THIS WEEK: The Jacksonville Jaguars will travel to Kansas City for their first road game of the 2002 season when they face the Chiefs at 1:00 p.m. EDT Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The Jaguars are 0-1 after losing their first Opening Day game in seven years, a 28-25 loss to the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday at ALLTEL Stadium.
The Jaguars had won six consecutive games on Opening Day, dating back to their second season in 1996. That was the second-longest active streak in the NFL behind Miami's 10 straight wins on Opening Day. The Jaguars' .750 winning percentage (6-2) on opening day is still the best of any NFL team. The game in Kansas City is the Jaguars' only road contest in the first month of the season. Following the Kansas City game is the team's bye week and then home games vs. the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles.
The Chiefs are coming off a last-second 40-39 victory over the Cleveland Browns in which they kicked the winning field goal on the final play of the game following a penalty on the Browns. This will be the Chiefs' 2002 home opener.
After a 1-3 preseason that was hindered by Jimmy Smith's holdout and a No. 1 offense that struggled, the Jaguars played much better in the Opening Game. "There were a lot of positives. There was great consistency on offense," said head coach Tom Coughlin. "There were so many good things, but the scoreboard was not good. The opportunities were there, but the story of the game was the turnovers. We lost a football game based on the critical errors of turnovers turning into points."
There are 21 new players on the Jaguars' roster: three unrestricted free agents, five veteran free agents, one first-year free agent, two trade acquisitions, three waiver pickups and seven draft picks. They opened the season with 10 new starters: C John Wade, RG Chris Naeole, WR Patrick Johnson, LDE Marco Coleman, DTs Larry Smith and Marcus Stroud, SLB Danny Clark, MLB Wali Rainer, WLB Eric Westmoreland and RCB Jason Craft (Zach Wiegert also moved from RG to LT). There were no rookies in the starting lineup for the first time since 1997.
In the last six seasons, the Jaguars are tied with the sixth-best record in the NFL, a 49-32 mark that is five games behind the Green Bay Packers. They also have a 35-14 record at ALLTEL Stadium since 1996 that is tied for the fifth-best mark at home. On the road, the Jaguars have the third-best record (one-and-a-half games behind the New York Jets) and they are one of only five NFL teams with a better-than-.500 mark on the road dating back to November 24, 1996.
TELEVISION BROADCAST: The Jaguars-Chiefs game will be televised regionally on CBS and locally on WTEV Channel 47 (Ch. 6 cable), with Don Criqui calling the play-by-play and Steve Tasker adding analysis. The Jaguars Pregame Show airs at 11:30 a.m., also on WTEV, with Brian Sexton, Ryan Elijah and Jordan Siegel.
RADIO BROADCAST: All Jaguars games are broadcast on WOKV (690 AM) and WKQL (96.9 FM) and the Jaguars Radio Network. Brian Sexton calls the play-by-play and former NFL quarterback Matt Robinson adds analysis, with Cole Pepper serving as field reporter for home games. Sexton and Robinson are in their eighth season together. Robinson, Vic Ketchman and Cole Pepper handle the pre-game show (three hours before kickoff on both stations), and Pepper and ex-Oakland Raider Pete Banaszak do the post-game show. A total of 16 affiliates in three states on the Jaguars Radio Network will also broadcast the game.
ON THE INTERNET: The Jaguars website has unveiled a re-designed look for the 2002 season. For breaking news, columns, feature stories, press releases, historical information, video highlights, rosters, depth charts and statistics, go to www.jaguars.com Updated daily, the Jaguars' Official Web Site has been ranked among the 100 Best Sites in the World by PC Magazine. The site also features online ticket buying, new merchandise offerings and multimedia, including video of Jaguars television shows and live radio game broadcasts.
