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Byron Leftwich Matt Stroshane/Getty Projected starting lineup Offense No. Player Pos. 82 Jimmy Smith WR 72 Mike Pearson LT 67 Vince Manuwai LG 63 Brad Meester C 65 Chris Naeole RG 74 Mo Williams RT 80 Kyle Brady TE 11 Reggie Williams WR 7 Byron Leftwich QB 28 Fred Taylor RB 44 Marc Edwards FB 10 Josh Scobee K Defense No. Player Pos. 95 Paul Spicer LE 99 Marcus Stroud LT 98 John Henderson RT 53 Hugh Douglas RE 51 Akin Ayodele OLB 54 Mike Peterson MLB 55 Greg Favors OLB 21 Juran Bolden LCB 27 Rashean Mathis RCB 20 Donovin Darius SS 37 Deon Grant FS 2 Chris Hanson P 2004 Draft Rd. Player Pos. School 1 Reggie Williams WR Washington 2 Daryl Smith LB Georgia Tech 2 Greg Jones RB Florida State 3 Jorge Cordova LB/DE Nevada 4 Anthony Maddox DT Delta State 4 Ernest Wilford WR Virginia Tech 5 Josh Scobee K Louisiana Tech 5 Chris Thompson CB Nicholls State 5 Sean Bubin T Illinois 7 Bobby McCray DE Florida Outside the Huddle Bang for the buck The Jaguars, who were burned last year when they gave Hugh Douglas a $6 million signing bonus and he produced just 3 1/2 sacks, were more frugal in free agency this year. They signed nine veteran free agents for a total of $6.95 million in signing bonuses. Close losses The Jaguars have problems winning close games. Six of the Jaguars' 11 losses were by seven points or fewer last year after they lost five games by a total of 10 points in Tom Coughlin's last year in 2002. Empty seats Even though Jack Del Rio was hired to help boost ticket sales, the Jaguars averaged only 53,509 fans per home game last year, the lowest in the nine-year history of the team. Road woes The Jaguars are still looking for their first regular-season road victory under Del Rio. They went 0–8 on the road last year compared to a 5–3 record at home. They open this year in Buffalo, a team that beat them 38–17 in the Jags' 2003 home-opener. Getting stronger In the final eight games, when the Jags went 4–4, Fred Taylor rushed for 989 yards on 199 carries. In the first eight, which produced a 1–7 mark, he gained 583 yards on 146 carries. Clearly, getting the ball in Taylor's hands is a key to the success of the team. 2003 Revisited The Prophecy: "[Mark] Brunell's stay in Jacksonville is not likely to last beyond the 2003 season." The Lie: "The plan is for [Byron] Leftwich to spend the 2003 season on the sideline and then take over in 2004 when Brunell's contract runs out." --Athlon Sports Pro Football 2003

Hope instead of hype. The Jaguars like to think that'll be the difference in the second season of head coach Jack Del Rio's regime.

When Del Rio was hired last year -- even though he'd been an assistant coach for only six years -- the Jaguars built a marketing campaign around him that featured the slogan, "Take Back Our House."

The problem was that there wasn't much substance to back the hype. The Jaguars, who were 6–10 in 2001 and 2002, struggled to a 5–11 record.

This year, there's not as much hype. Instead, there's quiet optimism that the team, which won three of its last five games last year, will make major strides in Del Rio's second season now that he's learned how to be a head coach.

Byron Leftwich, who was drafted with the seventh pick last year, started the last 13 games after Mark Brunell was injured and appears to be the team's quarterback of the future. The Jaguars are hoping he makes rapid strides this year.

Although he made some typical rookie mistakes (the Jaguars were 1–7 when he threw at least one interception), he showed plenty of poise and potential, throwing for 2,819 yards, the fourth-highest total for a rookie in NFL history.

"I think the thing that stands out is his remarkable poise," says Del Rio. "He showed a lot of the intangibles that made him so attractive to us in the draft in terms of his presence and his leadership skills."

The Jaguars signed Doug Johnson as an insurance policy because backup David Garrard was diagnosed with Crohn's disease during the offseason. Neither is expected to play unless Leftwich gets hurt.

Fred Taylor may be the best back who's never made the Pro Bowl. Still in his prime at age 28, he's rushed for over 1,000 yards in four of his six seasons and is coming off a team-record 1,572-yard season. He's also started 32 consecutive games.

Since they have a young quarterback, the Jaguars are likely to stress the run this year.

"We're going to play to our strengths," says Del Rio. "And I think when you have a dynamic player like Fred Taylor, you're going to utilize him."

The Jaguars need to get the ball in his hands, because they were 5–1 when Taylor ran 24 or more times.

