THIS WEEK: The Jacksonville Jaguars are 1-1 as they head into their bye week. They started off the season with a 28-25 loss at home to the Indianapolis Colts, but they evened their record at 1-1 last Sunday by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs 23-16 on the road. The Jaguars are in a four-way tie in the new AFC South Division with the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts and Houston Texans all at 1-1.
After their bye week, the Jaguars will play at home for two weeks, hosting the New York Jets and Philadelphia Eagles at ALLTEL Stadium. First up will be the Jets on Sunday, September 29 at ALLTEL Stadium. The Jets are 1-1 so far this season and face the Miami Dolphins this Sunday. In their first seven seasons, the Jaguars are 4-3 following bye weeks. Following the Jets game will be a contest against the Eagles on October 6. The Eagles, who played in the NFC Championship game last season, lost their season opener and played on Monday night in Week 2. After the back-to-back home games, Jaguars will go on the road for five of their next seven games in October and November.
Road games, however, seem to bring out the best in the Jaguars. They have won four of their last five games away from home dating back to last season. Against Kansas City, the Jaguars had touchdowns of 79 and 63 yards on back-to-back offensive plays, breaking out of a 9-9 tie to win in the fourth quarter.
"A lot of positives things came out of the game," said head coach Tom Coughlin. "It was a win, a win on the road, a win against a team that had scored a lot of points. There were a lot of good things. We played well and played with great effort. I don't choose where the bye week falls, but I did want to come into it, after the opening game, at 1-1. I feel our team can mentally regroup, and we have a lot ot teach and learn from. When we return, it's a 14-game grind. But right now we're in first place, and everyone is aware that the the whole division is 1-1."
In the last six seasons, the Jaguars are tied with the fourth-best record in the NFL, a 50-32 mark that is four games behind the Green Bay Packers. They also have a 35-14 record at ALLTEL Stadium since 1996 that is tied for the fifth-best mark at home. On the road, the Jaguars are tied with the second-best record (one game behind the New York Jets) and they are one of only five NFL teams with a better-than-.500 mark on the road dating back to November 24, 1996.
INJURY UPDATE: The only player injured in the Kansas City game was CB Jason Craft (chest contusion). The status of all players will be updated during the week.
DAILY SCHEDULE: Interview and practice times for this week are as follows:
Day Coach Coughlin Players Practice
Tuesday No availability Players day off No practice
Wednesday 12:45 1:00 — 1:30 11:00 a.m.
Thursday 12:45 1:00 — 1:30 11:00 a.m.
Friday - - - 12:25 — 12:55 10:30 a.m.
Saturday No availability Players off No practice
Sunday No availability Players off No practice
Practices are held at the practice fields adjacent to ALLTEL Stadium. Check with the Jaguars' Communications office (633-6000) to schedule interviews.
ON THE INTERNET:The Jaguars website has unveiled a re-designed look for the 2002 season. For breaking news, columns, feature stories, press releases, historical information, video highlights, rosters, depth charts and statistics, go to www.jaguars.com Updated daily, the Jaguars' Official Web Site has been ranked among the 100 Best Sites in the World by PC Magazine. The site also features online ticket buying, new merchandise offerings and multimedia, including video of Jaguars television shows and live radio game broadcasts.
