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Our periodic look at the best and worst draft pick by position for each team begins with running back. We’ll look at draft results since realignment in 2002, since that’s when the Texans came into existence and gives us the most level comparison.

Houston Texans

Best: Arian Foster is the best guy they’ve had, but he was undrafted so he doesn’t qualify. It’s not a great list, but the best of the lot was Domanick Davis, who became Domanick Williams, a fourth-rounder in 2003. (I initially had those names flipped, sorry.) In three seasons, he averaged 4.1 yards a carry and scored 28 touchdowns. That’s pretty solid production for a back during a three-year stretch when his team was 14-34.

Worst: Lots of options here. I remember thinking that 2002 fourth-rounder Jonathan Wells was simply not an NFL back. Vernand Morency (2005, third), Wali Lundy (2006, sixth) and Tony Hollings (2003, second in the supplemental draft) were also not good. The Texans got just one season plus one game out of Morency, who couldn’t get ahead of Ron Dayne, Lundy or Samkon Gado. But the least value came from Hollings, who earned just 49 carries in three seasons. Pro Football Reference says his weighted career average ranks him 10,562nd since 1950.

Indianapolis Colts

Best: He takes a lot of grief because he’s not necessarily a big producer for fantasy leagues, but Joseph Addai (2006, first) is very effective at doing what’s asked when he’s healthy. He’s got a darting style that’s suited for the team, he’s a great pass-catcher and he’s very reliable in protecting Peyton Manning.

Worst: The team spent late picks on backs in 2002 (Brian Allen), 2005 (Anthony Davis) and 2006 (T.J. Rushing) and none of them did much. Hard to grade hard on such low picks, but it’s too early to talk Donald Brown (2009 first-rounder) here. Allen had one kick return in 2003 and Davis didn’t make the team. We’ll declare it a tie, acknowledging a hit with either would have qualified as a nice surprise.

Jacksonville Jaguars

Best: Maurice Jones-Drew is the centerpiece of the team and was a steal in the second round (60th overall) of the 2006 draft. The Jaguars passed on him at No. 28 in the first round, when they took tight end Marcedes Lewis. MJD qualifies as the face of the franchise.

Worst: LaBrandon Toefield and Alvin Pearman made contributions on a team that was in pretty good shape at the position with Fred Taylor and then Jones-Drew. So while it’s unfair to hit them for a seventh-rounder from 2008, it also means they’ve done pretty well. Three years into his career, Chauncey Washington finished 2010 on the practice squad of the St. Louis Rams.

Tennessee Titans

Best: You’d expect the 24th overall pick to be here and Chris Johnson certainly is the selection. He’s coming off a 1,364-yard, 12-TD season that was largely regarded as a failure because he’d set the bar so high with his 2,006-yard rushing season in 2009. He’s as fast as or faster than any running back in the league.

Worst: The Titans fell in love with Chris Henry at the combine and let his measurable outweigh his unspectacular performance at Arizona. The second-round pick the team spent on Henry in 2007 amounted to a waste. The Titans kept him for three seasons to try to justify spending the 50th overall pick on him, which was longer than the needed to know he was a strikeout. He played in just 10 games.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- My prospects were mixed, depending on the evaluator.

As I toured the AFC South during training camp, I made special requests to chat with punters and punt returners. With a pending appointment to attempt to field practice punts from the Titans' Brett Kern, I was searching for advice, and seeking forecasts.

In Houston, Texans receiver and returner Jacoby Jones said I could catch three and a half of eight punts, with a falling-down catch counting as the half.

In Jacksonville, Jaguars halfback and occasional returner Maurice Jones-Drew sized me up and said he thought I could catch two of eight.

In Anderson, Ind., Colts punter Pat McAfee expected less of me.

“The first four you’ll be confused,” he said. “You’ll get lucky on the fifth one, the sixth one you’ll get overconfident. If I were you, I’d just close my eyes and hope it hit me in the chest … I think if you get one, you should be happy.”

