Jacksonville offense vs. Tennessee defense

	JAGUARS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	2
	Pass	13
	Tot. Yds.	7
	Scoring	4
	Int's allowed	8
	Sacks allowed	30
	TITANS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	12
	vs. Pass	24
	Total yds. allowed	21
	# of Ints.	12
	# of Sacks	49
	Turnover differential	+14

With James Stewart and Fred Taylor splitting the duties at the running back position this season, the Jaguars rank second in the league, averaging 134.1-yards per game on the ground. With Stewart likely to sit out the rest of the regular season with a foot injury, Taylor is back in the spotlight, handling the role as well as ever in a 136-yard rushing performance versus the Browns last Sunday. The key to this entire offense is the Jaguars ability to get the ground game rolling early.

With so many weapons at the specialty positions, Jacksonville thrives off the play-action fake. And if there is one aspect of the Titan defense that can be exploited, it is their discipline. Tennessee's scheme is extremely aggressive and calls for lots of blitz and stunt action, but it can also tempt players to over-commit and get out of position.

Tennessee has done a fair job against the run this season, allowing an average of 96.5-yards per game, but they have also given up some big plays against the run, which is scary against an explosive back like Fred Taylor.

In the first contest, the Titans were fortunate that Taylor was out of the lineup, and held Stewart to 98 yards on 25 carries. The difference this time is that the Titans are going to be forced to respect the Jaguars running game more, which means they will be able to double team the Jacksonville receivers less.

The Titans are going to have to overcompensate against the run, at least more than in the first meeting between these teams. Jacksonville should take advantage of the Titans aggressive style, because they have the talent at the receiver position to exploit the man-to-man matchups. Obviously, Tennessee is not going to ask their corners to play single-man coverage without help from the safeties or linebackers, but play-action becomes a major concern for the Titans because they are going to ask a lot of their safeties.

Safeties Marcus Robertson and Blaine Bishop are aggressive players and are fully capable of getting caught peeking at the play fake in the backfield. This is obviously not going to be a consistent problem, but the dangerous part of the Jaguar offense is that they can strike at any time. It just takes one time when the safeties get caught too close to the line of scrimmage for QB Mark Brunell to go up top to one of his home run threat receivers.

The trenches are also going to make for some truly marquee matchups. The one advantage the Jaguars have is at the offensive tackle position, where Tony Boselli and Leon Searcy are the league's top tandem. Against Tennessee's explosive edge rush, the Jaguars are better equipped to protect their quarterback than any other team in the league.

Searcy is going to draw assignment against DE Jevon Kearse. This is the marquee matchup of the game. Searcy has been the Jaguars top offensive lineman, but perhaps has not received the deserving credit because he plays opposite Tony Boselli. He will line head up on the league's top defensive rookie in what could be the most determining matchup of the contest. Kearse has shown Lawrence Taylor-like qualities in just his first season as the Titan's defensive end. Searcy is bigger and stronger than Kearse, but Searcy may have trouble with Kearse's speed and athleticism as a pass rusher.

Also, McNair has taken a lot of flack since coming back from injury when he replaced Neil O'Donnell (4-1 as the starter), but his No. 1 receiver Yancey Thigpen has been out, and the timing of the offense has taken some time to come back. McNair finally looks comfortable in the offense, but he is still having trouble with some of the intermediate timing patterns and the pressure that the Jaguars are going to apply could set his progress back a few steps.

The Titans get Thigpen back this week, which is a huge boost to the passing game, but the concern is timing between the quarterback and his receiver. One big advantage the Titans have going into the game is the fact that the Jaguar pass rush is depleted because of injuries to DE Tony Brackens, 12 sacks on the season (knee), and Kevin Hardy, 9.5 sacks on the season (neck). The Jaguars will continue to play an aggressive scheme, but with two of their top pass rushers playing sparingly with injury, McNair is bound to have more time in the pocket to make his reads.

An interesting aspect of the previous Jags-Titans meeting is that Tennessee only threw for 206 yards and Eddie George rushed for just 57 yards on 18 carries. The Jaguars are stout against the run, allowing just 84.7 yards per game, which is a problem for the Titans. Tennessee is reliant on running the football to not only set up the pass, but to control the tempo of the game.

Jacksonville has not only benefitted from Dom Capers' aggressive scheme, but also from the emergence of DT's Gary Walker and Seth Payne at the defensive tackle position. Even though the defensive ends and linebackers seem to get all the recognition on this unit, Walker and Payne are the catalysts. It is their ability to clog gaps in the middle that opens up so many blitz lanes and room to stunt up front. As they did in the first game, the interior line of the Titans is going to struggle to create a surge against Walker and Payne.

Craig Hentrich is averaging 42.5-yards per punt, but direction and placement have been inconsistent throughout the season. Derrick Mason has been flashy, but is now only averaging 9.1-yards per punt return. The coverage units have been outstanding for the Titans, only allowing 7.5-yards per punt return and 19.9-yards per kickoff return.