ON THE AIR THIS WEEK:
Monday — Jaguars Reporters, 6:00 p.m., WOKV Radio, with Brian Sexton, Vic Ketchman
The Jaguars End Zone, 7:00 p.m., WJXT-TV4, with Sam Kouvaris, Donovin Darius
Wednesday — Jaguars This Week, 6:00 p.m., WOKV Radio, with Brian Sexton, Vic Ketchman, Jeff Lageman
Thursday — Tom Coughlin Show, 6:00 p.m., WOKV Radio, with Tom Coughlin, Brian Sexton
THE Jaguars Show, 8:00 p.m., WJXT-TV4, with Brian Sexton, Jeff Lageman
Saturday — Tom Coughlin Show, 7:30 p.m., WJXT-TV4, Tom Coughlin, Brian Sexton
THE OPPONENT: The Chiefs were an original member of the AFL, beginning play in 1960 as the Dallas Texans. Owned by Lamar Hunt, the founder of the AFL, the team won the 1962 AFL Championship, then moved to Kansas City in 1963. They won the 1966 AFL title and played in the first Super Bowl, and they won their first Super Bowl in 1969, defeating Minnesota. The Chiefs finished out of the playoffs for 14 straight seasons from 1972 to '85, but they qualified for postseason play every year from 1990-'95. In 1996, the Chiefs finished 9-7 and lost out on a playoff tiebreaker to the Jaguars. They made the playoffs again in 1997, but finished out of the postseason each of the last four years. In 2001, they finished 6-10 and in fourth place in the AFC Western Division.
THE SERIES: The Jaguars and Chiefs have played three times (all at ALLTEL Stadium), with Jacksonville holding a 2-1 lead in the series. The Jaguars won the first two games, 24-10 in 1997 and 21-16 in 1998, and the Chiefs won last season 30-26.
THE LAST TIME: The Jaguars were defeated 30-26 by the Kansas City Chiefs on December 30, 2001 at ALLTEL Stadium, as two drives inside the red zone in the final two minutes of the game failed to produce the winning touchdown. The loss dropped the Jaguars to 6-9 for the season, guaranteeing them their second straight losing season, a first in franchise history. The loss also gave the Jaguars a 3-5 record at home, their first losing season at home since 1995, their inaugural year. Stacey Mack had his third straight 100-yard game, rushing for a career-high 125 yards, and Keenan McCardell caught seven passes for 132 yards, as the Jaguars had a season-high 431 yards on offense. However, the defense — playing without five starters — gave up its most points in a year and a half, even though the Jaguars forced four turnovers. On their final two drives, the Jaguars drove 56 yards to the 8-yard line and 46 yards to the 13-yard line. But a fourth-down pass on the first series was two yards short of a first down, and a third-down pass on the second series was incomplete in the end zone as time ran out. The Jaguars failed to capitalize on four takeaways and had three turnovers themselves, leading to 10 points for Kansas City.
A JAGUARS VICTORY OVER THE CHIEFS WOULD: Even the Jaguars' record at 1-1 and avoid the first 0-2 start since the 1995 inaugural season. It would be their third win in four games against the Chiefs, and also be the team's fourth win in its last five road games.
THE COACHES: Jacksonville head coach Tom Coughlin (62-51 in regular season, 4-4 in postseason) has led the Jaguars to two AFC Central Division championships and two appearances in the AFC Championship game in seven seasons as the only head coach in franchise history. The Jaguars made the playoffs all four seasons from 1996 to '99 — a first for an NFL expansion team. In 1999, the Jaguars had the best record in the NFL (14-2), advancing to the conference championship game before losing to Tennessee. In 1998, Coughlin guided his team to its first AFC Central Division championship with an 11-5 record. The Jaguars defeated the New England Patriots in a Wild-Card game before losing to the New York Jets in the Divisional playoffs. In 1997, the Jaguars were 11-5 and finished second in the AFC Central, and they were defeated by Denver in the Wild-Card playoffs. In their second season in 1996, the Jaguars advanced all the way to the AFC Championship game, finishing second in the division with a 9-7 record. In the playoffs, the Jaguars upset the Bills and Broncos on the road before losing at New England. In 1995, the Jaguars finished with four victories in their inaugural season. Coughlin became head coach of the Jaguars on February 21, 1994 following three successful seasons as head coach at Boston College. He compiled a record of 21-13-1 from 1991 to '93 at Boston College, and had two bowl game appearances, as well as a ranking of 13th in the final AP poll of 1993. A veteran of 31 years in coaching, he was previously an NFL assistant coach with the New York Giants (wide receivers, 1988-90), Green Bay Packers (wide receivers and passing game coordinator 1986-87) and Philadelphia Eagles (wide receivers, 1984-85).