OK, what stupid thing is Kuharsky up to now?

While I spend a lot less time in bars watching games than I used to, I typically circle to an idea like this once a year. Sit with friends over a cold one and watch a return man flub a punt, and inevitably someone says, “I could have caught that.” I’ve often been that someone.

And so I sought to transfer the question from the pub to the club and started making arrangements to test out the question: Can a fat, bald, 41-year old -- a cue ball covering football -- field a punt from a top professional?

The pointers I collected had me all twisted around, particularly those on ball flight.

• Said Jones-Drew: “If the nose of the ball stays up, it’s going to be short. But if that nose turns over, you’ve got to get back because that ball is going to sail a little bit.”
• Said Houston punter Matt Turk: “It really depends on the height of the ball. If it’s turning over, and it’s a low ball, you should be backing up. If it’s turning over and it’s a good hang-time ball, it might fall away from you.”
• Said McAfee: “If the ball turns over it’s going to be straight; if the nose stays up it’s going to go right for a right-footed punter.”
• Said Jones: “With a right-footed punter, if it’s a tight spiral, the ball will dive to your left. If it’s a wobbly spiral, it dives to your right.”

Got all that? I didn't either. Ultimately, I decided it would not be beneficial to try to flip through those notes while the ball was in the air. I’d play it like a center fielder and try concentrating, as Titans receiver and returner Damian Williams encouraged, on being square to the ball so any bobbles wouldn’t squirt through me.

I just wanted to get to where it would come down -- MJD said a six-yard radius should suffice -- and take my chances.

When I finished my travels a couple of weeks ago, I might have sneaked off one afternoon to get a feel for things with some work at Brentwood Academy in suburban Nashville with Nathan Renfro, a senior punter who might be heading to Northwestern.

Two days later I signed a waiver letting the Titans off the hook should anything go awry, passing on Turk’s advice to wear a mouthpiece and tape my fingers. Then, armed -- or should it be handed? -- with a pair of gloves provided by the Titans and with my dusty Puma Kings from my soccer days laced up, I met with Kern.

Some players, including kicker Rob Bironas, already were out preparing for practice. Equipment guys I know were milling around. A reporter friend and a PR man looked on from a distance.

I was happy McAfee, the Colts' punter, was hundreds of miles away.

“This is our only opportunity to actually embarrass a media person,” he said. “If Brett brings the rain down, it would be absolutely great for all of us. There are 31 other punters looking for him to embarrass you. Hopefully, he will.”

I wished Turk was nearby.

“Maul the ball, don’t try to use your hands, it won’t work,” he said. “… I always root for the underdog, so I am rooting for you. I want to be proud of you at the end of this thing.”

And so, with a bit of coaching from since-released Titans veteran kick returner Alvin Pearman, I took my shot.

I was 2-for-5 in warm-ups, but didn’t sufficiently learn from my misses.

Pearman mentioned the parabola of the ball, and I butchered my calculations of that early. The center-fielder approach didn’t work, as Kern’s first punts reached an apex, then dropped more sharply than I expected. Had I run through them, I’d have had a chance. Slowing for fear they’d take off, I had a pathetic showing. The first bounced in front of me, the second might as well have.

After those two, Kern changed his prediction from two catches on eight punts to none.

His third sailed over my head to the left, and I didn’t even get deep enough to make a play on it. I was well-positioned on the fourth and I dropped it.

Finally on No. 5, as McAfee predicted, a catch.

Feeling much more confident, I knew the worst was still ahead. Kern learned former Titans punter Craig Hentrich’s famous knuckler at the foot of the master.

Punish me, I shouted to him, give me your most devilish stuff.

Kern didn’t hit the first one especially well. Punt No. 6 sent me drifting back and to my right and I got that one, too.

Then he connected on what he said was his most fluttery knuckleball in weeks.

