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Jaguars have more questions than answers right now

Injuries and ailments could keep the team from achieving its past success.

By ROGER MILLS

© St. Petersburg Times,
published September 7, 2001

[Photo: AP] Receiver Jimmy Smith is one of the Jags’ unknowns as he returns from offseason abdominal surgery.

There was a point not long ago when the Jacksonville Jaguars, now entering their seventh season in the NFL, seemed on the fast track to long-term success.

There were so many reasons.

They had a great quarterback, a discipline-minded coach, bookend offensive tackles, two proven receivers and a city madly in love with pro football.

But as the Jaguars enter the 2001 season, they face a slew of questions that may take a few games to answer.

Is star running back Fred Taylor ready to play a full season without injury or distraction?

What effect has season-ending knee surgery last November had on veteran linebacker Hardy Nickerson?

Will receiver Jimmy Smith be able to produce the way he did before an offseason nightmare of multiple stomach surgeries?

"It's true, those are all reasonable questions that we have to have answered as we enter the season," Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said. "Yes, we're going to have some expectations from some of our guys."

But there's more.

Considering the team had to cut 10 players to re-sign quarterback Mark Brunell, is the offensive line ready to function without tackles Leon Searcy and Todd Fordham and guard Brenden Stai, all of whom were released to help pay Brunell?

Is rookie right tackle Maurice Williams ready to start? How long can the team go without injured left tackle Tony Boselli?

"This is why it's important for our veterans to establish things for us immediately," Coughlin said. "There's a lot of talent here but we were a team that was devastated by injury last year and it's time to move past that."

Through training camp and the first few preseason games, the injury problems have resurfaced. Boselli and receiver Keenan McCardell, both expected to play huge roles this season, are out indefinitely with knee and hernia injuries, respectively.

"You can win without any of us," Brunell said. "You can win without me. You can win without Fred. You can win without Jimmy. But you can't be as good. Can you consistently win? It's hard to say. But we wouldn't be nearly as good without Tony around. No question."

Although he passed for 3,640 yards and 20 touchdowns last season and signed a four-year, $30-million deal in the offseason, Brunell is only part of the Jaguars' potent offense.

Taylor, who missed the first three games last season with a knee injury, still finished with 1,399 yards. Through a stretch of nine consecutive games, he rushed for more than 100 yards, including 234 in a 34-24 win at Pittsburgh.

Taylor did not light up the stat sheet during the preseason. He rushed for just 54 yards through three games, and against the Chiefs he was twice stopped on third-and-inches.

"We're still tweaking with that a bit," Brunell said of the running game. "We've got two weeks to get ready for the opener and the guys we have, we know what they can do. We've got one of the great backs in the league back there so we'll be fine."

Though solidified as one of the league's most explosive players, Taylor had to restructure the contract he signed as a rookie (1998) to give the Jaguars more room under the salary cap. He did not get an extension.

Taylor, who has performed beyond the expectations of his rookie contract, swears he's focused on playing and won't allow his contract status to be a distraction.

"I've outperformed my rookie deal, by far. That's my opinion," he said entering training camp. "We're not going to give up on a (new) contract, but I'm not going to hold out. Holding out was never an issue. Flat out, point blank, I'm ready. We can pad up tomorrow."

Nickerson, a former Buccaneers star now entering his 15th season, is equally eager to pad up. Last season, his first with the Jaguars after seven with the Bucs, was frustrating. There was a hamstring problem in fourth game and then the surgery, his first in the NFL.

"I don't think I'm at a point that people can write me off," Nickerson said. "I still have some good football left in me. There comes a time when you realize you can't do it any more. I don't think I've reached that point yet."

But Nickerson will be 36 on Sept. 1 and may face the possibility of switching from the middle to the weakside to enable T.J. Slaughter to stay on the field.

"I don't care," he said about the position change. "I'm a football player. I have played weakside before. I'm suited for any of those positions."

So far, the Jaguars have kept Nickerson in the middle and managed to get Slaughter some time at the weakside spot. Either way, Coughlin said Nickerson's presence on the team is hard to measure.

"First, you have to realize what great physical condition he is in," Coughlin said. "He keeps himself in such great shape that it should work as inspiration to a lot of our guys. Hardy brings more than just that though. He brings a professionalism to the locker room that's hard to find."

- Information from other news organizations was used in this report.

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