JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS (1-0) at BALTIMORE RAVENS (1-0)
Sunday, September 10, 2000, 1:00 p.m. EDT
PSINet Stadium, Baltimore, Md.
THIS WEEK: It's Week 2 of the 2000 NFL season and first place in the AFC Central Division is already on the line, as the Jacksonville Jaguars travel to Baltimore to face the Ravens at 1:00 p.m. EDT Sunday at PSINet Stadium. Both teams will attempt to go to 2-0 in 2000, and they each have one of the staunchest defenses in the NFL. In their season openers last week, the Jaguars, who allowed the fewest points in the NFL in 1999 and ranked fourth in yards allowed, defeated the Cleveland Browns 27-7, while the Ravens, who ranked second in total defense and sixth in points allowed, shut out Pittsburgh 16-0.
The Jaguars are riding a streak of five straight opening day victories and have won eight of their last nine road games and 16 of their last 20 games in the division. With a victory, the Jaguars will improve to 21-21 all-time on the road, and will join only six other teams in NFL history that are .500 or better on the road in their team's history.
The Jaguars have the best record in the NFL over the last three seasons. Their 37-12 record in that time is two games better than Minnesota. The Jaguars also have a 18-9 road record dating back to 1996, which is also the best mark in the NFL.
TELEVISION BROADCAST: The Jaguars-Browns game will be televised regionally by CBS and locally by WJXT Channel 4, with Verne Lundquist calling the play-by-play, Dan Dierdorf adding analysis and Beasley Reece as the field reporter.
RADIO BROADCAST: All of the Jaguars' games are broadcast on WOKV (690 AM), WBWL (600 AM) and WKQL (96.9 FM) and the Jaguars Radio Network. Brian Sexton calls the play-by-play, former NFL quarterback Matt Robinson adds analysis and Dan Hicken is the sideline reporter. Sexton and Robinson are in their sixth season together. Robinson, Jennifer Candelino, Vic Ketchman and Cole Pepper handle the pre-game show, and Pepper and ex-Oakland Raider Pete Banaszak do the post-game show. A total of 18 affiliates in three states on the Jaguars Radio Network will also broadcast the game. The radio broadcast is also simulcast live worldwide on the Jaguars' Official Website, jaguars.com, and on nfl.com.
The game will also be broadcast nationally on Westwood One, with Dave Garrett and Rick Walker calling the action.
THE OPPONENT: After a 12-year absence, NFL football officially returned to the city of Baltimore on February 9, 1996, when the NFL clubs approved the transfer of Art Modell's franchise from Cleveland to Baltimore. Now the owner of the Ravens, Modell's previous franchise competed in 20 postseason contests, including four NFL Championship games, three AFC Championship games and a victory in the 1964 NFL title game. The Ravens went 5-11 in 1996, 6-9-1 in '97 and 6-10 in 1998 before improving to 8-8 in 1999, winning four of their last five games.
THE SERIES: The Jaguars and the Ravens have played eight times with the Jaguars winning every contest. Jacksonville won 6-3 on November 14, 1999 at home, then won again 30-23 two weeks later at Baltimore. In 1998, Jacksonville won 24-10 on September 20 at home and 45-19 on November 1, 1998 in Baltimore. In 1997, the Jaguars won the season opener 28-27 on August 31 in Baltimore and took the rematch at home 29-27 on November 30. In 1996, Jacksonville swept the series, winning 30-27 on November 10 in Jacksonville and 28-25 in overtime in Baltimore two weeks later. In addition, the Jaguars defeated the Ravens' forerunners, the Cleveland Browns, twice in 1995, as they became the first expansion team since the 1966 Miami Dolphins to sweep an opponent.