Sliding left and settling, I felt confident I’d done better than a 6-yard radius. I was directly under it and the nose was tilting down right at me. But I might as well have been standing under a flapping fish sent flying by a hurricane. The ball couldn’t have been 10 feet over my head when it flattened, shot several yards over my head, then bounced on the turf well behind me.

“I let those hit the ground,” Jones said when we talked knuckleballs.

I should have waved my arms and ran away from it screaming “poison” or “Peter” or “pull” or whatever other keyword guys use in those situations to signal teammates to be wary of letting a bouncing punt hit them and turn it live.

Kern and I agreed on a bonus punt, and I raced in to field another dancing knuckleball that bounced off my chest near my shoulder. I thought it would leave a mark.

It didn’t. But the next day I noticed the inside of both forearms were painlessly black and blue from just two catches.

Kern was nice about it all. On camera, he said I wasn’t the most graceful as I caught the two I did, and that was kind of him. The laughs in the locker room understandably could have come with a far harsher review.

I didn’t think it was going to be easy. I didn’t expect it to be quite that difficult -- or for me to be quite so clumsy.

Now add the standard conditions real punt returners contend with: a helmet and set of pads, mean gunners and crowd noise.

No thanks.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Stack up all the TV shows and DVDs some people watch and it can be pretty intimidating. That’s how Titans return man and running back Alvin Pearman, who’s not much of a TV or movie guy, looks at his thick volume of training camp reading.

Still, a copy of “War and Peace” in an NFL locker room is somewhat visually arresting.

Pearman started it a bit before training camp. He says he’s not a fast reader but doesn’t mind taking his time with a book that has well-developed plot and characters. He’s on page 422 of 1,350.

“You know what? It’s very enjoyable,” Pearman said after emerging from a dip in the Titans’ cold tub, book in hand. (One hand, honest.) "And that’s the bigger point. It is intimidating, that’s the one thing. But when you’re working your way through it, you can lose yourself in it.

“And now in training camp, when I am very much engrossed by the demands of football and everything that comes with it, it’s nice to have a little mental escape and historical fiction is a nice way.”

The perception of Leo Tolstoy’s 1869 epic as numbingly boring and its use as the standard for jokes about things that seem to last forever is way off, Pearman said.

“It’s a very fascinating book, so much character development you can’t help but identify with several of the main characters,” he said. “That’s the process that I love, I love character development -- within life and within books…

“It’s been on my reading list for a while. It just sort of happened that I started it a little bit before camp. And hopefully I’ll finish it before camp’s out.”

For those of you who want to join Pearman’s odyssey, I’m pretty sure this looks like the version Pearman’s reading. The link provides a nice summary, and a reasonable price, too.

Some bullet-point thoughts on the Titans’ 20-18 preseason loss at Seattle on Saturday night.

Impressive:

• Vince Young and the first team offense smoothly moved to a touchdown on the game’s opening possession with a great 28-yard catch and run by fullback Ahmard Hall running behind offensive linemen Jake Scott and Eugene Amano.
• Jason Babin looked to get off the ball very quickly and was disruptive as a first-team pass rusher.
• Brett Kern completed a fourth-down pass on a fake punt to Hall for a successful conversion. Jeff Fisher loves to get a preseason fake on film.
• Jason Jones and Stephen Tulloch both did well to get their hands on passes.

Unimpressive:

• Young’s last pass was a rollout against his arm (why?) and then a bad decision to throw what turned into an interception by Josh Wilson.
• Chris Simms was shaky in relief of Young. He stepped up to change a call and took a shotgun snap off his body, and it turned into a lost fumble. Simms didn’t get good protection, checking down a bunch, dinking all night and underthrowing Kenny Britt open up the left side on one deep chance.
• On a night when Kerry Collins sat so the Titans could look at Simms and Rusty Smith, Jeff Fisher used veteran Alvin Pearman as the first returner, wasting first-team chances Marc Mariani could have had.

