NEXT WEEK: The Jaguars will travel to Cincinnati to face the Bengals at 1:00 EST on Sunday, October 27 at Riverfront Stadium. It will be the third meeting between the two teams. In 1995, the Bengals were the only AFC Central team to sweep the Jaguars.

THE LEADER BOARDS: After seven weeks of play, Jaguars QB Mark Brunell is ranked in the top five in four major statistical categories for passing. Brunell, who ranks third in the AFC in passing and fifth in the NFL, has taken every snap at quarterback for the Jaguars this season. Here's the numbers (does not include updated stats from Green Bay's Brett Favre, who played Monday night):

MR. SMITH GOES TO TOWN: Jimmy Smith hadn't started a game all season until last Sunday, but he has turned into the Jaguars' most productive receiver so far. In seven games, Smith has caught 31 passes for 445 yards (14.4-yard average) and four TDs. His 31 receptions ranks second on the team, three behind Keenan McCardell, while his yardage and TD totals lead all receivers.

Smith, who was the first receiver signed by the Jaguars (February 28, 1995) after having been released by both Dallas and Philadelphia and spending the 1994 season out of the NFL, caught his first NFL pass last October 29 at Pittsburgh in the team's ninth game of the season. In the 15 games since then, Smith has 53 receptions for 733 yards and seven touchdowns despite starting only four games (he has caught a pass in every game). That ties Willie Jackson for the team's career record for touchdown receptions, and his nine career touchdowns (he also scored last year on a kickoff return and a blocked punt) is a team record.

THE SECOND SEASONS: Here is a look at how the 10 expansion teams have fared in their first and second seasons:

ROSTER ANALYSIS: Based on opening day rosters, here's how the Jaguars compared to the other 29 teams in the NFL: The Jaguars had the tallest team in the NFL (6-2.3, tied with Baltimore, Oakland and San Francisco) ... Fifth-heaviest team (242.6 pounds per man, tied with Washington; Chicago led the way with an average of 244.5 pounds) ... Third-youngest team in terms of experience (3.6 years, tied with Cincinnati) and seventh-youngest team in terms of age (average age of 26.0) Š 14th most rookies and first-year players (10; Tampa Bay led the way with 16) ... The Jaguars had the fewest number of players 30 and older (4 ‹ P Bryan Barker, DE Clyde Simmons, C Dave Widell and DE Paul Frase).

The Jaguars' current roster includes 20 players who are new to the team this year (19 plus G Rich Tylski, who was on the practice squad in 1995). Of the 20 new players, 12 are veterans, 2 are first-year players and 6 are rookies. There are 33 players who were with the Jaguars for all or part of the 1995 season. Of those 33, 13 played in all 16 games last year but just 5 started all 16 games (CB Mickey Washington, DT Don Davey, G Brian DeMarco (at OT), DT Kelvin Pritchett and C Dave Widell). Š Of the Jaguars' 22 current starters, six are new to the team this year (Rison, McCardell, Searcy, Jurkovic, Robinson and Hardy) and six are second-year players (Boselli, DeMarco, Stewart, McManus, Hudson and Davis). ... The youngest player on the 53-man roster is defensive end Tony Brackens, the only 21-year old. ... The roster includes 12 of the 20 players drafted by the team (six from 1995 and six from this year), 12 players signed as unrestricted free agents and just six of the 31 players selected in the 1995 expansion draft. Three other players were acquired by trade, and four others were claimed off waivers. ... Three members of the Original 10 Jaguars who signed contracts on December 15, 1994 are still with the team: RB Randy Jordan, a backup halfback who scored the first TD in franchise history last year vs. Cincinnati; DE Ernie Logan, a backup left defensive end who started one game in 1995 and tied for second on the team with three sacks; and C/G Greg Huntington, who was re-signed on Oct. 1. ... Four of the five starters on the Jaguars' offensive line were selected within the first 40 picks of the NFL draft. Only center Dave Widell, the 94th player chosen in 1988, does not meet that standard. ... The Jaguars have 9 players on their roster who were first-round selections in the college draft: DE Jeff Lageman (1989, New York Jets), WR Andre Rison (1989, Indianapolis Colts), DT Kelvin Pritchett (1991, Dallas Cowboys, but traded to Detroit on Draft Day), TE Derek Brown (1992, New York Giants), OT Leon Searcy (1992, Pittsburgh Steelers), S Dana Hall (1992, San Francisco 49ers), OT Tony Boselli (1995, Jacksonville Jaguars), RB James Stewart (1995, Jacksonville Jaguars), LB Kevin Hardy (1996, Jacksonville Jaguars).

