ESPN NFL

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It’s easy to be skeptical about positive injury news in May.

But I am buying the enthusiasm about Rashean Mathis here.

The veteran cornerback who tore the ACL in his left knee on Nov. 13 spoke with reporters on Tuesday.

He said he’s running, cutting and jumping while eagerly looking forward to a June 4 appointment with Dr. James Andrews.

“It’s responding great, I haven’t had any setbacks,” Mathis said. “I’ve never had an ACL injury before, but the guys around me who have had it say that I am way ahead of schedule. They’re surprised what I am doing at this time.”

If that doctor's appointment goes as well as he expects, he believes he’ll be able to participate, at least to some degree, in the team’s June 12-14 minicamp.

“To me, that would be remarkable,” coach Mike Mularkey said after an OTA session Tuesday at the team’s headquarters at EverBank Field.

“As long as they give him the go-ahead -- and really the player, too, feels good about it, that’s important as well -- I’m sure we would let him go. I’m sure he’d probably be limited, too. Since it’s the last, basically, three days of the offseason going into a five-week stretch. ...

“With the time that’s coming where you can’t do anything with the team, so I think it would be outstanding if he could get some work done with the team. I think it would be good with his teammates when it’s all said and done. We’re still on path for that.”

Mathis is heading into his 10th season with the Jaguars. He’s a consummate professional who won a starting spot as a second-round draft pick out of Bethune-Cookman in 2003.

Now he’s in line to compete with newcomer Aaron Ross, a free-agent addition who was part of two Super Bowl wins with the New York Giants.

“You always compete in this league,” Mathis said. “My mentality besides like a couple years, maybe, you always know that a competition is a possibility. And sometimes it’s been made known, whether or not it’s been made publicly known. ...”

“You approach it like you approach any other thing: Handle what you can handle. Stay healthy is the main thing. If I can, the rest will take care of itself.

As for the guy Mathis will need to hold off ...

“Aaron is a very good player; that’s a great pickup for our team, our defense,” Mathis said. “He’s a very good guy. He knows football. He has football savvy. He comes from the Super Bowl champs; he’s used to winning. I was impressed with him the first day I saw him.”

The winner of Mathis versus Ross will start opposite Derek Cox.

The other guy will be slotted as the nickelback. It should be a quality battle.

Earlier this week, Texans owner Bob McNair talked about negotiating contract extensions for coach Gary Kubiak and general manager Rick Smith.

That got me thinking: Who are the AFC South players who need contract extensions before they get anywhere close to an expired contract at the start of the 2013 league year?

Here are my top six:

1) Matt Schaub, Texans quarterback

I understand there are some non-believers. In five seasons with the Texans, Schaub has played a full slate of games only twice. He’s not been consistently clutch in big moments.

Still, I see him as a quality engineer of Kubiak’s offense. I think the team loves him and has faith in him. And although rookie T.J. Yates did some good work while filling in for Schaub last season, I don’t think the Texans would be comfortable handing the team over to Yates after he's been in the league only two seasons, especially if he plays only a little or not at all this season because Schaub is in the lineup.

I’d make sure Schaub’s fully recovered from the serious right foot injury that ended his 2011 season. If he plays well in the first month of the season, I’d talk to his agent. Even if they wait until after the 2012 season plays out, gauging his health and seeing how far he can take them, Schaub is their guy.

He’s not the best player on this list, but as a starting quarterback, he goes to the head of the line. Is he a top quarterback in the league? My count says he’s 13th or 14th among current starters. You’d like better, but can do far worse and I don’t think you can project Yates to rank any higher. The Texans aren't going to be drafting at the top of the first round, and none of the guys better than Schaub are going to be hitting the market. So there is no place to go to upgrade.

2) Connor Barwin, Texans outside linebacker

The Texans projected Barwin could be a quality pass-rusher when they drafted him out of Cincinnati in 2009 with a second-round pick. Last year, in Wade Phillips’ 3-4 defense, Barwin was a consistent pass-rushing force, playing nearly 95 percent of the team’s defensive snaps and recording 11.5 sacks.

Barwin is part of the reason the franchise could afford to let Mario Williams depart as a free agent. The Texans simply cannot allow Barwin to follow Williams out of town. And with the increase in 3-4 defenses around the league, there are a lot of teams that would make a play for Barwin if he came free.

3) Daryl Smith, Jacksonville linebacker

Smith’s known for being an underrated player.

