Small, but deceivingly tough.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are coming off a 10-point loss to the undefeated Tennessee Titans. In that game, the Jaguars actually beat the Titans in several categories. Jacksonville had a lot more success on the ground than the Titans did, and that correlated to greater time of possession.

Where the Jaguars fell short, though, was at quarterback. David Garrard threw only 13 completions in the losing effort and was held to just 135 yards. The offense was able to breach the end zone twice thanks to Maurice Jones-Drew and his able counterpart Fred Taylor. 

Jones-Drew and Taylor are extremely similar to the Minnesota duo of Peterson-Taylor. The stars of these two-headed attacks are young in the league, extremely quick, and can dish out the hits just as easily as a linebacker. Both Taylors could be starters on just about any other team and are great blockers.

Jones-Drew has the much-coveted ability to pull off a big play. When he combines his acceleration, toughness, and deceptive speed he proves that he is among the league’s best. Jones-Drew was dealt a very interesting hand in terms of his size and strength. He has a lot of power packed in his small frame, and can use it to blow past someone twice his size.

Quarterback Garrard has been erratic so far this year; throwing only six touchdowns so far this year compared to his eight interceptions. His passer rating of 83.4 puts him at 18th in the league. Garrard is very tough, but also pretty old. He is 30-years old but has adequate foot speed and can avoid some sacks by scrambling. Perhaps the most important aspect of Garrard’s game, though, is his veteran mentality. He knows when to throw the ball away and doesn’t make rookie mistakes. Garrard also has a great arm and has great precision when making long throws.

The Jacksonville receivers, meanwhile, are not the greatest by any stretch. Reggie Williams, one of the Jaguars leading receivers, is incredibly fast but can be stifled by simple contact. Matt Jones doesn’t run routes very well and has trouble getting past jams at the line of scrimmage. And then there is Troy Williamson. We all know how great he is at catching those line drives.

As a whole, the Jaguars have grossly underperformed this year. High expectations were cast on them after their playoff run last year, but they have not lived up the hype.

Sorry for the brevity, but I’ll be back tomorrow with some analysis regarding the Jaguar defense. Also be on the lookout on Saturday for a post detailing the biggest and most crucial matchup of this game. Go Vikings!