THE LAST TIME: The Jaguars won their eighth consecutive game of the 1999 season, setting a franchise record and giving them an NFL-best 10-1 record with a 30-23 come-from-behind victory over the Baltimore Ravens at PSINet Stadium on November 28, 1999. The victory gave the Jaguars its fourth straight season sweep of the Ravens. Mark Brunell passed for 338 yards and Jimmy Smith and Keenan McCardell each had 100-yard receiving games. The Jaguars trailed 16-7 entering the fourth quarter, then scored three touchdowns and two two-point conversions against the NFL's No. 2 defense. Tony Brackens intercepted a pass and ran 21 yards for a touchdown, and the Jacksonville defense held Baltimore to 280 yards on offense.
A JAGUARS VICTORY OVER THE RAVENS WOULD: Give them a 2-0 record for the fourth consecutive season and their ninth win in their last 10 road games. It would also be Jacksonville's ninth victory in nine games over the Ravens (not including two games in 1995 when they were the Cleveland Browns) and their 31st win in 44 games against an AFC Central rival, including 14-8 on the road. A win would also even the Jaguars' all-time road record at 21-21.
INJURY UPDATE: Two players suffered injuries in the season opener at Cleveland: TE Damon Jones (knee/injured reserve) and RB Stacey Mack (ankle). Missing the game with injuries were: WR R. Jay Soward (ankle), S Mike Logan (hamstring), DT Emarlos Leroy (calf), DE Joel Smeenge (calf), RB Fred Taylor (knee), C John Wade (foot) and OT Leon Searcy (quadriceps). In addition, P Bryan Barker, who suffered an ankle injury early in training camp, did not punt, although he did hold for placekicks.
THE COACHES: Jacksonville head coach Tom Coughlin (50-31 in regular season, 4-4 in postseason) has led the Jaguars to two consecutive AFC Central Division championships and two appearances in the AFC Championship game. The Jaguars have made the playoffs each of the last four seasons - a first for an NFL expansion team and one of only two teams in the NFL to do so (along with Minnesota). In 1999, the Jaguars had the best record in the NFL (14-2), advancing to the conference championship game before losing to Tennessee. In 1998, Coughlin guided them to their first AFC Central Division championship with an 11-5 record. They defeated the New England Patriots in a Wild-Card game before losing to the New York Jets in the Divisional playoffs. In 1997, the Jaguars were 11-5 and finished second in the AFC Central, and they were defeated by Denver in the Wild-Card playoffs. In their second season in 1996, the Jaguars advanced all the way to the AFC Championship game, finishing the regular season in second place in the division with a 9-7 record. In the playoffs, the Jaguars upset the Bills and Broncos on the road before losing at New England. In 1995, the Jaguars finished with four victories in their inaugural season. Coughlin became head coach of the Jaguars on February 21, 1994 following three successful seasons as head coach at Boston College. He compiled a record of 21-13-1 from 1991 to '93 at Boston College, and had two appearances in bowl games and a ranking of 13th in the final AP poll of 1993. A veteran of 30 years of coaching, he was previously an NFL assistant coach with the New York Giants (wide receivers, 1988-90), Green Bay Packers (wide receivers and passing game coordinator 1986-87) and Philadelphia Eagles (wide receivers, 1984-85).
Brian Billick, the second head coach in Ravens' history, led the team to an 8-8 record in his first year in 1999, the most victories in franchise history. Billick served as the Vikings' offensive coordinator for the previous five seasons. Billick led an offense that scored an NFL-record 556 points in 1998, breaking the old mark of 541 set by the 1983 Washington Redskins. The Vikings ranked second in the NFL with a club-record 6,262 total yards and first in the league with 4,328 passing yards. Prior to joining the Vikings, Billick was a Stanford assistant from 1989-1991 under current Vikings head coach Dennis Green. Billick spent three seasons as offensive coordinator at Utah State (1986-88). He coached receivers, tight ends, and quarterbacks at San Diego State from 1981-85. Billick began his coaching career as an assistant at Redlands (1977) before becoming a graduate assistant at Brigham Young (1978). He was an assistant director of public relations for the San Francisco 49ers in 1979-1980. He earned All-Western Athletic Conference honors and was an honorable mention All-America in 1976 as a tight end at BYU. He played linebacker at Air Force before transferring to BYU. In 1977, Billick was drafted by the 49ers in the eleventh round.
