Jaguars did things right from the start
Posted: Thursday October 08, 1998 05:07 PM
The Jacksonville
Jaguars are barely four years old and already they're being compared --
favorably -- to some of the best franchises in the NFL.
At 4-0, the Jaguars are doing all they can to justify the talk.
"We have had a master plan. We have stuck to that master plan and at this
point in time," Jacksonville coach Tom Coughlin said, "we are doing well
with it and we are benefiting because of that philosophy."
The philosophy -- building through the draft and filling in with key free
agents when necessary -- enabled the Jaguars to break even through their
first three years of existence. They even made the AFC Championship game in
only their second year in the league.
They went 11-5 last season before being bounced by eventual Super Bowl
champion Denver in the first round, and the excitement built through this
season with an early season win over the Kansas City Chiefs. It
comes to a head Monday night when the Jaguars play the Miami Dolphins in the
first meeting ever between the two Florida teams.
The Monday night matchup is a meeting between a franchise on the rise and a
one-time marquee franchise that is desperately trying to make its way back.
It features a future Hall of Fame quarterback (Miami's Dan Marino) and one of the
brightest and most exciting young quarterbacks in the game today,
Jacksonville's Mark
Brunell.
On the Mark: Brunell has completed 65.2 percent of his passes for 864 yards and seven touchdowns through four games this season AP | |
The fact that the Jaguars are being compared to teams like that rather
than, say, the winless Carolina Panthers, is a
testament to Coughlin, owner Wayne Weaver and director of football
operations Michael Huyghue, a group that has been together from the
franchise's inception. In fact, Huyghue still keeps the team's 3-inch thick
master plan in a binder under lock-and-key in his office.
And Coughlin, a no-nonsense coach who was criticized early because he
wouldn't let players sit on their helmets during training camp, seemingly
can do no wrong now.
"I never put a number on it," Coughlin said of the team's grand plan to
get to the Super Bowl. "I just wanted to be as good as we possibly could be
as fast as we possibly could be."
The Jaguars and Panthers entered the league in 1995, but they've taken
drastically different paths from the start. The Jaguars picked All Pro
tackle Tony Boselli as
their first player; the Panthers went with troubled quarterback Kerry Collins. The Jaguars
eschewed free agents; the Panthers spent millions on them, only some of
whom have panned out.
While the Panthers have wrestled with changes in the organization (Bill
Polian fled to Indianapolis) and now have a crisis at quarterback (Collins
may be on the verge of being waived), the Jaguars stayed the course. They
traded for Brunell, drafted well, filled in the holes with free agents and
have been picked by some to make it to the Super Bowl.
At this point, who can argue with that?
"People have been out here in line overnight trying to gobble up the last
few tickets [to the Monday night game]," Coughlin said. "It is an exciting
time." Around the AFC
EAST: Coach Jim Mora raised some eyebrows in the preseason when he
waived veteran kicker Cary
Blanchard, even though he was the most accurate kicker in Colts
history. Mora opted for rookie Mike Vanderjagt instead. He's now 10 of 11
in field goals, including 3 of 3 from 50 yards and out ... The Jets are
talking contract extension with linebacker Dwayne Gordon ... The Jets
played an eight-man front against the Dolphins last week to great success,
so don't be surprised if the Dolphins find other ways -- John Avery? -- to get the
ball downfield in the big Monday nighter against Jacksonville.
CENTRAL: The Bengals will start their two rookie first-round picks
Sunday for the first time. Rookie Brian Simmons will join Takeo Spikes now that the
team has stuck linebacker Tom Tumulty on the injured
reserve list. Tumulty ripped up his knee in a loss to Baltimore on
September 27 ... How valuable is someone like Jerome Bettis to the
Steelers? Under Bill Cowher, the Steelers are 39-1 when they run the ball
at least 35 times a game ... Eddie George continues to
confound in Tennessee. One of the most powerful runners in the NFL last
year, George has been held to a paltry 2.9 yards a carry so far this year.
WEST: Get ready for more Don Hollas, providing he survives this
week's game against the San Diego Chargers.
Oakland's backup quarterback may be around for a bit longer, considering
starter Jeff George's
groin injury is more serious than first believed and may keep him out until
late November ... There's growing concern from the Chargers that Ryan Leaf is not handling
the job the way they'd like. Other than his blowups and his
less-than-sincere apology, team officials reportedly are amazed at Leaf's
hard-headedness when it comes to listening to coaches and fellow players
... All that preseason concern about the Chiefs' running game? Donnell Bennett has come
through with 397 yards on 103 carries, a respectable 3.9 yards per.
Around the NFC
EAST: How dominant was the running game for the Cowboys last week
against the pathetic Redskins? QB Jason Garrett only threw
three passes in the second half ... Cornerback Darrell Green has been in
Washington for 16 years. "This is the worst situation I've been in as a
Redskin," he said ... Redskins coach Norv Turner and Eagles coach Ray
Rhodes are 1-2 on the Most Likely to be Canned List -- and not necessarily
in that order. "I don't give a lot of thought to my job situation," Rhodes
said. "If I'm not getting the job done, then I don't belong here."
CENTRAL: The division is off this week. The bye couldn't come at a
better time for the struggling Lions and star running back Barry Sanders, held to 28
yards on 14 carries his last time out by a front-heavy Bears defense. Teams
may continue to stack the line against Sanders until quarterback Charlie Batch finds a way
to make them pay for it. They host the Packers next week ... Everyone talks
about the Vikings awesome offense, but the Vikes lead the NFL with 11
interceptions and they're tops in the NFC with 14 takeaways (interceptions
and opponent's fumbles recovered) ... If the Buccaneers have snapped out of
their early season slump, they have the running game to thank. In their
first two games, the Bucs averaged 59 running yards a game. In their last
three, it's 148.7 yards per game.
WEST: Sources told The Charlotte Observer that Kerry Collins
asked for a trade when he told coach Dom Capers that he didn't want to
play. If the team can't trade their first-ever draft pick, they'll release
him -- and many players told The Observer that'd be just fine with
them ... After tackle Dave
Fiore went down with an injury, the 49ers need someone on their
offensive line. Retired tackle Kirk Scrafford is willing to return, but
he's worried about the strength of his neck and his weight. No, he hasn't
porked out since retiring before the start of the season. He actually needs
to gain about a dozen pounds ... One of the biggest concern for the 3-1
Falcons has been the offensive line, which has allowed 18 sacks, sixth in
the NFL. But the line allowed six in its opening win over the Panthers and
only two last week in their dismantling of Carolina in the rematch.
Around the NFL appears every Thursday on CNNSI.com.
| 