He’s an anchor for the Jaguars, and I expect he’ll shine in a healthy defense in 2012. The unit has a chance to be great, and Smith will shine if the coverage behind him is good and the rush in front of him can be consistent. They have the people for both of those elements to be in place.

The Jaguars would certainly like to keep a starting linebacker corps of Smith, Paul Posluszny and Clint Session together.

4) Duane Brown, Texans left tackle

I don’t think he’s regarded around the league as a premier guy who would draw a ton of interest if he became a free agent. But he is regarded as an excellent player in the Texans' line scheme. The team is moving forward, replacing Mike Brisiel at right guard and Eric Winston at right tackle.

The Texans did what they had to in order to keep center Chris Myers. They will need to do the same with Brown. They must hold together the key pieces of what was an excellent group in 2011. Brown is vital for the success of Schaub, or Yates, as well as running back Arian Foster.

5) Jason McCourty, Titans cornerback

He’s a solid player on the rise. He plays a position where he will have a chance to establish himself as a productive leader who needs to be in place for the long term.

Cortland Finnegan is gone. And the team is weak at safety, where Michael Griffin is getting one last chance under the franchise tag and Jordan Babineaux owns a starting spot at least in part because the Titans don’t have other options.

McCourty is a smart player who should be the best member of the secondary in 2012 and beyond provided they are able to keep him.

6) Terrance Knighton, Jaguars defensive tackle

He suffered a serious eye injury in a bar incident not long ago, but indications are he should be OK for training camp. Knighton has had weight issues since he came into the league. He seems to have gained better control of that, and general manager Gene Smith made it clear to Knighton that if he proves he can remain fit he’ll be taken care of in the long run.

Knighton moves very well for a very large man, and the Jaguars believe if their defense will be good, it will be because Knighton and Tyson Alualu anchor the middle, stuffing the run and moving the quarterback off his spot.

Also not under contract for 2013 and likely worthy of new deals: Texans safety Glover Quin, Colts cornerback Jerraud Powers, Jaguars cornerback Derek Cox, Titans tight end Jared Cook and Colts receiver Austin Collie.

» NFC draft analysis: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South


Despite talk of grabbing the best player available, it’s funny how often needs and picks seem to line up.

Of 31 picks, I count four that don’t technically qualify as addressing needs: Jaguars fifth-round linebacker Brandon Marshall, Titans fifth-round tight end Taylor Thompson, Jaguars sixth-round cornerback Mike Harris and Colts seventh-round quarterback Chandler Harnish.

We saw the Texans replenish at outside linebacker, on the offensive line and at kicker and add to their options at receiver. The Colts loaded up on help for No. 1 overall pick Andrew Luck -- seven of their other nine picks bring offensive players to Indianapolis . Jacksonville addressed its big needs right out of the chute, then made a couple of odd selections. Tennessee didn’t take two players at the same position.

BEST MOVE

The Jaguars came into the offseason in dire need of upgraded weaponry for Blaine Gabbert. They started last season with wide receiver Jason Hill as a starter, and he was cut before the season ended. Mike Thomas was miscast as a top-of-the-group guy when he should be a No. 3. Cecil Shorts showed he needs a lot of time to develop.

Mike Mularkey hired a solid receiver coach, Jerry Sullivan. He’s a tremendous upgrade from Johnny Cox, who was quickly fired after Jack Del Rio was dismissed during the 2011 season. Free agency brought Laurent Robinson, who should help, and Lee Evans, who’d be gravy if he can revive his career.

The Jaguars successfully sold pundits on the idea they’d be trading down, then only gave up a fourth-rounder to move up from No. 7 to No. 5 to draft Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon. He’s a dynamic receiver who can catch balls outside his frame and cause matchup problems.

Outside of Luck, no team in the division got a player who can cure an ill better than Blackmon can fix what ails the Jacksonville offense. Now it’s on Gabbert to show he can effectively get the ball to the new star receiver.

RISKIEST MOVE

The Titans didn’t touch a defensive end until Scott Solomon in the seventh round, and they didn’t add an offensive lineman at all. And pass rush and run blocking were two areas that qualified as weaknesses at the end of last season.

Tennessee hosted Scott Wells, Chris Myers, Jeff Saturday and Dan Koppen and saw all four sign elsewhere. On Saturday, coach Mike Munchak made those meetings sound like information-gathering get-togethers rather than courtships, a stance that’s pretty insulting to veterans who wouldn’t waste time making visits without the possibility of a contract.