JACKSONVILLE-BALTIMORE CONNECTIONS: Two Jaguars have ties to the Ravens: C Quentin Neujahr played in 14 games with seven starts (all in 1997) during his first three seasons with the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns, and WR Keenan McCardell played for the Browns from 1992 to '95 … Ravens defensive assistant/DL coach Mike Smith is from Daytona Beach, Fla. ... Ravens S Anthony Mitchell spent the 1999 training camp with the Jaguars … Six Ravens are from the state of Florida: LB Ray Lewis (Lakeland, University of Miami), DB Duane Starks (Miami Beach, University of Miami), CB Robert Bailey (Miami, University of Miami), C Jeff Mitchell (Clearwater, University of Florida), WR Travis Taylor (Jacksonville, Ribault High School, University of Florida) and OL Kipp Vickers (Holiday, University of Miami). In addition, Ravens first-round draft choice LB Peter Boulware attended Florida State, where he played with Jaguars DT Larry Smith and G/OT Todd Fordham … Jaguars ILB coach Steve Szabo began his coaching career at Johns Hopkins University in 1969 and played for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis … Jaguars TE coach Fred Hoaglin was a sixth-round draft choice of the Browns in 1966 and played for the team for seven years … Jaguars PK Mike Hollis and Ravens OT Spencer Folau played together at the University of Idaho … Jaguars DE Tony Brackens and Ravens RB Priest Holmes were teammates at the University of Texas … Jaguars RB Shyrone Stith and Ravens LB Cornell Brown were teammates at Virginia Tech ... Jaguars TE Kyle Brady and Ravens FB Sam Gash and S Kim Herring were teammates at Penn State ... Jaguars RB Fred Taylor played with Ravens C Jeff Mitchell and WR Travis Taylor at the University of Florida … Jaguars OT Leon Searcy (who is from Washington D.C.), MLB Hardy Nickerson and S Carnell Lake (I.R.) played for the Pittsburgh Steelers with CB Rod Woodson when Ravens defensive coordinator Marvin Lewis was the secondary coach and Jaguars defensive coordinator Dom Capers held the same position in Pittsburgh.
JAGUARS VS. RAVENS: In seven games against the Ravens, Mark Brunell (who missed the 1997 season opener with a knee injury), has completed 162 of 253 passes (64.0 percent) for 2,046 yards, with 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions for a 90.8 passer rating. Brunell is 7-0 with five 300-yard games vs. Baltimore. He has also rushed 32 times for 116 yards and one TD and three two-point conversions. … In three games, Fred Taylor has rushed 52 times for 237 yards and two touchdowns and made 10 receptions for 163 yards and one TD (Taylor was inactive for the 11/28/99 game with a hamstring injury suffered two weeks earlier vs. Baltimore). … In eight games vs. the Ravens, Jimmy Smith has made 44 catches for 779 yards and five touchdowns, while Keenan McCardell has caught 38 passes for 581 yards and one touchdown. … Mike Hollis is 14 of 18 on field goal attempts and a perfect 20 of 20 on extra points for a total of 62 points in eight games. … For the Ravens, WR Jermaine Lewis has scored touchdowns in four of the last six games against Jacksonville. In that time, he has caught 18 passes for 332 yards and five TDs. … In three contests vs. the Jaguars, QB Tony Banks has completed 36 of 72 passes for 416 yards. In addition, Banks has three touchdowns and two interceptions vs. the Jaguars (statistics include a 1996 game when he played for St. Louis). … In 1996, when he was with the Seahawks, Michael McCrary beat Tony Boselli to sack Mark Brunell, one of only nine sacks allowed by Boselli during his six-year career. … Peter Boulware has recorded 6.5 sacks in four games against Jacksonville. … In three games vs. Jacksonville, RB Priest Holmes has carried the ball only 3 times for 10 yards … In 10 games vs. the Jaguars (two with the Browns in 1995), PK Matt Stover is 11 of 12 on field goal attempts and 9 of 9 on extra points for a total of 42 points.