Unfortunate:

• Stefan Johnson dislocated his right ankle, creating a poignant scene where Fisher and Pete Carroll, Johnson’s college coach, comforted him.

A pre-camp depth chart can tell us more about PR, seniority and staff loyalties than about who will be in up-in-the air spots come opening day.

That said, having one is better than not having one. And among our four franchises, only the Titans have one out so far.

I just got around to scanning the depth chart the Titans included as part of their training camp release and thought a few bullet points were worth mention and discussion.

• Though middle linebacker Stephen Tulloch was not with the team through the entire offseason as he tried to leverage a long-term deal, he is listed as the starting middle linebacker. Odds are he’s in camp in time -- his one-year restricted free-agent tender was signed in June. Colin Allred’s worked in his place, and it wouldn’t have been a surprise if coach Jeff Fisher put Allred with the first team to start to make a statement of his own.
• At outside linebacker, Gerald McRath and David Thornton are listed as the starters. But Fisher said during OTAs, while Thornton healed multiple injuries, that the veteran didn’t qualify as a starter then. McRath is suspended for the first four games. Will Witherspoon, listed behind McRath, was the team’s biggest free-agent addition and is unquestionably going to be one of the starters outside.
• Rookie third-rounder Damian Williams is listed as the front-liner at both punt returner and kick returner, with another rookie receiver, Marc Mariani, second at punt returner and Kenny Britt second at kick returner. Alvin Pearman is third at both and clearly only veteran insurance. But Pearman ranks third at running back, ahead of rookies LeGarrette Blount and Stafon Johnson.
• Elsewhere, rookies rate lowly, as you’d expect. First-round defensive end Derrick Morgan is third on one side behind Jacob Ford and Jason Babin.
• Defensive tackle Jovan Haye, the player I rate as most likely to be demoted out of the starting lineup, remains a starter ahead of Jason Jones and Sen’Derrick Marks.
• Cornerback Jason McCourty is the second starter, with Ryan Mouton and rookie Alterraun Verner behind him while Tye Hill is backing up Cortland Finnegan on the other side.

Again, it’s an unofficial depth chart they are nice enough to provide this early for us to pick apart. We’ll take similar looks at the others when we first see them.

With all the teams that go from bad to great and great to bad from one season to the next, forecasting how things will pan out in the NFL is close to impossible.

It’s another ingredient in why the NFL is the best thing going in sports, another piece of the unpredictability we love.

Generally, I have trouble forecasting big things for teams that are counting on a high number of unproven players to make simultaneous jumps and be productive -- though they can emerge as far better than I expect, of course. Still, it’s why I am not particularly optimistic about the 2010 Tennessee Titans.

I thought I’d go team-by-team in search of less-than-established spots in the lineup to create an AFC South uncertainty index.

Let’s be clear: you may not prefer Amobi Okoye at defensive tackle for the Houston Texans, Kyle DeVan at right guard for the Indianapolis Colts, Brad Meester at center for the Jacksonville Jaguars or Michael Griffin at safety for the Titans. But they are guys who will play and have a degree of faith from the team.

I’m looking at spots where inexperience is a big factor.

We’re not pretending to know the season-opening depth charts here, simply building off last year’s versions. We’ll look a bit beyond starting lineups with significant roles and return jobs included. Here's our look in order of uncertainty. (Starting positions labeled with an asterisk.)

Titans (10, with three starters)

• *Defensive end: Derrick Morgan
• *Outside linebacker: Gerald McRath
• *Cornerback: Jason McCourty, Ryan Mouton, Alterraun Verner, Rod Hood, Tye Hill
• Third outside cornerback: McCourty, Mouton, Verner, Hood, Hill
• Second running back: Javon Ringer
• Blocking tight end: Craig Stevens
• Second receiving tight end: Jared Cook
• Third defensive tackle: Sen’Derrick Marks
• Punt returner: Damian Williams, Alvin Pearman, Ryan Mouton
• Kick returner: Marc Mariani, Damian Williams, Mark Jones

Kuharsky’s take: Sure, young and talented can be exciting and promising, but that’s quite a lot. You’d expect Morgan to be fine. And they went with numbers instead of value at corner, where I’d think one or two guys have to emerge. McRath, Stevens, Cook and Marks all need to contribute. If Jeff Fisher hasn’t found solutions in the return game, they’ve got serious issues.