Dick Vermeil returned to the NFL in 2001 after a one-year absence, taking over the Chiefs and building a foundation for the future, much like he did with the St. Louis Rams. Vermeil retired following the 1999 season after leading the Rams to a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. The victory capped an amazing turnaround from a 5-11 record to Super Bowl champion in only two seasons. He became only the fourth coach to lead two different teams to the Super Bowl. Vermeil guided the Philadelphia Eagles to Super Bowl XV, where they lost to the Oakland Raiders. Vermeil has posted an 89-87 record in his 12 seasons as an NFL head coach, including seven seasons as head coach of the Eagles (1976-1982). Vermeil led Philadelphia to four consecutive playoff appearances before retiring to the broadcast booth. He returned to the NFL (and the Rams) in 1997. Vermeil had spent five seasons (1969-1973) as a Rams' assistant. Vermeil was a quarterback at San Jose State (1956-57) and started his coaching career at the high school and junior college level before joining Stanford in 1965. He became UCLA's offensive coordinator in 1970 and head coach in 1974. He's the only head coach to win a Super Bowl and Rose Bowl.
COUGHLIN IN EIGHTH SEASON WITH JAGUARS: Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin is in his eighth season as the team's head coach, tied for the third-longest tenure of any NFL coach with his current team. In addition, Coughlin has the fifth-best record of all current NFL coaches in division games (minimum of 20 wins) and the seventh-best record in home games (minimum of 16 home games). Records include all teams coached by an individual during the regular season.
JACKSONVILLE-KANSAS CITY CONNECTIONS: Chiefs QB Jonathan Quinn backed up Jacksonville's Mark Brunell from 1998 to 2001 … Jaguars partner Deron Cherry was one of the top safeties in the NFL with the Chiefs from 1981 to '91. Cherry, who had 50 career interceptions, was inducted into the Chiefs' Hall of Fame in 1995 … Chiefs RB Mike Cloud was recruited to Boston College by Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin in 1993 … Chiefs strength and conditioning coach Jeff Hurd was the Jaguars' assistant strength and conditioning coach from 1995 to '97 … Jaguars strength and conditioning coach Jerry Palmieri and assistant strength coach Greg Finnegan both worked with Kansas State's strength and conditioning program … Jaguars defensive coordinator John Pease coached for the Philadelphia/Baltimore Stars when Chiefs' president/GM Carl Peterson was the Stars' president/GM … Three Chiefs have ties to north Florida: CB Corey Harris (Jacksonville), CB William Bartee (Daytona Beach) and WR Marvin "Snoop" Minnis (Florida State). Bartee is the cousin of Jaguars S Marlon McCree (they attended Atlantic High together) … Two Jaguars have ties to the state of Missouri: RB Dan Alexander (born in St. Louis) and WR Jimmy Redmond (born in Blue Springs) … The following players were college teammates: Jaguars FB Patrick Washington and TE Chris Luzar with Chiefs TE Billy Baber at Virginia; Jaguars DE Tony Brackens with Chiefs RB Priest Holmes and CB Taje Allen at Texas; Jaguars OT Zach Wiegert and Chiefs G Will Shields at Nebraska; Jaguars WR/KR Damon Gibson and Chiefs C Casey Wiegmann at Iowa; and Jaguars QB David Garrard and Chiefs DT Norris McCleary at East Carolina.
JAGUARS VS. CHIEFS: Here are the accumulated statistics for players in the Jaguars-Chiefs series:
Jaguars QB Mark Brunell – 3 starts (2 wins, 1 loss); 42 completions in 75 attempts for 608 yards, 3 TDs and 1 INT; 9 rushes for 52 yards and 1 TD
Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith – 3 games; 13 receptions for 220 yards and 1 TD
Jaguars RB Fred Taylor – 1 game; 6 rushes for 44 yards
Jaguars TE Kyle Brady – 1 game with Jacksonville; 5 receptions for 51 yards. The longest TD reception of his career (20 yards) was against the Chiefs in 1998 when he was a member of the N.Y. Jets
Chiefs QB Trent Green – 1 game; 26 completions in 35 attempts for 294 yards, 2 TDs, 2 INT
Chiefs RB Priest Holmes – 4 games with Baltimore/1 game with Kansas City; 42 rushes for 149 yards; 13 receptions for 78 yards
Chiefs TE Tony Gonzalez – 3 games; 22 receptions for 214 yards and 2 TDs
INJURY UPDATE: The Jaguars did not suffer any significant injuries in the Indianapolis game. The status of all players will be updated during the week.