LAST WEEK: The Jaguars won their season opener for the fifth straight year by defeating the Cleveland Browns 27-7 on the road. It marked the 50th win in franchise history, even though the Jaguars had seven players sidelined with injuries. The Jacksonville defense held an opponent to single-digit points for the ninth time in 17 games under defensive coordinator Dom Capers, as well as stifling the Browns most of the game. Cleveland managed only nine first downs and 249 yards on offense. Jaguars QB Mark Brunell had the 17th 300-yard passing game of his career, as he hit on 24 of 34 passes for 301 yards and one touchdown. WR Keenan McCardell caught nine passes for 115 yards against his former team, Kyle Brady tied his career high for receptions and set a personal best for receiving yards, and Jimmy Smith scored his first touchdown of the season. The Jaguars even managed 119 yards rushing behind backup RBs Stacey Mack and Chris Howard, each of whom scored their first career touchdowns.
NOTES FROM THE BROWNS GAME: The Jaguars have won 16 of their past 20 division games. … The Jaguars 28 first downs is their fourth-most ever in a game, while Cleveland's nine first downs tied for the fewest allowed by a Jacksonville team (also 10/20/96 by St. Louis). The Browns' two first downs rushing is also the fourth-fewest ever allowed by Jacksonville. … Jaguars' opponents have had only 44 total plays in each of the last two regular-season games, which is tied for the second-fewest ever vs. Jacksonville. … The Jaguars led in time of possession 37:10 to 22:50. … The Jaguars' first score of the game came on a 97-yard drive that is the second-longest in team history (longest: 98 on 10/31/99 at Cincinnati). Their final score was a 17-play drive that is the longest in franchise history (previous was 16 plays five times).
Stacey Mack started his first NFL game and rushed 23 times for 74 yards. Only five different players in Jaguars history have ever rushed for more yards in a game than Mack - Fred Taylor, James Stewart, Natrone Means, Vaughn Dunbar and Tavian Banks - and only Taylor gained more yards in his first start. … With nine receptions in the game, Keenan McCardell now has 401 catches in his career - 321 with the Jaguars and 80 when he was with the Browns. It marked his 14th career 100-yard game, 13 of them with Jacksonville. … Jimmy Smith extended his team-record streak to 73 consecutive games with at least one reception. His TD catch was the 29th of his career. … The Jaguars converted 10 of 16 third downs (63 percent), while the Browns converted just 3 of 10 (30 percent). The Jaguars' 10 conversions tied for their third-most ever in a game. … The Jaguars had only one sack (by Tony Brackens) and allowed four sacks, although they did not turn the ball over and got one takeaway. … MLB Hardy Nickerson led the team with 14 tackles (9 solo), followed by WLB Kevin Hardy with 10 tackles (5 solo) … Steve Lindsey became the first player other than Bryan Barker to punt in a Jaguars game, kicking three times for a 39.0-yard average, with none inside the 20 and one touchback. He did not have any punts returned. … Mike Hollis was 2 for 2 on field goals, moving back into first place on the NFL's all-time field goal accuracy list with a percentage of 81.82, surpassing San Diego's John Carney. He also hit on a 50-yarder, which makes him 8 for 11 in his career, a 72.7 percentage. He has also been successful on 45 of his last 49 field goals on the road dating back to 1997. … Every player who dressed played except OT Mark Baniewicz. Friday's inactives were: OT Leon Searcy, WR R. Jay Soward, RB Fred Taylor, C John Wade; Sunday's inactives were: S Mike Logan, DT Emarlos Leroy, DE Joel Smeenge and QB Jonathan Quinn (third QB). … Jaguars captains were MLB Hardy Nickerson, WLB Kevin Hardy, OT Tony Boselli and WR Keenan McCardell.
