, but if Garrard can play close to the way he played Sunday then the Jaguars will be in very good shape.

The Jacksonville Jaguars (2-2) played great today, as they crushed the Tennessee Titans (0-4) at home today.  David Garrard had his best game of the year so far, as he threw for 323 yards and three touchdowns on 27/37 ( 73%) passes.  Two of those touchdown passes went to Mike Sims-Walker, who ended up catching seven passes for 91 yards.  Garrard and the Jaguars came out looking to attack the Titans and their inexperienced and depleted secondary, as Garrard threw the ball 27 times in the first half.  The game-plan worked great, as the Titans were up 27-3 at the half.

The Jaguars’ offense were not the only ones playing well, as the defense was able to keep the Titans out of the end-zone until very late in the third quarter.  They contained the explosive Chris Johnson to 83 yards and forced the Titans into three turnovers.  The Titans are still without a win this year after they went 13-3 last year.  Kerry Collins threw two interceptions for the second straight week and the Titans look nothing like the team that won the AFC South last year.  This was still a big win for the Jaguars though and they look to continue their solid play next week on the road against the Seattle Seahawks.