Jacksonville offense vs. Atlanta defense

	JAGUARS OFFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	Run	1
	Pass	19
	Tot. Yds.	12
	Scoring	5
	Int's allowed	3
	Sacks allowed	9
	FALCONS DEFENSE
	Ranking in the NFL:
	vs. Run	27
	vs. Pass	8
	Total yds. allowed	13
	# of Ints.	7
	# of Sacks	19
	Turnover differential	-10

The Jaguars finally established some balance offensively with the return of RB Fred Taylor. Taylor gives the Jaguars a legitimate threat in the backfield, forcing defenses to pull the double coverage off of either Keenan McCardell or Jimmy Smith and devote a safety to run support.

The Falcons have allowed an average of 124.2 yards per game (27th in the league) on the ground, meaning that they are going to be forced to use extra personnel on Sunday to contain Taylor & Co. The Falcon linebacking corps will finally be intact after playing with numerous personnel changes and shuffled assignments for four weeks in a row. Jessie Tuggle is back in the middle and Keith Brooking will be back at weakside linebacker full time now. The Falcons are in desperate need for somebody to step up as the playmaker versus the run. DT's Shane Dronett and Travis Hall must be able to take up more space and clog the middle on Sunday to force Taylor to string it outside. Too many times this season, offensive linemen have been able to get out and chip the linebacking corps in pursuit of the ball carrier.

On Sunday, if the defensive line does not do a better job of protecting its linebacking corps, Jacksonville's offensive line will get out and make the block downfield. Taylor has exceptional vision and change of direction, but he also benefits from a lot of backside lanes created by an offensive line that makes blocks downfield and creates room to run into the secondary.

QB Mark Brunell seems to have his rhythm back after last week, although it was against one of the worst secondaries in the league in Cincinnati. Brunell is the biggest beneficiary of Taylor's return, because it takes pressure off the passing game and creates better matchups downfield. McCardell and Smith are one of the best receiving tandems in the game today, and will eat alive a secondary that does not give them enough respect. Now that Taylor is drawing more attention in the middle, the receivers are finding a lot more space to operate on the outside.

Falcons' corners, Ray Buchanan and Ronnie Bradford are going to have to hold up in man-to-man coverages on first and second down. The Falcons corners will have a lot of pressure on them Sunday to not let up the big play off of play-action where they will get little help to the inside in the deep third. Crockett and Buchanan need to keep everything in front of them and avoid gambling unless the coverage allows for help if they get beat on a first move.

The trenches are where the Jaguars have been dominating matchups and setting the tone for the defense. Atlanta's offensive line is gong to have to do a better job of holding up at the point of attack and cutting down on blown assignments. Against a team like Jacksonville, making the correct call and taking a good angle is the biggest key. The Jaguars bring so much personnel from so many different angles, that most of the time it is confusion that causes the penetration. FB Bob Christian is also going to have to play a critical role in the blocking scheme, both in the passing and running game. Christian will be responsible for picking up the extra man coming from the blitz. Many times, the Jaguars will send more people in upfield pursuit than the offense has players to block. Christian is going to have to recognize the blitz and pick up the unaccounted-for player that sneaks through the cracks or is waiting in the hole versus the run.

The next step in beating the Jaguar pressure is great communication between Chandler and his receivers. Terrance Mathis and Chandler seem to have a good feel for each other's whereabouts and decision-making process, but Chris Calloway, Tim Dwight and Ronnie Harris seem to be on separate pages. In order to beat the heavy blitz scheme, the receiving corps needs to do a better job breaking press coverage off the line of scrimmage and making themselves available as "hot receivers."

The Falcons special teams units have been up and down all season long, but P Doug Stryzinski has shown great boom and direction this season and has been doing an excellent job of allowing his coverage units to get down the field. Teams are averaging just 2.7 yards per return, which leads the league.