FROM COACH TOM COUGHLIN ON THE BROWNS GAME: "It was a good game. I felt better the longer we played, and that is what has to happen in the NFL. In the opener, you have to build, build, build. In the second half, I was pleased that we could control Cleveland with our defense, and our offense held the ball for several long drives. We had no turnovers and got one, which I was pleased with, so I felt we got better as the game went on. Mark Brunell was very sharp and he took charge. It was good to have Tony Boselli out there. Lots of people did outstanding jobs today. We did a good job of spreading the ball around with a lot of players contributing. We did have good balance and I was pleased. I thought Kyle Brady had a nice day catching the ball, Alvis Whitted came up with some plays, and Keenan McCardell was solid in there. Cleveland went to Jimmy Smith with about every coverage they had, which was as expected. The 50-yard field goal by Mike Hollis has to help our confidence. And kickoff coverage was solid with T.J. Slaughter and Chris Howard getting some big hits. I thought that was a good message. As I told our players, 'Let's win one and then worry about next week."
(on Stacey Mack) "Stacey Mack did well. He had 74 yards rushing. He is a powerful guy. He has a lateral ankle sprain and hopefully it won't be anything to hold him back."
(on Mark Brunell) "Mark was extremely effective. He made a lot of good decisions and really got into the game. He put the ball right on the money and made some outstanding throws. He was very stabilizing for our offense and showed great leadership by his execution."
(on Keenan McCardell) "He made a lot of good plays. He is a go-to-guy. He makes plays to keep drives alive and had a great game today. He was a big part of giving us good field position."
FROM QB MARK BRUNELL: (on the offensive line) "They were a little rusty in the first half, but overall I was impressed with the way they held up together with the run and the pass protection. They haven't been together very long and they are building that cohesion and that is very important. Our offensive line has taken some hits, but they did a fine job. They let up a couple sacks, but that's nothing to be worried about. We ran the ball very well and we had plenty of time. To sum it up, it was a really good start for our offensive line."
(on spreading the ball around) "Those guys know they have to step up. They know teams are going to key on Jimmy Smith and then try to take away Keenan (McCardell). We were able to get them the ball, but also Kyle Brady caught five balls and the backs had some thrown to them. Kyle is better than ever. I have always had confidence in him; I just haven't always gotten him the ball. We need to change that, because he is too good not to catch the football."
(on the running attack) "Stacey Mack did a great job and Chris Howard did a great job, too. We needed both of them. I was very impressed with those guys. It was hot out there. We had the ball for a long time, so it was good to see them play well. Sure, we are a better team with Fred Taylor, but it shows our depth. If a guy goes down, then other guys step up, and we got that with Chris and Stacey."
FROM OT TONY BOSELLI: "I am not happy about my performance. It is nowhere near where I want to be or where I was last year, but I am also coming off an ACL injury so it will take time. With the steps I'm taking, as long as I play better next week, I will be fine. I hadn't played football in a while, except for the first 10 plays of the last preseason game. It was good, but when you come into the opening game of the season and everyone has their A-game ready, I was nervous."
"I think we are a good team; we have some players. I knew, as long as we had the five guys up front who started to play together and started communicating, we would be OK. We have the skill positions and we make plays. That's what we did; we gave Mark time, and Jimmy and Keenan killed them."
FROM WR KEENAN McCARDELL: "Everybody had to step up a little bit and do a little bit more. Everybody felt we had to do a little extra, and we did it. You have to give a lot of credit to the offensive line, the running backs and everybody on the offensive side of the ball. Our main goal was to take it one play at a time, and that's what we did."
(on catching nine passes with Jimmy Smith double-covered) "You choose your poison on who you want to stop. They chose Jimmy and I stepped up. Vice versa, if they want to stop me, then Jimmy would step up. Mark was throwing the ball great. I think Cleveland's philosophy was not to give up the big play and make us drive the ball with 12- to 15-play drives, and that's what we did."