The defense of incumbent starters on the interior -- Eugene Amano and Leroy Harris -- has entered a new round now. Munchak said the team felt no “dire need there” and that “we have guys we can win with.” Still, watch for a key undrafted addition or free agent or two.

The Titans added one big piece this offseason to its insufficient pass rush in the form of free-agent end Kamerion Wimbley, who was a cap casualty in Oakland. He may provide a big boost but also probably shouldn’t be on the field for every play. Tennessee’s only attempt to bolster itself on the edges came with the 211th pick, end Scott Solomon from Rice.

The Titans face a pretty good slate of quarterbacks this season. Those passers may have a lot of time to throw.

MOST SURPRISING PICK

We hit it hard Saturday night, but the Jaguars' selection of Bryan Anger in the third round was a baffler. Yes, the team will benefit from a big leg and stands to gain field position.

But Jacksonville overrated special teams’ impact by deciding to draft Anger so early rather than addressing other needs where it could have selected a player with a chance to play.

The Jaguars have a recent history of messing up at the position, and teams that struggle with stability at a spot are prone to overreach in an effort to correct it.

I believe that’s a good piece of what happened here. They could have gotten him or a punter who still would have been a big upgrade later.

The Jaguars found Terrance Knighton, Derek Cox and Will Rackley in the third round in Gene Smith’s previous three drafts. They are all starters who affect games more than a punter can.

They can rationalize this pick. And we can stridently disagree.

FILE IT AWAY

Six receivers came into the division -- Blackmon, Kendall Wright in Tennessee, T.Y. Hilton and LaVon Brazill in Indianapolis and DeVier Posey and Keshawn Martin in Houston. That’s two first-rounders, two third-rounders, a fourth-rounder and a sixth-rounder.

The countermeasures?

Just two incoming cornerbacks -- Titans fourth-rounder Coty Sensabaugh and Jaguars sixth-rounder Harris.

Secondary depth could be severely tested by good quarterbacks and receivers, especially when the division faces the NFC North and the high-powered passing offenses of Green Bay, Detroit and Chicago.

The Colts have no proven corners beyond Jerraud Powers. The Texans lost Jason Allen, who played a reasonable amount. The Titans need to unearth a new nickelback now that Cortland Finnegan is gone. Only the Jaguars have fortified the spot, adding two-time Super Bowl winner Aaron Ross, presumably getting Cox and Rashean Mathis back healthy and drafting Harris.

The AFC South is a big running back division, but it’s become more equipped to sling it and may not have the people needed to cover offenses with a lot of downfield weapons.

“It tells you that this is a wide-open league, the offensive focus is on scoring points probably more than ever,” Titans general manager Ruston Webster said. “It’s becoming more of a quarterback-wide receiver league probably every day.”

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been accused (occasionally by me) of not doing well enough in assessing how the rest of the league's teams value some players the Jags draft.

Some personnel people around the league say the Jaguars simply don’t care about that. In a way, I admire them for it. Don’t be overly concerned and influenced by the forces around you, by the competition. Do your own thing. Bank on your convictions.

But when it comes to taking Cal punter Bryan Anger in the third round, the Jaguars absolutely should care about league context.

I know at least one other team had him rated as a fifth-rounder.

Anger is the first punter to go in the top 100 picks since 1995, when Todd Sauerbrun went in the second round to Chicago, 56th overall.

There is a reason for that.

It’s important that you don’t punt terribly. But it’s not so important that you punt fantastically, certainly not important enough that you sacrifice the chance to improve at a position that could be on the field for three downs a game.

“I think it will be evident when you get a chance to see him punt: He’s got a strong history which I feel will transfer to this level in helping us defensively with the yardage we can gain in field position,” general manager Gene Smith said.

“… He’s the player in that round at your pick that you feel can upgrade your football team. I think that’s an easy decision for me, to get a starter in the third round.”

Calling a punter a starter is beyond a stretch.

The Jaguars' defense played 970 plays in 2011. The Jaguars' offense played 958 plays. The Jaguars punted 99 times.

“I think it’s first downs that you gain,” Smith said in a further defense of the pick. “And I feel like in the third round it’s not a round that you always get proven starters.”

Really?

In Smith’s three previous drafts, he picked four times in the third round. Guard Will Rackley, defensive tackle Terrance Knighton and cornerback Derek Cox are starters. The only nonstarter, defensive tackle D’Anthony Smith, has missed his first two seasons with injuries.

