Jags Head to Tennessee With Heavy Hearts

Football Betting Lines

09/05/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - As if trying to compete in the AFC South was hard enough for the Jacksonville Jaguars, who not only have high expectations for the 2008 season but are also dealing with a critically-injured member of the team.

Jaguars mammoth offensive tackle Richard Collier remains in critical condition after he was shot early Tuesday morning outside an apartment complex in Jacksonville. Collier, signed as an undrafted rookie in 2006, was in a battle with Khalif Barnes for the starting job. Collier was expected to play this season at both tackle and on special teams, but landed on the non-football- injury (NFI) list just days before the Jaguars visit the division-rival Tennessee Titans on Sunday in the season opener for both clubs at LP Field.

Head coach Jack Del Rio is entering his sixth season with Jacksonville, and the Jaguars are coming off an impressive 11-5 campaign in which they earned a second playoff appearance in three years and first postseason victory since the 1999 season. Jacksonville posted an impressive playoff win on the road at Pittsburgh, but came up short in handing New England its first loss in the divisional round. The success has given Jacksonville a solid reputation for winning and a shot at an AFC South title. But, of course, the Jags must battle past Indianapolis and Tennessee for bragging rights.

Jaguars quarterback David Garrard has a lot to brag about, as his 2007 season led to a big contract extension in the offseason. Garrard was named starter for the first time in his career a year ago, and led the team to a 9-3 record in a career-high 12 starts. The efficient Garrard will have some new faces to throw to, but running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor are back for another shot at a Super Bowl as well.

Jones-Drew and Taylor have emerged as a solid 1-2 punch for Del Rio, and are expected to enjoy another productive campaign. The defense lost a big body in the middle when Marcus Stroud was traded to Buffalo, leaving John Henderson and Paul Spicer as the veteran defensive line leaders. Jacksonville will rely heavily on its renowned defense again, and will try for its fourth win over the past five season openers. The Jags had a three-game winning streak on opening day halted last year with a 13-10 setback versus the Titans.

Tennessee is in the same boat with Jacksonville as a candidate to unseat the Colts for AFC South supremacy. The Titans went 10-6 last year and made their first playoff appearance since the 2003 campaign, losing to the San Diego Chargers in the wild card round. Quarterback Vince Young had a shaky 2007 season, going 9-6 as a starter and becoming the youngest Tennessee QB to start a playoff game.

The elusive Young should have a more productive year under Jeff Fisher, who is entering his 14th season as head coach -- the longest tenure in the NFL. Fisher holds the franchise record for wins with 120, and has guided the squad to the playoffs five times over the last nine seasons. Fisher's young squad matured greatly last year, and is expected to achieve even more in 2008. Progress has come in each of the past two years for the Titans, who went 4-12 in 2005 and 8-8 the following season before finally reaching the postseason.

Tennessee, which enters the campaign with one of the top defenses in the NFL, has won four of its last six season openers, including a 13-10 triumph at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium on September 9, 2007.

SERIES HISTORY

Tennessee leads the all-time regular season series with the Jaguars, 14-12, and the teams engaged in an unconventional home-and-home split last season. The Titans were 13-10 road winners when the teams met in Week 1, but dropped a 28-13 decision at LP Field in Week 10. The clubs also split in 2006, with Jacksonville winning the front end at home, 37-7, and dropping the return matchup in Nashville by a 24-17 count.

In addition to the regular season series, the teams have met once in the playoffs, with Tennessee scoring a 33-14 road victory in the 1999 AFC Championship.

Fisher is 15-12 versus Jacksonville all-time, including the aforementioned playoff win. Jacksonville's Del Rio is 5-5 against both Fisher and the Titans in his career.

WHEN THE JAGUARS HAVE THE BALL

Garrard is back for another season as a starter, but it will be tough to duplicate what he did a year ago, when he threw for 2,509 yards, with 18 touchdowns, just three interceptions, and a 102.2 quarterback rating in 12 starts. He missed some time with a leg problem and was a healthy scratch for the season finale because the Jags already locked up a playoff spot. Garrard, who helped Jacksonville to the 17th-rated pass attack in 2007, got some new targets for this season in Troy Williamson (Vikings) and Jerry Porter (Raiders), who has been battling a hamstring problem and is questionable for Sunday. With Ernest Wilford gone, Reggie Williams (629 yards, 10 TD) is the only returning threat at wide receiver. Williams led the team in yards and touchdowns, while Dennis Northcutt (601 yards, 4 TD) and Matt Jones (317 yards, 4 TDs) contributed sporadically. Jones is currently under investigation on a cocaine charge. Northcutt will do most of his damage on special teams. On an injury note, starting center Brad Meester is listed as out for Sunday's game with a biceps injury. The Jaguars signed offensive tackle Charles Spencer to replace Collier on the roster.