(on his performance) "I don't check out statistics. I just want a Super Bowl. We just have to take them one game at a time and it will come."
FROM WR JIMMY SMITH: (on being double-covered) "Our receivers have the cliche of 'pick your poison.' I was doubled for most of the day and other guys stepped up. You have to give Kyle Brady a lot of credit. When is the last time you saw that kind of production from a tight end position that he had? And Keenan stepped up, too."
(on the running game) "Stacey Mack did a great job. The running game opened things up, and late in the fourth quarter is when you want the running game to pound on them. That's what we did."
(on converting 10 of 16 third downs) "That does a lot for confidence, especially for the offensive line. I have to give the offensive line a lot of credit. There were a lot of new guys in there and they hung in there and showed toughness against an improved defense of the Cleveland Browns."
MILLER LITE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: The Jaguars' nominee for the Miller Lite Player of the Week Award is QB Mark Brunell, who completed 24 of 34 passes for 301 yards and one touchdown in the Jaguars' 27-7 victory over the Cleveland Browns. It was the 17th 300-yard passing game of Brunell's career and the only one by a winning quarterback in the opening week of play.
NEXT WEEK: The Jaguars will play their home opener at ALLTEL Stadium when they host the Cincinnati Bengals at 1:00 p.m. EDT Sunday, September 17. The Jaguars have a 6-4 record against the Bengals since 1995, including sweeps the last two years. Last season, the Jaguars swept the Bengals, winning 41-10 in Cincinnati and 24-7 in Jacksonville on January 2, 2000, which is also the last time the Jaguars have played at home during the regular season. The Bengals were the lone NFL team that did not play last weekend. They open their 2000 season - and inaugurate their new Paul Brown Stadium - on Sunday when they host the Cleveland Browns.
BRUNELL'S TOUCHDOWN TARGETS: Mark Brunell has thrown 87 TD passes in five seasons in Jacksonville. Here are the 14 players who have caught them: Jimmy Smith (24), Keenan McCardell (17), Damon Jones (10), Willie Jackson (10), Pete Mitchell (7), James Stewart (5), Ernest Givins (3), Cedric Tillman (3), Fred Taylor (2), Andre Rison (2), Derek Brown (1), Ty Hallock (1), Desmond Howard (1), Natrone Means (1).
JAGUARS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS: After one game, the Jaguars are fifth in the NFL in total offense (11th rushing, 3rd passing), and they are 9th in defense (14th rushing and 11th passing). … The Jaguars have scored 27 points, tied for second in the AFC and tied for seventh in the NFL. … The Jaguars' 7 points allowed are the fourth fewest in the NFL among teams that have played a game. … The Jaguars' offense leads the NFL with 28 first downs. The Jaguars are second in the NFL in third down percentage (10 of 16, 62.5 percent), and the defense is 11th in the NFL in opponent's third-down conversions (3 of 10, 30.0 percent). … The Jaguars' plus-1 difference in turnovers-takeaways are tied for fifth in the NFL, and their 0 turnovers are tied for the league's fewest. … PK Mike Hollis is tied for ninth in the NFL in scoring among kickers with 9 points. … QB Mark Brunell is second in the NFL in passing with a 107.6 rating. … WR Keenan McCardell is tied for second in the NFL in receiving with 9 catches, and he is tied for fourth in the NFL with 115 receiving yards. Jimmy Smith is tied for seventh in the AFC with 6 catches, and Kyle Brady is the NFL's leading receiver among tight ends with 5 catches. … Stacey Mack is tied for sixth in the AFC in rushing with 74 yards. … The Jaguars are first in the AFC and second in the NFL with their opponents starting drives after kickoffs from the 20.5-yard line.