Jaguars (10 with two starters)

• *Defensive tackle: Tyson Alualu
• *Second and third wide receiver: Troy Williamson, Mike Thomas, Jarett Dillard
• Second and third running back: Deji Karim, Rashad Jennings
• Third or fourth defensive tackle: D’Anthony Smith
• Third or fourth defensive end: Larry Hart, Austen Lane
• Third tight end: Zach Miller
• Nickelback: Don Carey, Scott Starks, Tyron Brackenridge
• Punt returner: Scotty McGee, Thomas, Karim
• Kick returner: McGee, Karim, Thomas

Kuharsky’s take: Alualu, the first rounder, should fare well. Finding playmakers (beyond hyphen guys Mike Sims-Walker and Maurice Jones-Drew) out of the receivers and running backs is a huge issue. McGee or Karim panning out as a returner would help in that department too. With shaky veteran safeties, nickelback will be especially important.

Indianapolis (six, with one starter)

• *Left guard: Tony Ugoh, Andy Alleman, Jacques McClendon
• Third (possibly second) tight end: Brody Eldridge, Tom Santi, Jacob Tamme
• Third defensive end: Jerry Hughes
• Fourth cornerback: Ray Fisher, Mike Newton, Brandon King, Jordan Hemby
• Punt returner: Fisher, Jerraud Powers, Brandon James
• Kick returner: Fisher, Sam Giguere, James

Kuharsky’s take: Potentially they’ve got just one starting spot in question. A season-killing knee injury to third-rounder Kevin Thomas hurts depth options at cornerback, but a lot of teams would be pleased for that to rank as one of its big issues. Eldridge could help upgrade run-blocking and Fisher and James seem to be more exciting return options than they’ve had recently.

Houston (four, with three starters)

• *Running back: Ben Tate
• *Right guard: Antoine Caldwell
• *Cornerback: Kareem Jackson
• Third (possibly second) tight end: James Casey, Garrett Graham

Kuharsky’s take: I’d prefer to have inexperienced guys with upside in the mix at nose tackle and free safety, but they look to be sticking with the status quo in Shaun Cody and Eugene Wilson, respectively. If you’re going to have new starters, let them be high draft picks like Tate (second), Caldwell (third last year) and Jackson (first).

» NFC Stock Watch: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Falling

Alvin Pearman, RB, Titans and Mark Jones, WR, Titans: Pearman didn’t have much standing heading into the offseason. The backup running back, who ended the season as the Titans' kick and punt returner, lost major standing with the draft and undrafted rookie signings.

Third-round pick Damian Williams is expected to be the leader in the return games, which need a reliable player with some big-play potential after a miserable year where successful fair catches were often an accomplishment.

And while LenDale White was dealt away, Pearman ranks fifth at the position behind Chris Johnson, Javon Ringer, LeGarrette Blount and Stafon Johnson.

Jones ranks even further down the receivers list. He can make the team only if he absolutely lights it up as a returner while others underachieve. It’s a scenario I don’t see panning out.

Rising

Antoine Bethea, S, Colts: It’s not a big deal yet or a big surprise. But Bill Polian told the Indianapolis Star's Mike Chappell that the Colts have talked to Bethea, a restricted free agent, about a long-term deal.

The steady, poised Bethea probably doesn’t get enough credit for being the settling force in the secondary, but he’s a key cog in the Colts' defense. That they’re acknowledging interest in locking him up long term seems like a good sign to me, as I think he’s a guy they’ve got to hold onto.

