It's not quite a rebuilding year, but after salary-cap losses, youth will have to serve

By Josh Elliott

The hard-hitting Darius's playmaking moves could keep Jacksonville in games. Rick WIlson/AP Enemy Lines An opposing team's scout sizes up the Jaguars "When they let all those guys go in the off-season, it was clear they were waving the white flag. Still, they could surprise people, but only if Jimmy Smith , Fred Taylor and Mark Brunell play all 16 games. With those guys on the field, this team compares with the Colts. If Smith ends his holdout, he'll be good again. But he's 33 and only a year removed from major surgery, so I think the Jags are smart not to rework his deal. Once he loses a step, he's done. When Taylor's healthy, he's as good as any back in the AFC, but his body just doesn't hold up to the pounding. You need him in there to keep the heat off Brunell. He's the key to everything, which has to scare Tom Coughlin .... Stacey Mack was impressive last year, but he's not the game-breaking back that the offense needs.... The offensive line is too young to be effective, though signing Chris Naeole was a great move. He's solid and savvy and can play guard or center.... Jacksonville's defense looks really bad. Their two young tackles, John Henderson and Marcus Stroud , lack intensity.... Fernando Bryant is an underrated corner, and he's the only one who offenses will worry about.... Jason Craft has to play more confidently, because teams will be going after him.... Donovin Darius has to stay healthy. He hits a ton for a safety and has Pro Bowl ability back there.... If Coughlin loses the locker room, this will be a long year. He's going to have to be careful not to wear on his veterans." In the Year 2001 Record: 6-10 (fifth in AFC Central) NFL rank (rush/pass/total) Offense: 26/18/20 Defense: 10/22/T16 New Twist Last year coach Tom Coughlin delegated play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Bob Petrino , with disastrous results. The Jaguars' offense ranked 20th in the league. Petrino's gone, and Coughlin's back at the helm. Look for more two-tight-end sets and, despite the rumors, a peaceful partnership between the coach and quarterback Mark Brunell . Schedule Strength NFL Rank: T21 Opponents' 2001 winning percentage: .487 Games against playoff teams: 4

Bobby Shaw should not be this happy. Not after signing a one-year, $550,000 contract with the salary-cap-strung Jaguars, who lost 10 starters in the off-season and figure to struggle this year. So why -- after turning down a three-year, $2.1 million offer to stay with the AFC Central champion Steelers -- is the 27-year-old wideout smiling? "I didn't want to look back on my career and wonder if I could've done more," says Shaw, who caught 92 passes but made only one start in three seasons with Pittsburgh. "Coming here, I knew I'd get a real opportunity to start, and let's face it, who dreams of being a backup? I'd maxed out my upward mobility in Pittsburgh. Yeah, times are tough right now, but I like this challenge. Money and comfort zones aren't everything."

That's music to the ears of Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin. The team's chief architect since its 1995 inception, Coughlin spent freely to build Jacksonville into the most successful expansion franchise in NFL history (four playoff berths in its first five seasons). But with the team $23 million over the salary cap at the end of last season, Coughlin was forced to rebuild with inexpensive veterans.

"In our situation," says Coughlin, "we need people like Bobby, who're hungry for the chance to play and willing to accept the responsibility of setting an example for our young guys. I never thought we'd have to let so many guys go, but we still can't lower our expectations. We'll struggle at times because we're unpolished. I just have to be more patient."

That's an understatement given the gaping holes in the roster. Among the missing are five-time Pro Bowl tackle Tony Boselli, stalwart receiver Keenan McCardell and steady linebackers Kevin Hardy and Hardy Nickerson (who led the club with 88 tackles last season). What's more, injury-prone tailback Fred Taylor is coming back from a torn groin muscle that caused him to miss all but the first two games last season, and wideout Jimmy Smith -- the team's best playmaker after Taylor -- missed training camp as a holdout after Jacksonville refused to meet his contract demands. When SI went to press, Taylor seemed to be back to full strength and playing well, and Smith was still a holdout.

Smith's absence, coupled with the poor play of free-agent wideout Darnay Scott, makes Shaw an even more valuable addition to the offense. (Scott, whom Coughlin criticized for a sluggish effort in camp and demoted to the second team, suffered a sprained right shoulder and has been in and out of practice since.) Signed as a replacement for McCardell (a cap casualty who will start for the Buccaneers), Shaw is fearless and excels in third-down situations. Ever the optimist, he refuses to think about a season without Smith, who last year returned from major abdominal surgery to catch 112 passes for 1,373 yards and eight touchdowns. "I came here not just to play, but to play opposite Jimmy," Shaw says. "I don't even want to consider what it would be like without him."

Nor does quarterback Mark Brunell, who was already disappointed that the Jaguars had lost injury-plagued Boselli, his good friend and protector, in the expansion draft. Brunell was sacked a whopping 57 times last season, and with a newly assembled starting line, it seemingly will be even harder for him to remain upright. "We're young in a lot of places, so we can't think about rebuilding and then go out and try to win," Brunell says. "It's hard, but we have to fight off those thoughts. I've pulled some of the guys aside and told them to ignore all the talk. If they don't, we're in trouble."

On defense Jacksonville is in even more trouble. The best players among the front seven are the ends. Former Redskins end Marco Coleman is another veteran signee being counted on for leadership, but Tony Brackens's status is in question because of his injured left knee. The linebacker corps and the secondary -- with the exception of hard-hitting strong safety Donovin Darius -- lack the depth and playmaking ability needed to keep games close.

Call this season what you want, as long as you don't use the r word around the Jaguars. Rebuilding, as Shaw points out, "means accepting defeat, and no one here will do that. Trust me. We'll get through this."

Issue date: September 2, 2002