The Jaguars averaged 41.9 yards per punt last season, 31st in the NFL. They averaged 36.5 net yards per punt, 28th in the NFL. Those numbers were, in part, a testament to the team’s foolish conclusion that greybeard Matt Turk was the man to replace Adam Podlesh, who left for Chicago as a free agent.

The Jaguars cut Turk after five games, going with Nick Harris the rest of the way. Harris was 3 yards (and 5.1 net yards) better per punt than Turk had been.

A longer punt is easier to cover, so this is too simple.

Nevertheless, here is my counterproposal to drafting Anger 70th:

Jacksonville uses an average punter and boosts its net average to what was the midpoint for 2011. By my calculations, that would give the Jaguars an extra 15.5 net yards a game. Then use the 70th pick on an offensive lineman who, as part of a better scheme, could help cut the Jaguars’ sack yardage in half. That would give the team an extra 10.3 yards a game, and also help young quarterback Blaine Gabbert not worry so much about getting crunched.

The overall gain from my plan -- not just estimating the average that will come with a big leg, but actually factoring in context -- would be better.

The goal is not to punt, and you drafted a punter. That was the first thing a reporter in Jacksonville said to coach Mike Mularkey after the pick.

“And hold, hold for extra points,” Mularkey said. “If you want to write about him, he’s a really good holder for extra points and field goals, and he just so happens to be a difference-maker when it comes to punting.”

Oh, he holds, too? Well, that changes everything.

No, actually, any guy on offense with good hands, starting with your backup quarterback, should be able to function as a holder.

Maybe Anger is the league’s best punter and holder for 15 years.

Even if he is, it says here there will be at least three dozen players among the picks after Anger who have more impactful careers than he will. And that’s a modest 20 percent of the 183 guys we’re talking about. If the Jaguars missed on him by two rounds, maybe it’s 64 players. It could be more.

Are the Jaguars, coming off a 5-11 season, good enough that they can pass on such potential people? They are not. Perhaps they are expecting Gabbert to be terrible again, knowing they’ll be punting a ton and being proactive?

They need more guys who can score touchdowns or stop touchdowns. Get more guys who can get you first downs and you’ll punt less, kicking more field goals and scoring more touchdowns. Get more guys who can stop a third-down run or break up a third-down pass and you’ll be fielding punts, not covering them.

Do those things, and getting a few additional yards when you have to kick the ball away doesn’t mean so much.

Know where you have a chance to add guys who fit that bill?

With the third-round pick you just used on a punter.

Too often the Jaguars are a punching bag or a punch line.

This time, they deserve it.

The sort of bold move the Jaguars were due to make thanks to plenty of salary-cap room and a new owner who’s talked about being all-in has arrived.

While the Jaguars signed receiver Laurent Robinson and backup quarterback Chad Henne, the addition of former Giants cornerback Aaron Ross is a bigger move.

Adam Schefter reports the Jaguars and Ross have agreed on a three-year deal worth up to $15.3 million.

Ross should bring the Jaguars a great deal in play and leadership -- he started in both the Giants’ Super Bowl wins over the Patriots.

Corner depth was the Jaguars’ second-biggest need on defense, behind only the sort of special pass-rushing end that many teams are searching for fruitlessly.

Jacksonville had previously re-signed Rashean Mathis, a one-time staple. He’s coming off a torn ACL, however, and his deal is an incentive-laden one-year package.

The Jaguars now have Ross, Derek Cox, Mathis and nickel corner Drew Coleman.

That’s a pretty solid stable to fill out the defensive backfield with safeties Dawan Landry and Dwight Lowery.

Despite managing to re-sign end Jeremy Mincey, end and receiver remain the primary needs.

The defense is an end away from being loaded, having now added a quality six pack of veterans in the past two seasons: linebackers Paul Posluszny and Clint Session, safeties Landry and Lowery and corners Ross and Coleman.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Morris Claiborne is largely regarded as the top cornerback available in the draft.

The Jaguars may be drafting a bit too late at No. 7 to get him, but he’d sure be a great fit. Jacksonville has a quality young corner in Derek Cox. But veteran Rashean Mathis is about to be an unrestricted free agent and is coming off a torn ACL. Even if he’s re-signed and recovered for opening day, the Jaguars need their next starting corner on the roster.

Not long ago, Claiborne wasn’t even a cornerback. He said he was recruited to LSU as an “athlete” and teammate Patrick Peterson, drafted fifth overall by Arizona last year, convinced him to try corner.