He had a team-high four picks and beat out middle linebacker Gary Brackett for the team’s tackle lead with 120.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Christmas night callout for illegal procedure: Titans punter Brett Kern is wearing gray sweatpants either over, or instead of, his uniform pants while holding for Rob Bironas’ pregame field goals.

Brett, buddy, everyone is cold out there. Am I wrong in saying he needs to tough it out? Nashville sportswriter David Boclair points out Kern’s legs are his livelihood and maybe it’s akin to a pitcher wearing a jacket when he runs the bases.

I am told Kern even wears them during the game and takes them off when it’s time to punt or hold.

Do we think Ray Guy did that?

Anyway…

Only one lineup change from the pre-printed flip cards -- Nick Hardwick is starting at center for the Chargers.

Inactives are in, I know you’ve been waiting anxiously all day, so without further delay:

Titans

• Receiver Dominique Edison
• Running back Javon Ringer
• Return man Alvin Pearman
• Cornerback Rod Hood
• Linebacker Keith Bulluck
• Offense lineman Troy Kropog
• Tight end Craig Stevens
• Defensive end Jevon Kearse

Chargers

• Quarterback Charlie Whitehurst
• Cornerback Dante Hughes
• Running back Michael Bennett
• Free safety C.J. Spillman
• Defensive end Jacques Cesaire
• Receiver Buster Davis
• Inside linebacker Kevin Burnett
• Center Eric Ghiaciuc

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Titans will be rushing against Tony Ugoh at left tackle instead of Charlie Johnson, who’s out with a foot injury.

We’ll see if Ugoh’s been making progress. He’s been inactive for five games this season, and otherwise worked only on special teams while in place as a backup except for a spot start against Tennessee in the first matchup.

For the Titans, Rod Hood is a healthy scratch for the second week in a row. Looks like a bad move to me. If the Titans get hurt in the secondary, rookies Ryan Mouton and Jason McCourty are in line to work as subs at cornerback. Hood was far better than either of them when he played.

The entire inactive lists for both teams:

Colts

• K Adam Vinatieri
• WR Anthony Gonzalez
• QB Jim Sorgi
• RB Donald Brown
• DB Aaron Francisco
• LT Charlie Johnson
• TE Tom Santi
• DE Keyunta Dawson

Titans

• WR Justin Gage
• RB Javon Ringer
• RB Alvin Pearman
• CB Rod Hood
• LB Colin Allred
• OL Troy Kropog
• DT Jason Jones
• DT Sen’Derrick Marks

HOUSTON – Inactives for Monday Night Football between the Titans and Texans.

Tennessee

• Receiver Justin Gage
• Running back Javon Ringer
• Returner Alvin Pearman
• Linebacker David Thornton
• Linebacker Colin Allred
• Tackle Troy Kropog
• Defensive end Jevon Kearse
• Defensive tackle Jason Jones

Kenny Britt starts for Gage, Gerald McRath starts for Thornton.

Houston

• Quarterback Dan Orlovsky
• Receiver/ punt returner Jacoby Jones
• Cornerback Antwaun Molden
• Cornerback Fred Bennett
• Safety Dominique Barber
• Guard Tutan Reyes
• Defensive end Tim Jamison
• Defensive tackle Frank Okam

Glenn Martinez will return punts for Jones. He won AFC special teams player of the week honors as a member of the Denver Broncos for an 80-yard punt return for a TD against the Titans in 2007.

Posted by ESPN.com’s Paul Kuharsky

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- The Titans promised changes beyond Vince Young for Kerry Collins.

But Jeff Fisher indicated they’d be minor and they are: Jason Jones is starting at left defensive tackle for Jovan Haye, who’s inactive, and Rod Hood is starting at left cornerback for Jason McCourty.

