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JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars hit the road again for the third time in five games this season, this time heading to St. Louis to play the 1-3 Rams. They haven’t faced the Rams since 2009 and haven’t played in St. Louis since the 2005 season.

The Rams are coming off a 35-11 home loss to San Francisco. The Rams had trouble running the ball again (18 yards on 19 attempts), totaled just 188 yards, and gave up 219 yards rushing. Frank Gore ran for 153 yards one week after Dallas’ DeMarco Murray ran for 175.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET (CBS).

Here’s a look at the Rams:

Record: 1-3.

Last week: Lost to San Francisco 35-11.

Coach: Jeff Fisher, second season (8-11-1); 20th season overall (150-131-1).

Offensive coordinator: Brian Schottenheimer.

Defensive coordinator: Tim Walton.

Series record: Rams lead 2-1.

THREE PLAYERS TO KNOW ON OFFENSE

QB Sam Bradford: Bradford leads the NFL in passing attempts but ranks last in average gain per pass attempt (6.01 yards). That means the Rams are throwing a lot of short passes and trying to work underneath. Bradford has mostly been solid, completing 59 percent of his passes for seven touchdowns and three interceptions.

WR Tavon Austin: The rookie speedster from West Virginia was viewed as one of the most electrifying players in the draft, and he has caught 20 passes for 124 yards and two touchdowns. He’s only averaging 6.2 yards per catch, hardly the big-time playmaker the Rams thought they were getting.

TE Jared Cook: He’s another player who was supposed to flourish this season, and he has caught 17 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns in four games. He’s a big target (6-5, 248) who can run. That’s a bad matchup for the Jaguars, who have struggled covering tight ends this season.

THREE PLAYERS TO KNOW ON DEFENSE

DE Chris Long: The former No. 2 overall pick led the Rams in sacks (11.5) and QB hurries (50) in 2012 but has amassed just seven tackles and half of a sack in four games this season. The defense has struggled -- giving up 30 or more points in three consecutive games -- and Long called the performance “disgusting.” The 6-foot-3, 270-pound Long is the Rams’ left defensive end, which means he’ll be lining up against Jaguars rookie right tackle Luke Joeckel.

CB Janoris Jenkins: Jenkins make a splash as a rookie in 2012, making 73 tackles, knocking down 14 passes, and returning three of his four interceptions for touchdowns. The Rams are playing more soft zone coverage this season, which doesn’t allow for Jenkins to do what he does best: cover guys one-on-one.

LB Alec Ogletree: The 6-2, 242-pound rookie from Georgia has already forced two fumbles and knocked down two passes. He also leads the team with 31 tackles.

ETC.

When teams trimmed their rosters to 53 in late August, the Rams had the NFL’s youngest roster with an average age of 24.98. … The Rams have beaten the Jaguars both times the game has been played in the Edward Jones Dome. … Fisher is third among active coaches with 150 career victories. He trails only New England’s Bill Belichick (190) and Denver’s Mike Shanahan (168). New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin is one victory behind Fisher. … St. Louis and Cleveland are the only two teams that have yet to score a rushing touchdown this season.

A weekly examination of the Jaguars’ ESPN.com Power Ranking:

Preseason: 29 | Last Week: 32 | ESPN.com Power Ranking since 2002

There are four winless teams, but the Jaguars pretty much cemented their hold on the bottom spot in the ESPN.com Power Rankings with a dismal performance in a 37-3 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Despite what Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger says, the Jaguars are the NFL’s worst team.

They’ve been outscored by nearly 100 points, have scored only five points in two home games and rank 30th or worse in the three major offensive statistical categories. The bulk of their yardage (68.3 percent) and points (74.2 percent) have come in the second half when the games have already been decided.

Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said this week that the staff has already begun evaluating personnel and schemes to see what, if any, changes can be made. That’s a process that usually occurs during the bye week, but the 0-4 start has pushed it up a month. It’s not as intense an examination as they will conduct after the team returns from London at the end of this month, but it’s a start.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Quarterback Mark Brunell will be back on the field with the Jaguars one more time.

The team will honor him at halftime of the Dec. 15 game against Buffalo at EverBank Field as the newest member of the Pride of the Jaguars. He joins offensive tackle Tony Boselli, running back Fred Taylor, and previous owners Wayne and Delores Weaver in the organization’s hall of fame.

"This is real special," Brunell said Tuesday. "The passing records, they get broken eventually. The other individual awards, Pro bowls and those things, big games, sometimes get forgotten. But the opportunity to be on the Pride, that goes on. That lives on."

Brunell played nine years in Jacksonville (1995-2003) and still owns or shares 23 franchise passing records, including career passing yards (25,698), single-season passing yards (4,367 in 1996), single-game passing yards (432 vs. New England in 1996), touchdown passes (144), and 300-yard passing games (six).

He led the NFL in passing in 1996 and helped guide the Jaguars on an improbable playoff run to the AFC Championship Game in just the franchise’s second season. Brunell led the Jaguars to a franchise-best 14-2 regular season and another appearance in the AFC title game in 1999. He is a three-time Pro Bowler and was the game’s MVP in 1997.