ON THE AIR THIS WEEK:
Monday — Jaguars Reporters, 6:00 p.m., WOKV Radio, with Brian Sexton, Vic Ketchman
The Jaguars End Zone, 7:00 p.m., WJXT-TV4, with Sam Kouvaris, Donovin Darius and a guest
Wednesday — Jaguars This Week, 6:00 p.m., WOKV Radio, with Brian Sexton, Vic Ketchman, Jeff Lageman
Thursday — Tom Coughlin Show, 6:00 p.m., WOKV Radio, with Tom Coughlin, Brian Sexton
THE Jaguars Show, 8:00 p.m., WJXT-TV4, with Brian Sexton, Jeff Lageman
Saturday — Tom Coughlin Show, 7:30 p.m., WJXT-TV4, with Tom Coughlin, Brian Sexton
THE COACH: Jacksonville head coach Tom Coughlin (63-51 in regular season, 4-4 in postseason) has led the Jaguars to two AFC Central Division championships and two appearances in the AFC Championship game in seven seasons as the only head coach in franchise history. In his first seven seasons, Coughlin posted a 39-23 division record against the AFC Central, including 22-9 at home and 17-14 on the road. The Jaguars made the playoffs all four seasons from 1996 to '99 — a first for an NFL expansion team. 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 his team to its first AFC Central Division championship with an 11-5 record. The Jaguars 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 second 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 bowl game appearances, as well as a ranking of 13th in the final AP poll of 1993. A veteran of 31 years in 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).
COUGHLIN IN EIGHTH SEASON WITH JAGUARS: Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin is in his eighth season as the team's head coach, tied for the third-longest tenure of any NFL coach with his current team. In addition, Coughlin has the fifth-best record of all current NFL coaches in division games (minimum of 20 wins) and the seventh-best record in home games (minimum of 16 home games). Records include all teams coached by an individual during the regular season.
LAST WEEK: The Jaguars got their first win of the season when they defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 23-16 at Arrowhead Stadium. It was the fourth win in the last five road games for the Jaguars, who won for the first time in the regular season since December 23, 2001. Mark Brunell passed for 320 yards and two touchdowns in leading the victory, as the Jaguars struck for two long touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Tied 9-9 with 6:57 left in the game, Brunell first hooked up with Patrick Johnson for a 79-yard touchdown pass — the longest pass in franchise history — for a 16-9 lead. Then, as soon as the Jaguars got the ball back after forcing a punt, Fred Taylor ran 63 yards for a touchdown. It marked Taylor's longest run since 10/16/00 at Tennessee and his third-longest scoring run ever. The Chiefs scored a touchdown with 2:35 to play, but then the Jaguars ran out the clock with four runs by Taylor and then two kneeldowns by Brunell. The Chiefs jumped out to a 6-0 second-quarter lead on two Morten Andersen field goals following long drives on their first two possessions. The Jaguars got their first touchdown late in the second quarter on a 37-yard pass from Brunell to Jimmy Smith on a 4th-and-5 play, but the extra point snap was mishandled and the game was tied 6-6. The Jaguars then took a 9-6 lead on the final play of the first half on a 26-yard field goal by Hayden Epstein. The third quarter was scoreless, and then the two teams combined for 24 points in the final quarter.
NOTES FROM THE CHIEFS GAME: The Jaguars have won five of their last six road openers. They are the first team to win in their first game at Arrowhead Stadium since the Buccaneers in 1978. … The Jaguars had three offensive touchdowns of more than 30 yards, marking only the fourth time in franchise history that had happened (others: 9/22/96 at New England, 1/15/00 vs. Miami in the playoffs, and 9/10/00 at Baltimore). … The Jaguars had more yards (450 to 336), more first downs (19 to 18) and more time of possession (31:44 to 28:16). The 450 yards was the Jaguars' most since December 10, 2000 and their sixth most ever, while ther 320 passing yards were the most since 9/10/00 at Baltimore. … The Jaguars converted 7 of 15 third downs (47 percent), while the Chiefs converted 6 of 13 (46 percent). … The Jaguars had one turnover and two takeaways and are now plus-one for the season. … Mark Brunell played the entire game and completed 25 of 36 passes (69.4 percent) for 320 yards, with two TDs and no interceptions and a passer rating of 115.5. It was his 22nd 300-yard game and first since 12/3/01 vs. Green Bay. The Jaguars are 12-10 when Brunell throws for 300 yards. … The Jaguars did not allow a