Tennessee's defense finished 10th-best against the pass last season, allowing just 199.2 ypg through the air. The club brings back a strong secondary led by cornerbacks Cortland Finnegan and Nick Harper. Finnegan (95 tackles, sack, INT) started all 16 games last year and led the team with 16 passes defensed, and ended the season with nine tackles, an interception, one sack and a forced fumble in the playoff loss to San Diego. Harper (78 tackles, 3 INT) is entering his second year with the Titans and started 14 games last season. The former Colt has excellent cover skills and is a sure tackler. Finnegan and Harper will be responsible for shutting down Jacksonville's speedy wideouts, while free safety Michael Griffin and strong safety Chris Hope provide the big hits as the last line of defense. Griffin (54 tackles, 3 INT) enjoyed a solid rookie campaign in 2007 and is a ball hawk who saw action in all 16 games last season and started the final 10 contests. Hope (49 tackles, 2 INT), who started the first 11 games before being placed on injured reserve with a neck injury, will try to stay injury-free when he takes the field on Sunday. Reynaldo Hill (19 tackles, INT) is a solid backup and played in the last 13 games of the season after being inactive for the first three.

If the Jaguars have any plans on winning this weekend, they must establish the ground game early and often against a stingy Titans run defense. Jacksonville had a strong running game in 2007, finishing No. 2 with 149.4 yards per game. Taylor (1,202 yards, 5 TD) earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2007 and holds practically every rushing record in team history. He has led the Jaguars in rushing in eight of his 10 seasons. Taylor, who is ranked 17th on the all-time rushing list, surpassed the 1,000-yard rushing mark in a season for the seventh time in his career last year. The only 1,000-yard rusher in team history became the only player in NFL history to rush for 100 yards in a game five straight times. Taylor enters the season with the second-most rushing yards by an active player (Edgerrin James). Jones-Drew has been a nice complement to Taylor with his bruising style of play. Jones-Drew (768 yards, 9 TD) has a low center of gravity which makes it harder for defenders to get a square hit on the third-year pro out of UCLA. The all-purpose back ranked seventh in the league last season in that category with 2,104 total yards. Jones-Drew and Taylor are one of the top rushing duos in the NFL. Garrard has the ability to leave the pocket, while fullback Greg Jones (119 yards, 2 TD) will play in mostly short-yardage situations.

The Titans bring back a run defense which finished fifth in that category a year ago (92.4 ypg). The front line lost defensive end Antwan Odom to Cincinnati via free agency, but has ends Kyle Vanden Bosch and new face Jevon Kearse back in the fold. Vanden Bosch (60 tackles, 12 sacks) was in opposing backfields quite often in 2007 and started all 16 games for the third consecutive season. He even earned a starting nod on the AFC Pro Bowl squad in February. Vanden Bosch has a team-high 31 sacks in three seasons as a Titan, and finished second on the team in tackles last season. He will surely provide pressure around the edges, as will Kearse, who is back after four subpar seasons with Philadelphia. Kearse was drafted by Tennessee in 1999 and is back where it all started. Kearse, who had 3 1/2 sacks in 14 games with the Eagles last year, is seventh all-time in Titans history with 47 1/2 sacks. Defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth (40 tackles, 6 sacks) is the main cog in the middle with his tremendous frame and athleticism. Haynesworth was an All-Pro and made a trip to Honolulu for the Pro Bowl. He led AFC defensive tackles in sacks as well last season, and plays in front of a sure-stopping linebacker corps. Leading tackler from a year ago and linebacker David Thornton is back for his seventh NFL season. Thornton (122 tackles, sack, 2 INT) and veteran linebacker Keith Bulluck (88 tackles, 5 INT) form one of the best outside linebacker duos in the league. Bulluck started all 16 games in '07 for the sixth straight year, and led the team in interceptions. Ryan Fowler (53 tackles) is in the middle and started 14 games before landing on IR with a shoulder injury.

WHEN THE TITANS HAVE THE BALL

Young (2,546 yards, 9 TD, 17 INT) will try to bounce back from a less-than- stellar 2007 campaign this season. Young has Justin Gage, Justin McCareins and new tight end Alge Crumpler as his main weapons this season. Gage (750 yards, 2 TD) signed a multi-year deal with the team in the offseason and saw action in 16 games (eight starts) last season. McCareins is back with the team following four years with the New York Jets, and signed as a free agent in March. The lanky speedster is a mis-match problem with many corners in the NFL because of his 6-2, 215-pound body. He made six starts during his final season with the Jets. Crumpler is a four-time Pro Bowl selection who played the first seven years of his career with Michael Vick and the Atlanta Flacons. Crumpler made 10 starts with the Falcons last season and averaged 10.6 yards per catch. Tennessee had a miserable pass attack in 2007, finishing 27th in the league (179.9 ypg). Young will have veteran center Kevin Mawae and tackle David Stewart protecting him once again.