"I was very fortunate," Brunell said. "I’m a firm believer that to do well as a quarterback in the NFL you’ve got to have good people around you. From the first day that I stepped foot in Jacksonville I was very thankful that I had very good people around me, starting with the head coach in Tom Coughlin, a great coaching staff, and like I said, great teammates like Tony, Fred, and the list goes on and on."

This will mark the third consecutive season in which the team has inducted someone into the Pride of the Jaguars. Boselli was the first player inducted in 2006, followed by the Weavers in 2011 and Taylor last season.

"It has never been a question of whether or not Mark belonged there," Jaguars president Mark Lamping said. "It was only a question of when."

 

 

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It was another dismal performance by the Jacksonville Jaguars last Sunday, a 37-3 loss to Indianapolis at EverBank Field.

Finding the Jaguars’ top 10 playmakers from the game was pretty hard, so I cheated. I found nine, but I added a special guest. If things keep going the way they have the first four weeks, he may end up as a regular -- at least for home games, anyway.

Remember, this isn’t a list of MVP candidates, but a compilation of the players who are making the biggest difference each week.

Here we go, with last week’s rankings in parenthesis:

1. K Josh Scobee (6): He kicked his 20th career field goal of 50-plus yards against the Colts to give the Jaguars their only points of the day. He’s the team’s leading scorer (11 points) and has made all three of his field-goal attempts, which makes him pretty much the only weapon the Jaguars have right now.

2. P Bryan Anger (5): He averaged 48.3 yards (45.2 net) on six punts, including a 61-yarder. And since the defense gave up 37 points and more than 400 yards for the second consecutive week and the offense could only manage three points, he has soared into the top two.

3. CB Will Blackmon (NR): I know I just criticized the defense, but Blackmon deserves some attention. He was credited with four passes defensed and picked off the first pass of his career. He also had another interception nullified by a penalty.

4. LB Paul Posluszny (3): He led the Jaguars in tackles (nine) for the third time this season. At this point, that’s good enough to make the top five.

5. WR Cecil Shorts (1): Shorts was again the Jaguars’ top receiver (seven catches for 61 yards). He also had two passes bounce of his hands and get intercepted, but even that doesn’t disqualify him from making the list or being ranked this high.

6. TE Clay Harbor (NR): With Marcedes Lewis leaving the game in the first quarter after re-injuring his calf, Harbor provided the only offense from the position. He caught two passes for 39 yards and could have had a 63-yard touchdown had he not stepped out of bounds after 31 yards.

7. WR Ace Sanders (NR): Sanders finally got a chance to return punts. The Colts punted three times. One went out of bounds. One went into the end zone for a touchback. Sanders returned one for 10 yards. Plus he had four catches for 59 yards.

8. RB Jordan Todman (NR): He returned two kickoffs for 53 yards and carried twice for 4 yards.

9. LB Russell Allen (NR): Allen made seven tackles and had one of the Jaguars’ two sacks.

And our special guest ...

10. Jaxson de Ville (NR): Not only did the team’s mascot do a flip and ziplined off one of the light towers before the game, he also paid off a bet with the Colts mascot and got pelted by 40 paintballs after the game.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars still have four more games until their bye week, but the normal evaluation a coaching staff conducts during the break can't wait.

It has to be done now.

The Jaguars have played so poorly during their first four games of the season that coach Gus Bradley said his staff has already begun looking at personnel and schemes to see what changes need to be made, writes Ryan O'Halloran of the Florida Times-Union.

"I’d say there’s a greater sense to do it now because, generally, you do that at the bye week when you look at all your stats and you scout yourself and see," Bradley said Monday. "But we’re trying to figure those things out now. It may not be as in-depth as bye-week study, but we still have to take a look at it."

Here are some additional pieces of Jaguars content from around the web in our daily Reading the Coverage feature:

The T-U's Vito Stellino sat down with tight end Marcedes Lewis for a quick Q&A. Lewis discusses his calf injury and the mood inside the facility.

O'Halloran breaks down five plays from Sunday's loss to the Colts in his weekly feature.

CBSSports.com NFL writer Josh Katzowitz writes that the spread for the Oct. 13 Jaguars-Broncos game could be the largest in NFL history.

Jaguars mascot Jaxson DeVille paid up on his bet with Colts mascot from Sunday's game: He got pelted by 40 paintballs. Here's the video.

Here's a roundup of items from this blog: analyzing defensive snaps; analyzing offensive snaps; no more free drink promotions planned; Bradley an even stauncher supporter of Blaine Gabbert after watching tape; the weekly Upon Further Review feature.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A look at snaps played by Jacksonville Jaguars defenders in Sunday’s 37-3 loss to Indianapolis, while analyzing what it means:

• S Josh Evans: 76 of 76
• LB Paul Posluszny: 76 of 76
• S Johnathan Cyprien: 76 of 76
• LB Geno Hayes: 76 of 76
• CB Will Blackmon: 75 of 76
• DT Sen'Derrick Marks: 64 of 76
• CB Alan Ball: 63 of 76
• DE Tyson Alualu: 49 of 76
• LB Russell Allen: 46 of 76
• DE Jason Babin: 43 of 76
• DT Roy Miller: 41 of 76
• DE Jeremy Mincey: 39 of 76
• DT Brandon Deaderick: 35 of 76
• DE Andre Branch: 32 of 76
• CB Mike Harris: 30 of 76
• CB Demetrius McCray: 12 of 76
• S Chris Prosinski: 2 of 76
• S Winston Guy: 1 of 76