sack for only the fourth time ever. In four career starts vs. Kansas City, Brunell has completed 67 of 111 passes (60.4 percent) for 928 yards, five TDs and only one interception for a 98.5 passer rating. … Brunell has now thrown at least one touchdown pass in 14 consecutive games, extending his team record. … RB Fred Taylor led the team with 114 yards rushing on 20 carries and scored his second touchdown of the season. It was his first 100-yard game since 12/17/00 at Cincinnati and the 19th of his career. The score gave him 39 career touchdowns, passing James Stewart for second behind Jimmy Smith (47) on the team's all-time list. Taylor also led the club with six receptions for 45 yards. … Jimmy Smith and Kyle Brady had five catches each, Smith for 83 yards and Brady for 60. Patrick Johnson added four catches for a team-high 97 yards. His career-best 79-yard TD broke Taylor's team record of 78 yards that was set on 11/1/98 at Baltimore. Johnson scored in back-to-back games for the first time in his career. … Chris Hanson punted four times for a 40.5-yard average, with no touchbacks and two inside the 20. He had two punts returned for 21 yards for a net average of 35.3. … PK Hayden Epstein scored five points on two extra points and one field goal, hitting from 26 yards but missing from 43. Epstein also had two touchbacks on kickoffs, giving him a league-leading six for the season. … LB Danny Clark led the team with a career-high 16 tackles (6 solo), followed by S Donovin Darius with 9 tackles (5 solo). … Marlon McCree had two interceptions, tying a team single-game record previously held by Deon Figures (8/31/97 at Baltimore), Aaron Beasley (9/12/99 vs. San Francisco) and Rayna Stewart (9/10/00 at Baltimore). They were the second and third interceptions of McCree's career. … Every player who dressed played except QB David Garrard. The inactive players were: CB Robert Bean, RB Dan Alexander, LB Bobby Brooks, G Daryl Terrell, C/G Drew Inzer, DE Stalin Colinet, DT Clenton Ballard and QB Kent Graham (third QB). … Jaguars captains were: QB Mark Brunell, TE Kyle Brady, DE Marco Coleman and MLB Wali Rainer.
FROM COACH TOM COUGHLIN ON THE CHIEFS GAME: "This was an exceptional win here. We had outstanding effort. Everyone all week long wanted us to focus on how hard it is to play here, and I thought our young guys handled it well. To come out here and give great effort, be physical, hustle around — we withstood the early barrage, and that was the ballgame. I can't say enough about the courage of our players."
(on the 4th-and-5 play in the second quarter that resulted in a TD pass to Jimmy Smith) "I was just trying to say 'Hey fellas, I have confidence in you. Let's make this first down, let's not give up and let's give our defense a lift.' Of course, the result was unbelievable in terms of the ball going in the endzone. I had something called and Mark wanted to go to a better protection scheme, we did that, and Jimmy took it in the endzone."
(on the defense) "They just kept rallying and playing hard and doing the types of things they had to do to get the other guy off the field. They played with great heart and great courage. I've always talked since Day One about effort — I'll accept anything as long as our effort is great. We gave up some ground, but when we got down in the red zone we seemed to rise up, and that's the difference. Last year, they scored four out of four times in the red zone (on December 30)."
FROM QB MARK BRUNELL: "It was a big win for us. I don't know if our young players really understand what this means. Playing in Arrowhead is probably one of the top two or three most difficult places to play because of the noise. For us to be a young team and come in here and get a victory is big for us. It was loud. It was probably one of the loudest days I've been a part of. We knew the Chiefs did not want to allow any big plays, but we were able to get some in the fourth quarter. I think, for the most part, where we succeeded was in our patience. They didn't blitz as much as we thought they would. They have an extensive blitz package, they bring safeties, linebackers and corners to keep you on your toes. So we had to be patient, we had to get the ball to Kyle and Fred underneath to keep drives alive, and the big plays really didn't come until late, so it was all execution and the guys played well."
(on the fourth down TD to Jimmy Smith) "We thought we would get some blitz. We had a couple of routes on that we felt very good about, and Jimmy Smith ran a curl route. He had a couple of guys near him and he made a play. That got us going and gave us some confidence and we were able to go on from there."