ON THE INTERNET: The Jaguars unveiled their Official Web Site on the Internet at halftime of their August 18th preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium amid a fireworks and laser light show. Less than two months later, the site was ranked among the 100 Best Sites in the World by PC Magazine (the only sports team or organization with a site ranked in the top 100). The team's weekly press releases (and probably everything else you ever wanted to know about the Jaguars) can be accessed at: http://www.jaguars.com

TICKET INFORMATION: A limited number of tickets are available at $35 and $46 in the East and West Upper Decks and both end zones. For information, call (904) 633-2000 or (800) 618-8005.

THE LAST TIME: The Jaguars lost their third game of their inaugural season and first by more than a touchdown, as the Jets won 27-10. Boomer Esiason threw three TD passes for the Jets, who had a commanding 27-3 lead until Mark Brunell connected with Ernest Givins on a seven-yard TD pass with 1:03 left in the game. Brunell made his first NFL start on his 25th birthday.

THE SACK IS BACK: The Jaguars did not get any sacks against New Orleans, the first time all season they have been held without one. That leaves them with 15 sacks in six games, just two short of the 17 sacks they had a year ago, a figure that ranked last in the NFL. The team's 15 sacks is tied for eighth in the NFL. Already this season, eight Jaguars players have made sacks. In 1995, just seven players recorded a sack and the team was held without a sack in seven games.

The team's leaders are DE Clyde Simmons and OLB LB Kevin Hardy, who are tied for 10th in the AFC this season with three sacks each. Simmons now has 96.0 sacks in his career, which ranks 10th among active players and 18th on the NFL's all-time list of sackers (sacks did not become an official statistic until 1982).

RISON SHINES AGAIN: WR Andre Rison had his best game as a Jaguar on Sunday against New England. He caught 4 passes for 115 yards, including touchdowns of 41 and 61 yards. He moved into eighth place on the list of active receivers with 539 catches, after having started out the season in 11th place, and his two touchdowns put him three behind Minnesota's Cris Carter on the list of career receiving touchdowns among active players. For the season, Rison has 17 catches for 263 yards and two TDs. His 15.5-yard average is higher than any season of his career other than his rookie year (16.5 in 1989 while with Indianapolis). Rison's 7,417 receiving yards ranks 10th among active players.

JAGUARS HAVE BIGGEST OFFENSIVE LINE IN THE NFL: The Jaguars have the biggest offensive line in the NFL, with an average of one pound per man more than the Dallas Cowboys. The Jaguars' starting offensive line measures 6-6 and weighs 320 pounds, while Dallas' starting offensive line averages 319 pounds. This season, of the nine offensive linemen on the Jaguars' roster, seven weigh more than 300 pounds. Here's a quick rundown:

McCARDELL IS ON A STREAK: In his last seven games (dating back to when he was a Cleveland Brown), Jaguars WR Keenan McCardell (pronounced mick-CAR-dell) has caught 39 passes for 463 yards and three touchdowns. That's an average of almost six receptions a game, a pace, that would put him close to 90 catches in a 16-game season.

This season, McCardell has led or tied for the team lead in receiving in all three games he has played for the Jaguars (5 catches for 53 yards and a TD vs. Pittsburgh, 8 for 100 and one TD vs. Houston and 4 catches for 72 yards at Oakland). Of McCardell's 17 catches so far this season, 14 have gone for first downs.

Through three games, McCardell's 17 receptions ranks third in the AFC and tied for sixth in the NFL, and his 225 receiving yards ranks second in the conference behind Cincinnati's Carl Pickens. His career highs were set last year when he caught 56 passes for 709 yards and four touchdowns. He was the Jaguars' leading receiver in each of the first two games.