He was quickly hooked.

Regarding the combine, Peterson told Claiborne to “go up and take over.”

Claiborne is an admirer of Darrelle Revis and rates himself a technician who funnels receivers rather than being especially physical with them.

He’d be a great piece for the Jaguars. But it may be difficult for him to get beyond Tampa Bay at No. 5.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Jacksonville defensive tackle Tyson Alualu had surgery on the balky knee that kept him from approaching his peak performance in 2011, Jaguars coach Mike Mularkey said Friday at the scouting combine.

“We’re anxious to see how he is when he feels 100 percent,” Mularkey said. “I know that when we played him when I was with Atlanta, he was a disruptive player on that knee. Here’s a guy that’s going to hopefully come back full speed and see how much more he can improve from it. He should be ready to go by the time we get to camp."

Mularkey said the operation was not serious and is expected to solve Alualu’s issues.

The Jaguars can be an excellent defense, especially if they add a big-time pass rushing end. They are at their best when Alualu and Terrance Knighton clog up the middle and force teams to try to run outside.

Mularkey had less to say about other injured players like defensive ends Aaron Kampman (knee) and Matt Roth (concussions), linebacker Clint Session (concussions ) and cornerbacks Derek Cox (knee) and Rashean Mathis (knee).

“Our first camp will be on April 16, again I’m going to call it a veteran orientation camp … we’re hoping to see if they are ready for that but it’s not going to be a setback if they’re not,” Mularkey said.

Brian McIntyre of Mac’s Football Blog has done a tremendous job tracking base salary increases for 2012 triggered by things that happened in 2011. (Hat tip to Alan Burge of the Houston Examiner.)

McIntyre's updated list currently includes 10 players from the AFC South:

Here they are, with their base salary increases:

• Houston LT Duane Brown, $1.3 million
• Houston CB Brice McCain, $693,000
• Indianapolis WR Austin Collie, $693,000
• Indianapolis punter Pat McAfee, $693,000
• Jacksonville CB Derek Cox, $645,000
• Jacksonville WR Jarett Dillard, $645,000
• Jacksonville LT Eugene Monroe, $500,000
• Jacksonville G Uche Nwaneri, $1.926 million
• Jacksonville DT Terrance Knighton, $645,000
• Tennessee CB Jason McCourty, $645,000

Brown did good work establishing himself as a premier left tackle and is now slated to earn $2,081,500 -- still quite a reasonable price. Nwaneri is not quite at that level, but he set the tone for a line that produced the league's leading rusher. Nwaneri will now make $2.775 million.

On the other end of the spectrum, Dillard is now scheduled to make $1,260,000. He’s going to have to have a big offseason and camp to prove he’s worth that.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Titans offensive coordinator Chris Palmer polls his quarterbacks on their three favorite plays out of each week’s game plan.

Matt Hasselbeck, Jake Locker and Rusty Smith all voted this week for a deep crossing route.

It was a play the Titans ran with great success in a 23-17 Christmas Eve win over the Jaguars that kept Tennessee in contention for the sixth and final berth in the AFC playoff field.

The Titans need to finish in a three-way tie at 9-7 with the Bengals and Jets or with the Bengals and Raiders to earn the No. 6 seed.

The trio of signal-callers often votes the same way in separate, secret balloting which influences Palmer’s approach, Hasselbeck said.

“It’s mental telepathy or something,” he said. “We get along really well, we like the same plays. They think we’re cheating off of each other, but we’re not.”

Rarely does the favored play contribute so heavily to a favored result.

Hasselbeck leaned on it heavily and posted strong passing numbers despite two interceptions, with 24 completions in 40 pass attempts, for 350 yards and a touchdown.

Tight end Jared Cook is a big, fast, receiver-like threat. He disappears at times and has not been featured the way many of us expected he would be this season. In Week 15 he lost a deadly fumble in Indianapolis when the Titans were mounting a charge.

But he keyed this Titans win with eight catches for 169 yards and the 55-yard score on a mismatch with Jaguars middle linebacker Paul Posluszny, who was left in an unreasonably difficult spot by the coverage.

No tight end for the Titans or Oilers ever collected so much receiving yardage in one game. The previous record was 150 by Houston’s Dave Casper in 1980.

While the Jaguars have a strong front seven, they do not have particularly threatening edge pass-rushers. That helped the Titans feel comfortable lining Cook up less often next to a tackle, and more often in a two-by-two set, as if he were a receiver in a four-wide formation.