LAST WEEK: The Jaguars opened their eighth season with a 28-25 loss to the Indianapolis Colts at ALLTEL Stadium, snapping their six-game winning streak on Opening Day. The Jaguars pulled to within three points with 4:16 to play and got the ball back on their own 20-yard line with 1:02 left. Mark Brunell led the team into Indianapolis territory but a "Hail Mary" pass into the end zone fell incomplete as time ran out. The Jaguars allowed 14 points to the Colts on an interception that was returned for a touchdown and a muffed punt that was turned into a touchdown three plays later. After missing all of the preseason in a contract holdout, WR Jimmy Smith caught eight passes for 104 yards — the 36th 100-yard game of his career — and he scored on a two-point conversion. Brunell passed for 228 yards and Fred Taylor — playing in his first full game in a year — rushed for 83 yards and a touchdown, as the Jaguars outgained the Colts and held the ball for 32:33. Brunell threw two TD passes, the first to Pete Mitchell, who was returning after a three-year absence, and to Patrick Johnson, who was playing in his first game as a Jaguar. The loss was the Jaguars' fourth straight at home, tying the longest streak in franchise history that was set in 1995.
NOTES FROM THE COLTS GAME: Mark Brunell dropped to 5-1 as a starter on Opening Day. The game marked his 100th career start. … The Jaguars have not won at home since a 30-13 win over Cincinnati on November 11, 2001. … The 96-yard scoring drive by Indianapolis in the first quarter was the longest drive by a Jaguars opponent since a 98-yarder 10/26/97 at Pittsburgh. … The Jaguars' 17-play first-quarter drive tied the franchise record set three times (also: 9/10/00 vs. Baltimore, 9/3/00 at Cleveland, 9/22/97 vs. Pittsburgh). … The Jaguars had more yards (343 to 307), more first downs (19 to 18) and more time of possession (32:33 to 27:27). … The Jaguars converted 8 of 16 third downs (50 percent), while the Colts converted 9 of 14 (64 percent). … The Jaguars had two turnovers and two takeaways. … Mark Brunell played the entire game and completed 22 of 36 passes (61.1 percent) for 228 yards, with two TDs and one interception. He was sacked only once. Brunell has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 13 consecutive games, extending his team record. Brunell started his 100th game, also extending a Jaguars record. … RB Fred Taylor led the team with 83 yards rushing on 24 carries and scored his first touchdown since 12/23/00. … Jimmy Smith led the team with eight receptions for 104 yards, and he scored on a two-point conversion. It was his 36th career 100-yard game in 119 career games, a .302 percentage that is second only to Randy Moss (23 of 65, .353). … Bobby Shaw had five catches for 48 yards and Fred Taylor had four receptions. Pete Mitchell's touchdown reception was his first as a Jaguar since 12/20/98 and the 10th of his Jaguars career. … Patrick Johnson's 18-yard touchdown catch was his first as a Jaguar and his first TD since 9/23/01 when he played for Baltimore. … Chris Hanson punted three times for a 52.0-yard average, with no touchbacks and 2 inside the 20. His 64-yarder was the longest of his career (previous: 59 yards on 11/11/01 vs. Cincinnati). Hanson had two punts returned for only 15 yards for a net average of 47.0. … PK Hayden Epstein scored five points on two extra points and one field goal, hitting from 27 yards but missing from 52. Epstein also had four touchbacks on kickoffs, breaking the team record of three set by Steve Lindsey at Carolina in 1999. … WLB Eric Westmoreland led the team with 13 tackles (7 solo), followed by SS Donovin Darius with 8 tackles (5 solo). … Every player who dressed played except QB David Garrard. The inactive players were: CB Robert Bean, RB Dan Alexander, G Daryl Terrell, C/G Drew Inzer, WR Jimmy Redmond, DE Stalin Colinet, DT Clenton Ballard and QB Kent Graham (third QB). … Jaguars captains were: DE Marco Coleman, S Donovin Darius, G Brad Meester and TE Kyle Brady.
