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.