Jacksonville finished middle-of-the-pack in pass defense in 2007, allowing 213.5 ypg for the 15th-rated unit. With veteran safety Sammy Knight out of the picture, Rashean Mathis takes over as the unquestioned go-to guy in the defensive backfield. Mathis (58 tackles, INT) has been one of the top cornerbacks in the league over the past few seasons, and leads the franchise with 21 career picks, 290 interception return yards and 22 takeaways. Mathis started 16 games a year ago and was a Pro Bowl alternate. Newcomer Drayton Florence has a chance to start opposite Mathis at cornerback, after spending the previous five seasons with San Diego. Florence played in all 16 games (10 starts) for the Chargers last year and brings veteran presence and leadership to the Jags. Free safety Reggie Nelson (62 tackles, sack, 5 INT) and strong safety Brian Williams (68 tackles, 3 INT) are Del Rio's last line of protection. Nelson made an immediate impact as a rookie and played in all 16 games, 15 of which were starts. He set the team rookie record and led the squad with five INTs. Williams was tops on the team with 14 passes defensed and set a team record with an interception in three consecutive games. Safeties Gerald Sensabaugh (three tackles) and Pierson Prioleau are solid backups. Prioleau was with Washington the past three seasons and has nine years of NFL experience.

Titans running back LenDale White (1,110 yards, 7 TD) is entering his third NFL season and will once again use his bulky, 235-pound frame as a weapon for Fisher. White played and started all 16 games in 2007, and has tremendous ability to break tackles and pound the ball. He does most of his work between the tackles because he doesn't have game-breaker speed, something rookie Chris Johnson will bring to the table. The speedster out of East Carolina will help the Titans significantly on the ground game as well as special teams. The third all-time leading rusher in ECU history, Johnson can also catch passes out of the backfield to create mismatches with defenders. Chris Brown left the nest to sign with rival Houston, but is currently injured. Young and Chris Henry (119 yards, 2 TD) can also get the Titans some rushing yards. Henry played a reserve role in 2007 and also possesses great hands. The Titans finished fifth in the NFL in rushing (131.8 ypg).

The Jaguars ended 11th against the run in 2007, but lost a vital cog to the defensive front when Marcus Stroud was dealt to Buffalo. They still have tackles John Henderson (38 tackles, 2 sacks) and Rob Meier (27 tackles, 4 sacks) to stop White, Johnson and Young. Henderson is the anchor of the interior line and made 15 starts last season, helping the unit hold opponents to 17 points or fewer in 10 of 16 games in 2007. Defensive end Paul Spicer (34 tackles, 7 1/2 sacks) led the squad in sacks and signed a lucrative new deal in the offseason. Rookie ends Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves will likely see action on Sunday, but Harvey will be a little rusty after holding out for most of training camp. Del Rio, a former NFL linebacker, has a talented trio of 'backers this season in MLB Mike Peterson, and outside linebackers Daryl Smith (71 tackles, 1 1/2 sacks) and Justin Durant (49 tackles, sack, INT). Peterson (70 tackles, 2 sacks, INT) missed six games and both playoff contests last year because of a broken right hand, but is back at full strength.

FANTASY FOCUS

Tennessee has a few fantasy players worth noting in Young, White, Johnson and the defense. Young made many fantasy owners angry last season with his subpar statistics, but barring any injury, he should return to his rookie year efficiency that earned him a Pro Bowl nod. White is a reliable back in most leagues and finds the end zone often, while Johnson is slated to see a lot of action during his rookie campaign. The Titans' defense enters the 2008 season as one of the top 10 units in fantasy leagues. Tennessee's receivers (McCareins, Gage) are not worth a starting spot in fantasy, but tight end Crumpler is expected to flourish with Young under center. As for the Jaguars, Jones-Drew, Taylor, Garrard and the defense are popular picks in many leagues. Williams is the top receiver, but could have his numbers shaved with the additions of Williamson and Porter. Garrard is a very efficient quarterback, but will not put up numbers like Tom Brady, Peyton Manning or Carson Palmer.

OVERALL ANALYSIS

Jacksonville will win this AFC South rivalry on the road Sunday with defense and an efficient performance from Garrard. It will no doubt be a low-scoring affair at LP Field, as the Titans will keep it close with their running back du. However, Young will be forced into a few turnovers that eventually seal the victory for Del Rio's bunch.

Sportsbook Betting Lines Predicted Outcome: Jaguars 17, Titans 13