Who's returning for Tennessee? Not Alvin Pearman, signed after Mark Jones suffered a hamstring injury. Pearman's inactive. Look for some combination of Kevin Kaesviharn and Ryan Mouton on punts -- they are fielding them now in warmups -- and either Michael Griffin or McCourty on kickoffs.

For the Jaguars, Reggie Nelson shifts to corner to start at corner for the injured Rashean Mathis and Brian Russell replaces Nelson at free safety. (Sean Considine was in line to replace Nelson, but is sick and inactive.)

Tra Thomas is starting at left tackle for Eugene Monroe.

The list of inactives:

Jacksonville

• Receiver Tiquan Underwood
• Mathis
• Considine
• CB Brian Witherspoon
• LB Brian Smith
• OL Maurice Williams
• OT Jordan Black
• DT Greg Peterson

Tennessee

• CB Nick Harper
• RB Javon Ringer
• CB Cary Williams
• OT Mike Otto
• Haye
• TE Craig Stevens
• DE Jevon Kearse
• PR-KR Alvin Pearman

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

Biggest surprise: The Jaguars continue to be willing to part ways with veterans who disappoint. While their depth is questionable at cornerback, they cut Brian Williams, who’s played corner, safety and nickel for them. Tyron Brackenridge, an offseason waiver claim from the Jets, joins Scott Starks and Brian Witherspoon as the depth with rookie Derek Cox likely to start opposite Rashean Mathis. Two undrafted players made it -- defensive end Julius Williams and linebacker Russell Allen, while expensive veteran offensive lineman Tony Pashos did not.


No-brainers: Nate Hughes was productive all through camp and in his preseason action and on a team that drafted three receivers and brought in Torry Holt, he still had to make it. He stayed and could start, while the third of the drafted wideouts, Tiquan Underwood, was cut. Ernest Wilford, brought back recently when he was let go in Miami, made the team as a tight end ahead of Richard Angulo, who was seen by some as “just a guy.”

What's next: Backup quarterback was going to be one big concern, but the team dealt an undisclosed draft pick to Tampa Bay for Josh McCown. Todd Bouman will likely be gone once McCown passes his physical. With fullback Greg Jones likely to be the top alternative for carries to Maurice Jones-Drew and rookie Rashad Jennings the only other running back on the roster after Alvin Pearman and Chauncey Washington were cut, the team is thin at the spot. Expect a practice squader, or two, at least.

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

The Jaguars cuts, just announced by the team:

Tight end Richard Angulo

Safety Marlon McCree

Running back Alvin Pearman

Offensive lineman Tony Pashos

Linebacker Tim Shaw

Running back Chauncey Washington

Punter Steve Weatherford

Defensive back Brian Williams

Linebacker Thomas Williams

Long snapper Joe Zelenka

Wide receiver Tiquan Underwood

Quarterback Todd Boeckman

Fullback Brock Bolen

Safety Michael Desormeaux

Cornerback Pete Ittersagen

Defensive end Jeremy Navarre

Center Cecil Newton

Wide receiver Todd Peterson

Guard Cameron Stephenson

Running back Josh Vaughan

Linebacker Johnny Williams

The team also placed defensive tackle Rob Meier (shoulder) on injured reserve.

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It was billed as a scrimmage. A somewhat clumsy scoring system was in place, but it wasn't well translated by the scorekeeper who was controlling the JumbroTron.

It's hard to declare a winner in a glorified practice anyway, which is what unfolded at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in front of 14,112 fans who took advantage of a free night.