Nate Washington, also in a slot, typically drew nickelback Drew Coleman in coverage. Hasselbeck said that also helped get Cook into open space more often than usual.

Cook said the Titans talked all week about the opportunities they’d find against an injury-depleted Jaguars defense. The Jaguars are without both their starting corners, Rashean Mathis and Derek Cox, and played Saturday minus starting safety Dwight Lowery. That meant Ashton Youboty and Morgan Trent started at corner and Akwasi Owusu-Ansah was in the lineup at safety.

Youboty suffered a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter, and couldn't finish the game. He was replaced by David Jones, a player Jacksonville decided was not part of its future at the end of training camp.

Combine all that change with a gimpy Chris Johnson, who sprained an ankle last week, and the Titans decided to push it with the pass.

“We kind of looked at the first-15 script and saw there was a little change up from the normal,” Cook said, referring to the preordained 15 plays the Titans wanted to run out of the gate if the situations permitted for them. “We kind of got excited. So kudos to coach Palmer for kind of doing that and catching the defense off guard.”

Not to harp, but… While the Titans are over last week’s loss at previously winless Indianapolis, I can’t help wonder how things might be different for them had they taken this approach a week earlier against the Colts, who rush the passer better but also have a secondary minus three starters.

“It’s just hard to predict games,” Hasselbeck said.

It’s hard, too, to predict what happens in all the games that influence the Titans’ chances next week.

But the Texans are locked into the third seed, and have nothing to gain with a win and nothing to lose with a loss. If the Titans find their way in, their opponent isn’t in question. They’ll go right back to Houston for a wild-card game.

The Titans know they’ve blown a ton of chances that would have left them in a better spot.

“We’re alive,” guard Jake Scott said. “That’s all you can ask for right now. We’ve got to handle our business and hope for the help that we need.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- In his first year calling plays for the Jacksonville defense, Mel Tucker’s had a solid season for the Jaguars.

He was given a huge upgrade in personnel out of free agency, and the team’s issues in a 3-8 season have been primarily on offense.

Tonight, as he debuts as the team’s interim coach in a home "Monday Night Football" game against San Diego, Tucker will be without his three top outside cornerbacks.

Will Middleton has joined Rashean Mathis and Derek Cox on injured reserve.

While Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers has struggled this season, he could be in line to make some connections at EverBank Field, where recent addition Ashton Youboty, undrafted Kevin Rutland and retread David Jones are in line to play in Jacksonville's secondary. Jones, who struggled mightily last season, was re-signed as Middleton went to IR.

Drew Coleman plays as the nickel corner and seems to be pigeonholed there, but whether Tucker likes him outside or not, the Jaguars might have to use him more.

I’m not sure what Tucker can do in the team’s remaining five games to hold on to the job. He’s respected and he’s expected by those who put him in place to do well. But after nearly nine seasons of Jack Del Rio, the Jaguars are a team in need of fresh air, and new owner Shahid Khan is likely to want to make a splash with an outsider who revamps the way the team plays.

Tucker has been assured of an interview, and many are mentioning him as a strong candidate for the post. At this stage I’d guess it’s more likely the new coach, hopefully an offensive mind, recognizes the Jags' productive defense and tries to get Tucker to return to the coordinator post.

ESPN’s Mike Tirico will do the play-by-play of tonight’s game. He watched Saturday’s practice and was part of a production meeting with Tucker.

“He’s very detailed, very organized,” Tirico said. “I think it’s definitely an approach that would be what I’d expect from a guy who’s learned from Nick Saban and Jim Tressel, among others. The practice was a crisp, well-paced practice.”

It’s been a whirlwind week. Tucker had no hint of what was coming when he reported to work Tuesday. Since then, he dismissed receivers coach Johnny Cox, shifted Mike Sheppard from quarterbacks to receivers coach and gave offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter full sway over the quarterbacks.

He’s overseen the construction and installation of a game plan. He’s dealt with Middleton’s injury.

And he’s very likely implemented some other unseen alterations to the operation.

“For that sort of fire drill for a guy who’s 39 and has never been a head coach, he’s seems pretty organized,” Tirico said.

At his first practice as the head man leading up to this game, Tucker arrived 30 minutes early. He talked of wanting to get some fresh air, but also confessed it gave him the vantage point he wanted as he began to watch everything.

The Jaguars know they’ve got new eyes on them.

What Tucker sees will be important. What Tucker shows will be more important.