2000 STATS AND SUCH: The Jaguars have not allowed an opposing player to pass for 300 yards since Miami's Dan Marino on October 12, 1998, and they have given up only one 100-yard rusher (Tennessee's Eddie George) and two 100-yard receivers (Carolina's Muhsin Muhammad and Cleveland's Darren Chiaverini) since the 1998 season.
Mark Brunell is 45-24 as a starter in regular-season games, 49-28 overall. … PK Mike Hollis has scored in 66 consecutive regular-season games (and all eight in the playoffs). He now has 585 points in his six years with the Jaguars. … Of the Jaguars' 24 completed passes, 16 have been to wide receivers, 2 to running backs and 6 to tight ends. … Jaguars opponents have begun 3 possessions inside their own 20 and they have not scored on any of those drives. The Jaguars have begun 3 possessions inside their own 20 and scored on 2 of them (2 TDs). On 5 drives inside the opponent's 20, the Jaguars have scored 3 TDs and 2 FGs. Their opponents have 1 trip inside the red zone and have made 1 TD. … The Jaguars used turnovers to score 7 points, while their opponents scored 0 points off turnovers. … In six seasons, the Jaguars are 12 for 18 on two-point conversions (0 for 0 this year), while their opponents are 3 for 16 (0 for 0 this year). … In six seasons, the Jaguars have a winning record in every month. They are 1-0 in August, 11-9 in September, 11-9 in October, 14-6 in November, 12-7 in December and 1-0 in January. … This season, the Jaguars have outscored their opponents in three of the four quarters: second (10-7), third (10-0) and fourth (7-0); neither team has scored in the first quarter.
The average age of the 53-man roster as of September 4 is 26.59 years old. There were 24 players 25 or younger, 20 players between 26 and 29 years old, and nine players 30 or older. The youngest player is RB Shyrone Stith (22 years, 5 months), and the oldest is P Bryan Barker (36). … Nine rookies are on the roster, including nine of the 11 draft choices (WR R. Jay Soward, G Brad Meester, MLB T.J. Slaughter, CB Kiwaukee Thomas, S Erik Olson, DE Rob Meier, RB Shyrone Stith, LB Danny Clark and OT Mark Baniewicz). … More than half of the players (29) have four years or less of NFL experience, and only eight players are in their eighth season or more. … There are 15 players who are new to the team this year, and 38 who were with the team before this year. In addition to the nine rookies, the other six new players are: MLB Hardy Nickerson and QB Jamie Martin (unrestricted free agents); DE David Richie, C/G Jeff Smith and CB Michael Swift (veteran free agents); and G Brenden Stai (trade). … The Jaguars have nine players who were first-round selections in the college draft, including seven of their own picks: OT Leon Searcy (1992, Pittsburgh), OT Tony Boselli (1995, Jaguars), TE Kyle Brady (1995, N.Y. Jets), LB Kevin Hardy (1996, Jaguars), DT Renaldo Wynn (1997, Jaguars), RB Fred Taylor (1998, Jaguars), S Donovin Darius (1998, Jaguars), CB Fernando Bryant (1999, Jaguars) and WR R. Jay Soward (2000, Jaguars).
In six seasons, three Jaguars have played in all 89 games (regular season and postseason) in franchise history: WR Jimmy Smith, PK Mike Hollis and P Bryan Barker. … The longest streak of consecutive starts is held by WLB Kevin Hardy (34), followed by WR Jimmy Smith (22) and OT Tony Boselli (20). … The longest current streaks of overall starts is held by DT Gary Walker (40; 17 for Jacksonville and 23 for Tennessee). … Six players have played in 100 or more games during their careers: MLB Hardy Nickerson (189), P Bryan Barker (152), DE Joel Smeenge (144), LB Lonnie Marts (141), OT Leon Searcy (126) and WR Keenan McCardell (101). … Nickerson has 166 career starts, followed by Searcy (111) and Marts (105). … OT Tony Boselli has started 72 games for the Jaguars, followed by QB Mark Brunell (69), OT Leon Searcy (63) and WR Keenan McCardell (62).
