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2008 Jacksonville Jaguars Predictions.

doc's sports | Josh Nagel ( Tue 5th, August 2008 )

Coach Jack Del Rio has built a team out of the mold in which he once played. The Jaguars are a physically big

imposing team that wears opponents down with their size on both sides of the ball. When their running game can control the line of scrimmage and their defense makes plays, they often appear to be one of the league's most formidable teams.

The Jags finally turned the corner last year after what could be considered a few seasons of underachieving given their talent level. However, as they showed in a 31-20 loss in the playoffs at New England, they still seem to lack both the offensive weapons and creativity to score enough points against the league's more potent teams. It was maddening to watch them hang right with the Patriots for most of the game, but become so predictable offensively in the second half that they could never come up with an explosive play that could have changed the game. You kept waiting to see them run a reverse, flea-flicker … anything to get out of the predictable rut of running off-tackle early in a series and running short passes on third down.

But maybe Del Rio simply knew his personnel too well for his own good. Jacksonville suffered from a lack of consistency and playmaking the passing game. Although former first-round bust Reggie Williams showed progress, Matt Jones, another first-rounder turned receiver after playing quarterback in college, seemed to take a step backward. The Jaguars failed to address this need in the draft, moving up to take defensive end Derrick Harvey in the first round and failing to grab a noteworthy receiver despite the fact that many top prospects dropped to the second round and later. Although they did acquire veteran Jerry Porter from Oakland, Jones got arrested on drug charges just a few weeks ago, and the receiver position remains a big question mark.

Perhaps the coach's best chance was to stick with the reliable running game with the ageless Fred Taylor and multi-dimensional Maurice Jones-Drew providing more than enough punch for most games. Del Rio also made the shrewd and necessary move of dumping hopelessly immobile and underachieving quarterback Byron Leftwich in favor of the more athletic David Garrard right before the season started. This move paid off in a big way, as Garrard repeatedly showed the ability to make plays with his feet when the play broke down and gained critical first downs to keep drives alive.

So while Del Rio deserves some credit for turning things around right about the time that the Jacksonville faithful was starting to get restless, this year should be a defining one in terms of whether the Jags remain a relevant and consistent contender. To do so, they must improve a defense that yielded somewhat disappointing numbers despite having one of the more stacked defensive lines in the league, and adding a little spark to the offense wouldn't hurt, either. Jacksonville was a solid 11-5 ATS last year, including 6-2 on the road, which shows the benefit of a team that can consistently run the ball and control the line of scrimmage.

The Jags appear to have a favorable schedule and could again post a nice ATS record in the regular season. They might be worth a look to win the division, but they would need a significant improvement to overtake the division-favorite Colts.

2008 Jacksonville Jaguars predictions: 10-6, second place.

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