The AFC South is still in grasps, though the situation looks dire. The Titans sit on top due to their defensive line’s dominance of the Jaguars’ crippled offensive line. They are sitting at a cozy 2-0 including a divisional win. The Colts are 1-1 without a division win and both the Jaguars and the Texans are fluffing up the bottom with no wins. Who in the sports world would have predicted that? However, this weekend features AFC South matchups. In the ideal situation, the Jaguars would beat the Colts and the Texans would beat the Titans. That would mean that the Jaguars, Titans and Texans would be sporting a divisional win, leaving the Colts on the bottom. I am sure that all of us in the AFC South can agree that the Colts have been on top far too long.

Another thing in the Jaguars’ favor is that the divisional game they lost was an away game. While any divisional loss is somewhat hobbling, a divisional loss at home is especially crippling. If the Jaguars can beat the Titans at home their loss wouldn’t have such an impact. However, no one can win a division by only winnning their divisional games at home. That just adds to the importance of the upcoming game. Something about me just can’t trust the Jaguars away at the Texans on a Monday night.

There are other reasons to be happy about the upcoming game. Bob Sanders is out of the game on Sunday. The last time Sanders was out the Jaguars ran for 375 yards for a score of 44-17. I am not entirely sure if Jeff Saturday will be playing but even if he is one can only hope that he is at least a little bit rusty. If Quinten Groves or Derrick Harvey  can get a sack on Peyton Manning I would be just thrilled.

 
Injury report:

LB Justin Durant (groin), Drew (ankle) and WR Troy Williamson didn’t participate in Jaguars team drills. Taylor (toe) and S Brian Williams (thigh) worked on a limited basis. … For the Colts, RB Joseph Addai was held out of Wednesday’s practice to rest, as were DE Dwight Freeney and DB Tim Jennings. DT Keyunta Dawson (ankle), WR Roy Hall (knee), DT Daniel Muir (knee), G Mike Pollak (knee), TE Jacob Tamme (ankle) and OT Tony Ugoh (groin) also were held out of practice. … In addition to bringing back G Chris Naeole, the Jaguars signed WR D’Juan Woods back to the practice squad, along with LB Lamar Myles. The team released OT Andrew Carnahan. … Jaguars C Brad Meester participated in practice in a limited capacity, but he will be declared out for Sunday’s game. He’s not expected back until the fourth or fifth week of the season.

Starting Center Brad Meester (torn biceps)
Starting Left Guard Vince Manuwai (torn anterior cruciate ligament)
Second String Offensive Tackle Richard Collier (went out too late)
Starting Right Guard Maurice Williams (ruptured biceps)

Both Mo Williams and Vince Manuwai are on the Injured Reserved list. Brad Meester suffered from his injury in the off season and is still recovering. I haven’t seen any updates on his condition except that he won’t be playing against Buffalo.  That means that Uche Nwaneri and Tutan Reyes (both reserves) will be starting against Buffalo along side recently acquired Milford Brown and Chris Slaughter.

Patching up the offensive line seems like a daunting task. However, Jack Del Rio won’t lower his expectations:

“This is when the staff has to earn its money,” Del Rio said. “This is when [offensive coordinator] Dirk Koetter, [assistant head coach] Mike Tice, [offensive line coach] Andy Heck – the whole staff, really – has to find a way to a way to utilize the guys we have, find out the things they can do, find out where they can execute.

“Because we’re not going to lower expectations. We expect to play good football. We expect to win the game.”
 

As an education major, I cannot tell you how important expectations are for students. I have no doubt that it transfers into the real world as well, especially in such a highly emotional situation like football.

Del Rio’s expectations seem to be transfering into optimism for the newly deemed starters of the offensive line. Despite their pounding against the Titans, the offensive line guys seem to feel confident:

“We expect to go out there and play with consistency,” Nwaneri said. “Tutan has been in this game for a while, and this is my second year. I know what we expect, and I know what I expect of myself. We’re going to be a cohesive unit, and we’re going to take care of business the way we would if Vinny or Mo were here.”

The offensive line story is elevated by the threat of former Jaguar Marcus Stroud on the other side of the line. Stroud never seemed healthy for the Jaguars and rumor has it that he was sour about the team. The media is proclaim this as a vengance match. Who knows? With Stroud getting two sacks against the Seahawk, he may be back at full strength. David Garrard may find himself becoming more personal with Stroud than he ever was when Stroud was on the Jaguars.

Mo Williams, who ruptured his biceps in pregame warmups, is still an unknown. They were saying his injury was worse yesterday. Uche Nwaneri replaced Williams and played through a knee sprain. He is expected to start against the Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville’s first home game. 

This all comes on the heels of Richard Collier’s shooting. Collier, another offensive line man, is still in the hospital recovering.