FROM COACH TOM COUGHLIN ON THE COLTS GAME: "It's a game in which I feel very good in a lot of ways. The effort was outstanding; they played from the heart. But it's very disappointing not to get what we came for. There were a lot of positives. There was great consistency on offense — long drives with time consumed. We knew we had to do that; we had time of possession by almost five minutes. We came from behind. The defense got turnovers. In the third quarter, we had the ball in point-blank range twice. We got 10 points off of turnovers, and if we had gotten two touchdowns instead of 10 points we'd be the winner. There were so many good things, but the scoreboard was not good. The opportunities were there, but the story of the game was the turnovers. We lost a football game based on the critical errors of turnovers turning into points."
"Two plays turned the momentum of the game. We had the ball at the half and I'm willing to play for a field goal. It was a short 3rd-and-5 and not only do they pick it off but they score on the play. You have the No. 2 offense in the league and you give them one touchdown off an interception and set them up for another one in point-blank range on a muffed punt — they get 14 points off that and it's real easy to analyze it and understand how the game was lost."
"I'm very upset that we didn't win. We have a locker room full of guys who gave great effort today. I want them to keep their heads up. But the team that makes the mistakes is going to get beat every time at this level."
(on Jimmy Smith) "You put a Pro Bowl player of that quality, the top receiver in the National Football League, on the field and it's going to make a huge difference. And it did from the time he came on the field. The way Mark practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday there was no question the direction his game was going. Jimmy was a strong contributor to that. Other people felt their level of play was enhanced by him walking onto the field."
FROM QB MARK BRUNELL: "You give the ball away and they capitalize on it with points, you're not going to win like that. We did some good things, things we knew we were capable of doing. It was just a matter of time. We moved the ball and scored some points, but it just wasn't good enough today."
(on the offense) "If they're going to give us Jimmy, we're going to go to Jimmy. We got some man-on-man coverage, which is an automatic for us. We got some two-deep coverage where we were able to get Jimmy the ball. Patrick (Johnson) and Bobby (Shaw) also made some big plays for us. We spread the ball around, which was good, but it's hard to swallow right now because we gave it away. Not taking anything away from the Colts, because they are a very good team, but we made some critical mistakes and they hurt us."
(on the passing game) "They played a lot of two-deep and we were able to hit a lot of things underneath to Jimmy. We'll get our opportunities downfield with our receivers, their time will come, but for the most part the passing game was effective."
(on how he feels about the team) "This one hurts because we pride ourselves on starting the right way here and this time we didn't do it. We really needed a win to kick off this season."
FROM TE PETE MITCHELL: "We fought real hard, but we made a couple of mistakes that really hurt us. We moved the ball real well, but we gave them seven points. If we don't do that, it's a different game. We'll look at the film, but I guess you have to say they made one more play than we did."
(on the improvement of the offense) "I honestly think Jimmy has a lot to do with it. He is a special player. Not only does he bring his game to the table, but he elevates everybody else's game."
(on his touchdown) "It was great. It's been a long road. I came back here just to contribute and try to make some plays. I was able to do that today, but unfortunately it wasn't enough."
FROM S DONOVIN DARIUS: "Everybody out there fought hard and never gave up. That's the only thing you can ask. We just fell a little short of a win."
(on if the team could take anything positive from the game) "When it was time for us to buckle down and give the ball back to the offense, we did. That's what we can hang our hats on. Nothing in life is all negative. The fact of the matter is the guys on the offense moved the ball and put points on the board and the defense, at critical times, were able to stop them. We would have liked to give the ball back to the offense with a little more time, but we didn't. But I tell our guys I'll go to battle with them anytime."
FROM DE PAUL SPICER: (on the comeback effort) "Everybody went back out there and still fought. We almost pulled this thing out. There was one play on the last drive with Peyton Manning and if that play hadn't happened, the offense would have had a little more time. I feel if the offense had another minute, maybe another 30 seconds, we would have probably at least tied it up or got the seven points."
NEXT WEEK: The Jaguars will have their open date on September 22. They will play again on September 29 when they host the New York Jets at ALLTEL Stadium. In games following their open date, the Jaguars are 4-3 with six of the seven games at home. They lost each of the last two after winning four straight.