The Jaguars couldn’t have had a much more costly loss in Cleveland last week. The defeat featured end of game debacles in play-calling and clock management. Veteran linebacker Clint Session was lost for the season after suffering his second concussion of the year. And Friday the team put cornerback Derek Cox on IR with a knee injury.

Cox joins Rashean Mathis on the list of Jacksonville cornerbacks out for the season.

As Andre Johnson returns to action for the Texans on Sunday and Matt Leinart takes his place as Houston’s quarterback, the explosive and powerful receiver will be working against Will Middleton or Ashton Youboty.

Few teams have third and fourth cornerbacks who are on the level of their first and second. But that’s a substantial drop off. Veteran nickelback Drew Coleman now ranks as the team’s best and most experienced corner, but he’s apparently viewed as strictly a slot guy and it doesn’t appear the team plans to use him as a corner in the base defense.

The Jaguars filled Cox’s roster spot by adding quarterback Den LeFevour, who was signed off the Indianapolis Colts’ practice squad.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge about Week 12:

Stacked box: The Texans will welcome the Jaguars’ defense to load up the box in an effort to slow the run game and put more on Matt Leinart's shoulders. Running back Arian Foster is excellent against fronts with an extra defender. According to ESPN Stats & Information, Foster has the fourth most rushes (125) against defenses with eight or more defenders in the box pre-snap over the past two seasons. Foster has done well in these situations, averaging 3.9 yards per rush, which is half a yard per rush better than the NFL average. He’s also second in first downs over that time period with 39. The Jaguars will be without starting cornerback Rashean Mathis and the other starting corner, Derek Cox, is also expected to miss the game. Leinart should have some favorable matchups with Andre Johnson back.

A struggling opponent: Like the Titans, the Buccaneers have not played very well since a 3-1 start. Tampa Bay’s actually had worse results. Per ESPN Stats & Information, only the Colts (32.0) have allowed more points per game since Week 5 than the Buccaneers (31.8). On offense, Josh Freeman has thrown 15 interceptions, second in the league to San Diego’s Philip Rivers (17). Freeman has thrown at least two picks in his past two games and in five games overall this season. The Buccaneers are 1-4 in games in which he throws at least two picks.

Potential third-down bonanza: The Carolina Panthers and Indianapolis Colts are two of the three worst teams in the NFL in yards-per-play allowed on third down this season. The Panthers give up an average of 7.4 while the Colts allow 7.0. The big difference is what the offenses can do. Indianapolis ranks 24th in third-down offense while Carolina ranks 13th. It’s a pretty easy answer if you’re choosing between Cam Newton or Curtis Painter when you’re in need of a first down (or anything, really).

Capable of an upset: The Jaguars have won four straight home games against the Texans, are 2-2 at home this season and are 2-1 against the AFC South. All that provides some reason for confidence Sunday at EverBank Field. But they face the league’s top defense while ranking 31st in the NFL in scoring at 12.5 points per game. The Jaguars have yet to score more than 20 points in a game this season, making them just the second team to fail to score more than 20 points in their first 10 games in the past four seasons (2009 Raiders). Blaine Gabbert continues to show he’s not ready to be playing -- Jacksonville’s offense is producing an NFL-worst 249.5 yards per game. No team has averaged fewer than 250 yards per game in a season since 2008, when the Browns and Bengals did it.

Gut feelings: In their past eight games, the Titans have beaten bad teams and lost to good ones. The Buccaneers are not a good team right now. But the Titans shouldn’t expect Chris Johnson to contribute. They should go into the game intending to throw a lot. ... The Colts should have tried Dan Orlovsky at quarterback. Why are they afraid of change? Are things going to get worse? ... The Jaguars’ defense has been quite good, but I don’t think they have the depth at cornerback to survive without both their starters. The way to handle it is to pass rush very well, but they don’t have the people for that either and Houston can protect Leinart well. ... Johnson will look like he was never out for the Texans.

Reading the coverage…

Houston Texans

Dale Robertson of the Houston Chronicle looks at what sort of alterations come with a left-handed quarterback, Matt Leinart, taking over for the Texans.

Indianapolis Colts

Writes Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star of the Colts' decision to stick with Curtis Painter: “For the second time in three years, the Colts' powers-that-be have abandoned this team, first by taking away a chance to have a perfect season, and now by placing them in the crosshairs of an ignominiously imperfect season.” A harsh piece with a lot of truth in it.