Some highlights, lowlights and developments from the AFC South Blog's final training camp night with the Jags:

• Line judge Tom Symonette talked with offensive tackle Jordan Black after one series about how he was coming close to drawing a holding call near the end of an early period, saying he could tell Black was doing it more as he got tired.
• At the end of a 2:00 drill period, on third-and-goal from the 1-yard line, David Garrard pitched to Maurice Jones-Drew who probably would have been taken down by a defender if things were live. MJD threw a wobbler to the right side of the end zone, and Mike Walker made a great play to go up and take it away from Reggie Nelson.
• Rookie receiver Jarett Dillard went up to pull in a 25-tard gain to convert a third-and-11 from Garrard. It's the sort of catch Dillard's failed to make on a consistent basis in the last several days.
• Defensive back Brian Williams put a shoulder down and crushed Todd Peterson after a mid-range reception. It was called incomplete, but the replay on the stadium scoreboard suggested he'd gathered the ball and taken a step. I asked Symonette about it and he said we'd "have to take it to replay." It was the sort of hit a lot of coaches wouldn't have been happy with in this setting, but that the Jaguars seem not to mind while working to instill their physical mentality.
• Garrard looked for Troy Williamson in the back middle of the end zone from maybe 20 yards out and was picked by rookie corner Derek Cox. Garrard said he'd like to have the throw back, but it was a situation where if the team had game planned it probably would have looked to a different route.
• Kicker Josh Scobee was impressive again, nailing all five field goal attempts from 35 to 52 yards all with quite a bit of room to spare. I was wondering if he's at a point where he should start dialing it down a little, a 27-year old maybe saving a little to help his chances as a 37-year old. Or is it good that he makes plenty of long kicks with eight or 10 yards to spare? There was a practice pause right after the field goal period, and since Jack Del Rio walked by right as I was thinking it, I asked him. He kind of shook his head and laughed, but then told me about how things have really clicked in mentally for Scobee.
• Walker was hurt somewhere along the way, but Del Rio said afterward that a lower leg X-ray was negative and the team was optimistic it wouldn't be a big cause for concern.
• Backup quarterback Todd Bouman threw a nice TD to tight end Greg Estandia over Gerald Alexander in the back left corner of the end zone. Not long later, Bauman was picked off by Scott Starks, who wrestled a pass away from Tiquan Underwood.
• Tyron Brackenridge pulled in a pick of third string quarterback Paul Smith, who's not looked good while I've been here. The throw was a bit behind Clarence Denmark and defensive back Kennard Cox jostled him as it was arriving. It would have gone for a pick-six if officials didn't whistle a stop to the return.
• In the final period, the offense got the ball at its own 35-yard line with 58 seconds on the clock. They got across the 50 in two plays, but the drive died as Garrard threw a terrible ball that Kennard Cox picked easily in front of Williamson. Wasn't much of a finish to the night.
• Two-minute drill receiving totals provided by the team: Underwood 2-26, 1 TD, Dillard 1-25, Alvin Pearman 1-1, Estandia 1-11, Rashard Jennings 1-15, Zach Miller 2-28.

Posted by ESPN.com's Paul Kuharsky

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- There is no denying Jack Del Rio has a fondness for Greg Jones. The fullback is one of the coach's guys.

Some people see it and understand. Others are puzzled.

	Fernando Medina/US Presswire
	Despite just two carries last season, Greg Jones may be in line for more touches in 2009.

But part of the decision to let Fred Taylor go and move Maurice Jones-Drew to the lead running back position also included some confidence that the team had alternatives for additional carries starting with Jones, who's averaged just less than 4 yards a touch in his four seasons. (He missed 2006 with a knee injury.)

"When we brought Greg in, we knew we got a terrific college runner with size and we thought the makeup to be a Pro Bowl-type fullback and be a little bit like [former Buccaneer Mike] Alstott in that we think late in games he could really wear on people," Del Rio told me in June. "He's physical and can close things out, can become more of a presence. With Maurice and Fred both, there really weren't the carries for him.

"He's a great athlete, he's very unselfish and I believe in him. I just believe he's a good football player and he's the right kind of guy. But he's got to fight to be the best guy, we're not going to hand anything to anybody."

Rookie Rashad Jennings could earn some carries. He's done a lot to win over coaches, teammates and the press since coming in as a seventh-rounder out of Liberty.

(Read full post)