THE TEAL IS REAL . . . In the last six seasons, the Jaguars' record is tied for the sixth best in the NFL, five games behind the Green Bay Packers. The Jaguars have won 49 of their last 81 regular-season games (they also won their final five games in 1996). Here's a look at the league's best records since 1997:
JAGUARS HAVE FIFTH-BEST HOME RECORD AND THIRD-BEST ROAD RECORD SINCE 1996: After the Jaguars went 7-1 at ALLTEL Stadium four times from 1996 to '99, they have a 35-14 record that is tied for the fifth-best mark at home since the start of the 1996 season. On the road, the Jaguars have the third-best record (one game behind the New York Jets and Tennessee) and they are one of only five NFL teams with a better-than-.500 mark on the road dating back to November 24, 1996.
JAGUARS HAVE BALANCED OFFENSE ... Although the Jaguars are often referred to as a passing team, in reality they have a balanced attack that features the run. In the last five seasons, the Jaguars have rushed for 7,943 yards on the ground, the sixth most in the NFL. They were the only team to have more than 2,000 yards rushing each of the three seasons from 1998 to 2000 (an injury to Fred Taylor held them to 1,600 rushing yards in 2001). Here are the NFL's seven best rushing teams since 1998:
JAGUARS SCORE ON THE GROUND In the last six seasons, the Jaguars have rushed for 89 touchdowns, the second most in the NFL.
...AND STOP THEIR OPPONENTS: In the last seven seasons, the Jaguars have allowed only 65 rushing TDs, the NFL's fifth-best mark.
BRUNELL HAS EIGHTH-BEST WINNING PERCENTAGE: Jaguars QB Mark Brunell has the eighth-best career winning percentage of active quarterbacks (minimum 20 wins). Also, in the last eight seasons, Brunell has the most victories of any quarterback other than Green Bay's Brett Favre.
SMITH MOVING UP ON ALL-TIME LISTS: At the end of the 2001 season, Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith ranked 31st all-time with 584 receptions and 42nd all-time with 8,260 receiving yards. Over the six years from 1996 to 2001, Smith averaged 94 receptions and 1,329 yards per season, and another year like that would put him among the top 20 in both receptions and yards. With 592 catches to date, Smith needs eight more to become the 25th players in NFL history with 600 receptions.
SMITH IS NFL'S LEADING RECEIVER SINCE 1996 ... Since the start of the 1996 season, Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith has the most receptions in the NFL. He was the NFL leader in 1999 with 116 receptions — the sixth most in a season in NFL history — and he finished the 2001 season with 112 catches to rank second in the league. Smith has a total of 592 career receptions. Here are the leading receivers since 1996:
... AND SMITH LEADS ALL RECEIVERS IN YARDAGE: Over the last seven seasons, Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith has amassed more receiving yardage than any receiver in the NFL. Here's a quick look at the NFL's top receiving-yardage leaders since 1996:
SMITH HAS SIX STRAIGHT 1,000-YARD SEASONS: Jaguars WR Jimmy Smith has surpassed the 1,000-yard mark receiving six straight seasons, a feat accomplished by only four other players in NFL history. Currently, he ranks fifth all time behind Jerry Rice (11 straight 1,000-yard seasons), Tim Brown (9 straight), Cris Carter (8 straight) and Lance Alworth (7 straight). Here's the list:
SMITH HAS MORE RECEPTIONS THAN 14 OF 19 HALL OF FAME RECEIVERS: Even though he is in only his eighth season as a Jaguar, Jimmy Smith already has more receptions and receiving yards than 14 of the 19 receivers who have been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Here's the list:
TAYLOR HAS SEVENTH-MOST TOUCHDOWNS LAST FOUR YEARS: Despite missing 24 full games and parts of nine others, Jaguars RB Fred Taylor has the seventh-most touchdowns over the last five seasons.
BRUNELL'S TOUCHDOWN TARGETS: Mark Brunell has thrown 127 TD passes in eight seasons in Jacksonville. Here are the 19 players who have caught them: Jimmy Smith (38), Keenan McCardell (26), Damon Jones (11), Willie Jackson (10), Pete Mitchell (8), Kyle Brady (5), James Stewart (5), Fred Taylor (4), Ernest Givins (3), Cedric Tillman (3), Alvis Whitted (3), Andre Rison (2), Elvis Joseph (2), Derek Brown (1), Ty Hallock (1), Desmond Howard (1), Natrone Means (1), R. Jay Soward (1), RB Stacey Mack (1) and Patrick Johnson (1).
