Secondary
Last season, the secondary played very well. A lack of pass rush often exposed the them though. The opposing quarterbacks had too much time to spend in the pocket, and as a result, made the secondary look bad.
Cornerback Fernando Bryant was clearly the teams biggest loss via free agency. They will miss his coverage skills. Rashean Mathis is going to be put to the test, and will most likely be lined up against many teams No. 1 receivers. He has good size and speed, and is a ball hawk. He also set a Division II record for INT's.
Dewayne Washington and Juran Bolden have been battling for the other starting cornerback spot. Both were signed as free agents this off-season. It was Bolden's job to lose, and it appears he lost it. Dewayne Washington will most likely be the opening day starter for Jacksonville. Bolden should make for a good nickel cornerback, however.
Kiwaukee Thomas's job appears to be safe as well. With the release of Lewis Sanders, he will have a spot on the team’s final roster. Chris Thompson has shown a lot of potential during training camp. He will be a project that will take a few years to develop, but one day he could be a starter.
The Jaguars have a very interesting situation at the safety positions. Right now, Deon Grant and Donovin Darius appear to be the starters. Grant at free safety, and Darius at strong safety. That's not written in stone though. Deke Cooper is making some noise. Grant, one of Coopers's best friends, called and asked permission to sign with Jacksonville before signing. Grant was aware that he would be taking his starting spot, but Deke was cool with it. Now, Deke Cooper may have a shot at knocking Darius out of his starting position. Scouts and reporters say he is outplaying Darius in training camp. Darius has had his ability to play the pass questioned, but he provides a lot of support against the run.
Two questions regarding Deke Cooper.... how are the Jaguars going to re-sign him? And how are you going to keep him off the field?
Special Teams
Last year, Chris Hanson's "Axe Incident" was a total embarrassment. He appears to have completely recovered from his injury, and should be back to his 2002 Pro-Bowl form, when he was the only Jaguar to make the trip to Honalulu.
The Jaguars will enter their third-consecutive season without a proven kicker. Josh Scobee currentlyholds the kicking position. Last year's rookie kicker, Seth Marler, was placed on injured reserve and rumors are flying that the Jags will place a waiver claim once a kicker becomes available after final cuts. The kicking position has cost the Jaguars far too many games the past 3-4 years and coaches and fans are sick of it.
Game Plan
Jack Del Rio's philosophy is, run the ball, control the clock, win the field position battle, and stop the run! Del Rio is going to come up with some very interesting pass rush schemes. Pressuring the quarterback is something the coaching staff needs to improve. It should be very difficult for this team to live up to Jack's philosophy with question marks at both pass rushing and place kicking.
Best/Worst-Case Scenario
The best-case scenario would be Byron Leftwich breaking out, Fred Taylor having a Pro-Bowl season, and the Jags making the playoffs. It's definitely a stretch to say this team is ready to make the post-season, but it is possible.
The worst-case scenario would be the Jaguars pass rush completely failing, and Fred Taylor getting injured. The Jags could finish as high as first, but they could also finish dead last playing in a very strong AFC South.