Jacksonville Jaguars

The Jaguars’ best chance at an upset of Houston should come from the defense. But Vito Stellino of the Times-Union writes the Jaguars will likely be without five starters, including both cornerbacks. Rashean Mathis is out for the season and now Derek Cox is hurting.

Tennessee Titans

Matt Hasselbeck says his elbow/forearm injury is no longer an issue after a full practice Thursday when he threw fine, writes Jim Wyatt of The Tennessean. If the Titans are making any sort of playoff push, it’s got to start against Tampa Bay and Hasselbeck has to be a centerpiece.

Two Insider pieces today are worth a mention here.

Peter Keating breaks down the NFL’s best and worst deep-ball throwers. Curtis Painter is fourth-worst (QBR of 39.7 out of 100 on balls thrown over 20 yards) and Blaine Gabbert is ninth-worst (76.3).

“…(M)ost quarterbacks in the NFL are very effective at throwing deep. QBR tends to go up on long throws for reasons that are precisely the opposite of why it goes down in the red zone: When you're deep in your own territory, you have the most chance to gain expected points by amassing a big chunk of yardage with one bomb and less to lose if you happen to turn the ball over. Indeed, this year, starting quarterbacks have an average QBR of 57.3 on throws of 10 yards or fewer but 80.4 on throws of more than 20 yards. And half the quarterbacks in the league have a QBR of 92.2 or higher on deep throws, including guys who aren't otherwise lighting up the scoreboard, such as Matt Cassel, Joe Flacco and Tarvaris Jackson.

“All of which means teams can win with a quarterback who isn't one of the very best in the league at throwing deep, but they will get killed if they don't have one who is at least adequate at throwing deep. The worst quarterbacks on deep throws this year include Mark Sanchez (QBR on passes of more than 20 yards: a hideous 6.8), (John) Beck, Painter, Sam Bradford and Gabbert, all of whom are hamstringing their teams and allowing defenses to focus on run-stuffing.”

No matter the comparison to the rest of the league, the Colts and Jaguars simply have to work too hard to get into the end zone. Both need to find more big plays to make things easier, and neither has shown any reason for us to expect those plays to arrive.

In this piece, Matt Williamson of Scouts Inc. Ranks Tennessee’s Alterraun Verner fifth on his list of five up-and-coming cornerbacks.

"Verner spent much of the second half of last season on my Rookie Watch, as he came on very strong despite not being a particularly high draft choice. He isn't physically overwhelming and lacks the real ‘wow factor’ of a guy like (Patrick) Peterson, but Verner is effective. He is feisty, aggressive and further along with his fundamentals than most corners his age. There are not a lot of big names on the Titans' defense, but Tennessee does feature three very good cornerbacks in Verner, (Jason) McCourty (listed below) and Cortland Finnegan, who has really rebounded strong this season after a subpar 2010."

Two of Williamson’s three honorable mentions were from the AFC South: Jacksonville’s Derek Cox and Tennessee’s Jason McCourty.

A lot of people ask about the Titans chasing an additional corner for 2012. If they re-sign Finnegan, they’ve got three quality guys and a promising kid in Tommie Campbell. I think they’ll have bigger concerns at safety (where contracts are up for Michael Griffin, Chris Hope and Jordan Babineaux), at receiver, on the defensive line and at guard.

The Jaguars don’t have great outside cornerback depth.

In four games starter Derek Cox missed earlier this season, Jacksonville lost all four and gave up an extra 40 passing yards a game.

Now Cox’s counterpart, veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis, is lost for the remainder of the year with a torn ACL.

While the Jaguars have a nickel corner in Drew Coleman best suited for inside work, their options to replace Mathis outside are a significant drop-off: William Middleton played for Cox, and the other corners on the team are undrafted rookies T.J. Heath and Kevin Rutland.

“(Middleton) did a solid job finishing the game for us,” Jack Del Rio said. “We’ve got some other young players and I know that Gene (Smith) is busy trying to acquire a player. I’m sure before the day’s out or by tomorrow we’ll have somebody at that spot...”

“The task for all of us on this team is to know your role and make sure you take care of your assignment and do your job within the confines of what the football team is asking you to do. So that doesn’t really change for Will.”

The Jaguars also put offensive lineman Eben Britton, who’s enduring complications from back surgery, and linebacker Kyle Bosworth (hand) on IR.

They signed tight end Fendi Onobun from the Redskins’ practice squad. They still have two open roster spots.