THE ROOKIE CHART: There were no rookie starters on Opening Day for the first time since 1997, and no undrafted rookies on the roster for the first time since 2000. Here are the lists:
STATS AND SUCH: Mark Brunell is 57-43 as a starter in 100 regular-season games, 61-47 overall. He has won more games under head coach Tom Coughlin than any current NFL quarterback under his head coach. … Of the Jaguars' 22 completed passes, 14 have been to wide receivers, 4 to tight ends and 4 to running backs. … The Jaguars are 3 for 3 on fourth-down conversions this season; their opponents are 0 for 0. … On 4 drives inside the opponent's 20, the Jaguars have scored 3 touchdowns and 1 field goal. Their opponents have had 4 trips inside the red zone and have come away with 3 touchdowns and 0 field goals (and 1 drive with no points). … Jaguars opponents have begun 2 possessions inside their own 20 and they scored on 1 of those drives (a touchdown). The Jaguars have begun 3 possessions inside their own 20 and scored on 1 of those drives (a touchdown). … The Jaguars used turnovers to score 10 points, while their opponents scored 14 points off Jaguars' turnovers. … In eight seasons, the Jaguars are 15 for 22 on two-point conversions (1 for 1 in 2002), while their opponents are 5 for 21 (0 for 0 in 2002). … In seven seasons, the Jaguars have a winning record in every month except October and January. They are 1-0 in August, 14-13 in September, 12-16 in October, 17-10 in November, 17-11 in December and 1-1 in January. … In 2002, the Jaguars have outscored their opponents in the third quarter (10-7) and fourth quarter (8-7), are tied in the second quarter (7-7) and have been outscored in the first quarter (0-7).
The average age of the 53-man roster as of September 9 is 25.81 years old. … There are 29 players 25 or younger, 18 players between 26 and 29 years old, and seven players 30 or older. The youngest player is PK Hayden Epstein (21 years, 0 months); the oldest player is QB Kent Graham (33 years, 10 months). … There are seven rookies on the 54-man roster, with seven of the nine draft choices (DT John Henderson, OT Mike Pearson, LB Akin Ayodele, QB David Garrard, TE Chris Luzar, DT Clenton Ballard and PK Hayden Epstein). There are no undrafted rookies on the roster (as compared to seven at the end of last season). … More than two-thirds of the players (36) have four years or less of NFL experience, and seven players are in their eighth season or more. … There are 21 players new to the team, and 33 who were with the team before the 2002 season. In addition to the seven rookies, the other 14 new players are: WR Patrick Johnson, G Chris Naeole and WR Bobby Shaw (unrestricted free agents), DE Marco Coleman, DE Stalin Colinet, QB Kent Graham, TE Pete Mitchell and G Daryl Terrell (veteran free agents); WR Jimmy Redmond (first-year free agent); CB Ike Charlton and LB Wali Rainer (trade) and RB Dan Alexander, CB Robert Bean and C/G Drew Inzer (waivers). … The Jaguars have eight players who were first-round selections in the college draft, including five of their own picks: DE Marco Coleman (1992, Dolphins), TE Kyle Brady (1995, N.Y. Jets), G Chris Naeole (1997, Saints), RB Fred Taylor (1998, Jaguars), S Donovin Darius (1998, Jaguars), CB Fernando Bryant (1999, Jaguars), DT Marcus Stroud (2001, Jaguars) and DT John Henderson (2002, Jaguars).
WR Jimmy Smith has played in 112 of the 113 games in Jaguars history. Of this year's players, next are QB Mark Brunell (103) and DE Tony Brackens (88). … The longest streak of consecutive starts is held by G Brad Meester (33), followed by TE Kyle Brady (31) and WR Jimmy Smith (24). … Four players have played in 100 or more games during their careers: DE Marco Coleman (156), WR Jimmy Smith (119), TE Kyle Brady (109) and QB Mark Brunell (105). Pete Mitchell has played in 99 games. … Coleman leads with 154 career starts, followed by TE Kyle Brady (103) and QB Mark Brunell (100).