They added depth at the position by drafting Greg Jones, who'll give them a short-yardage runner and protection if Taylor is injured. The Jags have another promising young runner in LaBrandon Toefield and a dependable veteran fullback in Marc Edwards.

When the Jaguars made four consecutive playoff appearances from 1996-99, their offense was spearheaded by wide receivers Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell, one of the best duos in NFL history. But McCardell was a salary-cap victim two years ago and Smith has lost a step at age 35. He is no longer the deep threat he was in his younger days.

That's why the Jaguars drafted Reggie Williams in the first round and penciled him in as an immediate starter alongside Smith. Williams isn't a speed merchant but makes big plays. The Jags traded Kevin Johnson to Baltimore after drafting Williams, leaving Troy Edwards as the third receiver. Edwards enjoyed a bit of a rebirth last season, catching 35 passes for 487 yards, the highest totals since his rookie season in Pittsburgh in 1999.

Kyle Brady is solid at tight end. He's a good blocker in the running game who adds a dimension to the passing game. He caught 29 balls for 281 yards last season.

This was the most solid and dependable unit on the team last year, and the starting five is returning intact, a rarity in the era of free agency.

The starting quintet of tackles Mo Williams and Mike Pearson, guards Chris Naeole and rookie Vince Manuwai and center Brad Meester allowed a franchise-low 28 sacks last year.

Not only were they good -- they were durable, missing a total of just two starts last year, both by Manuwai. The other four started all 16 games.

The unit could be even better this year now that the Jaguars have improved the depth by signing guard Mike Compton and tackle Ephraim Salaam. Both are veterans with starting experience. The two youngsters on the left side of the line, Pearson and Manuwai, may have to fight for their jobs.

Tackles Marcus Stroud, who made the Pro Bowl for the first time in his third season last year, and John Henderson are likely to form the heart of the defense for the next decade. They stop the run and free the linebackers to roam by keeping the blockers off of them.

The problem of the line is at the end spot, where Hugh Douglas was a $6 million bust last year. He recorded just 3 1/2 sacks after signing as a free agent.

If Douglas doesn't rebound, the Jaguars will have a problem rushing the passer. They didn't draft a pass rusher until the third round, when they took Jorge Cordova, and didn't sign one in free agency. Veteran Tony Brackens was released, opening up the end position for Paul Spicer. After recording four sacks in 2002, Spicer was shutout last season.

It's not surprising that, as a former linebacker, Del Rio has revamped the linebacking corps in his short tenure in Jacksonville. He wants faster, more productive linebackers. Akin Ayodele is the only linebacker left from the Tom Coughlin regime.

The other returning starter is Mike Peterson, who signed as a free agent from Indianapolis prior to the 2003 season and made a nice transition from the outside to the inside.

The third position is open because Danny Clark left for Oakland after being told he would only be the fourth linebacker.

Second-round pick Daryl Smith out of Georgia Tech will battle a pair of free agents, veteran Greg Favors and Tommy Hendricks, for the final starting position. Favors has the inside track.

The Jaguars put a lot of emphasis on the secondary in free agency; four of the first nine free agents they signed -- Juran Bolden, Dewayne Washington, Deon Grant and Lewis Sanders -- were defensive backs.

Bolden and Rashean Mathis, who started as a rookie, will be the cornerbacks. Grant, who spent the first four years of his career in Carolina, will replace Deke Cooper at free safety, and veteran Donovin Darius will return at strong safety. Darius was unhappy about getting the $4.1 million franchise tag, but he'll return because the Jaguars couldn't get good value for him. He's solid against the run.

Improving the special teams is a major goal after the Jaguars' struggled last season. The result: Bill Bates was fired as the special teams coach and veteran Pete Rodriguez was hired. Rodriguez, who left Seattle last year after a personality conflict with head coach Mike Holmgren, was hired at the same $350,000 salary he earned in Seattle.

His top priority is to find or develop a kicker after rookie Seth Marler missed 13-of-33 kicks last year. The Jaguars had the worst field-goal percentage in the league. They signed Jeff Chandler, who was cut by the 49ers last year, and drafted Josh Scobee out of Louisiana Tech in the fifth round. One of them is likely to beat out Marler.

Punter Chris Hanson returns after slicing his leg in the "ax incident" last year, and the Jaguars hope he returns to his Pro Bowl status of 2002.

The Jaguars think they can pick up where they left off last year when they finished 3–2 after starting 1–7 under Del Rio. They had a productive offseason, adding at least four new starters, and they didn't suffer any major losses.

They also think they've upgraded their special teams by hiring Rodriguez, signing free agents Hendricks and Todd Yoder and drafting Chris Thompson and Ernest Wilford.

The Jaguars appear to have upgraded their talent level and could be a surprise team this year.

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