Analysis: Marks continues to play a high number of snaps. He has been on the field for 90 percent of the Jaguars’ defensive snaps this season, which is a significantly high number for a defensive tackle. You’d like the division between the three who played against the Colts (Marks, Miller and Deaderick) to be more equitable. … Babin committed three penalties in his 43 snaps, two offside and one for roughing the passer. … Blackmon knocked away four passes and notched his first career interception. Despite being someone the team signed on Aug. 26, he has settled in nicely and has played well. Once Dwayne Gratz (high ankle sprain) returns, Blackmon will lose his starting job but he’ll still see some time in the secondary.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Offensive snaps for Jaguars skill-position players in Sunday’s 37-3 loss to Indianapolis, while analyzing what it means:

QB Blaine Gabbert: 56 of 56

WR Cecil Shorts: 56 of 56

WR Ace Sanders: 48 of 56

TE Allen Reisner: 42 of 56

RB Maurice Jones-Drew: 28 of 56

TE Clay Harbor: 23 of 56

WR Jeremy Ebert: 23 of 56

FB Will Ta’ufo’ou: 21 of 56

RB Justin Forsett: 15 of 56

RB Jordan Todman: 13 of 56

TE Marcedes Lewis: 2 of 56

WR Denard Robinson: 2 of 56

Analysis: Robinson continues not to be a factor on offense. That may have partly been due to the hamstring strain he suffered while covering a punt, but he hadn’t been getting many snaps in the first three games, either. … With the Jaguars in catch-up mode I would have thought Forsett would have played more because a big part of his game is catching passes out of the backfield. … Ebert was on the field for 41 percent of the snaps, but the other receiver the Jaguars signed off the practice squad on Saturday, Tobais Palmer, did not play. … Reisner was targeted just once in his 42 snaps while Harbor was targeted three times.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars' ticket promotion of two free drinks with a ticket purchase is one and done.

Team spokesman Dan Edwards said there are no plans to offer the promotion for the Jaguars’ next home game on Oct. 20. Fans that purchased a $45 ticket to last Sunday’s game against Indianapolis during a three-hour window on Thursday were given two free drink coupons that could be used for various beverages, including beer.

"At this point, there's no plan to do it again," Edwards said. "That was a very short-term, three-hour promotion that took place on one day."

The Jaguars do not release the results of promotion, but Edwards said he would describe the response as "OK." The team announced Sunday it had distributed 59,695 tickets for the game at EverBank Field, which the Jaguars lost 37-3.

"It was planned, but we do a lot of different promotions," Edwards said. "Some go well and some not so much. That was one of the many promotions that we’ve done."

A review of four hot issues from the Jacksonville Jaguars’ 37-3 loss to Indianapolis:

Staying with Gabbert: Blaine Gabbert has thrown five interceptions and has led the offense to just three points in two home games this season, but Jaguars coach Gus Bradley is sticking with him as the team’s starting quarterback. Gabbert has a 5-21 record as a starter and has shown little progress since he was selected 10th overall in the 2011 draft, but Bradley wants to see more of Gabbert in the team’s current system before making any judgments about his future with the team. “I know you say, ‘Gus, we’ve waited to see,’ but I’ve got to see it,” Bradley said. He said some of the issues on Sunday may have been receivers not finishing routes, plus all three interceptions came after receivers bobbled passes.

No help: With Marcedes Lewis’ return lasting just the first series before he had to leave the game after reinjuring his calf, the Jaguars were again without any complementary playmakers to receiver Cecil Shorts. It’s one of the offense’s main problems because teams are able to roll coverages toward Shorts and force Gabbert to beat them with the other receivers -- two of whom were signed from the practice squad on Saturday. It didn’t work, obviously. Gabbert completed just five passes to other wide receivers (four to Ace Sanders, one to Jeremy Ebert). Justin Blackmon returns this week from a four-game suspension, so that should help, but Lewis’ absence is still significant.

TE troubles: The Jaguars again struggled to cover the tight end. Coby Fleener caught five passes for 77 yards and one touchdown, a 31-yarder in which he was wide open. Depending on the defense called, responsibility for the tight end falls to a linebacker, safety or nickel back. Regardless of which player had responsibility, there have been mistakes that resulted in big plays. As good as he is against the run, linebacker Paul Posluszny sometimes struggles in coverage, and the Jaguars started a pair of rookies at safety against the Colts. Through four games, tight ends have caught 20 passes for 244 yards and three touchdowns. The Seahawks' and Colts' tight ends combined to catch 14 passes for 183 yards and three touchdowns.

Discipline problem: It’s not the fact that the Jaguars committed nine penalties for 65 yards that’s troubling. It’s the kinds of penalties that are the issue. Eight of the nine were discipline penalties: four defensive offside/encroachment, one illegal substitution, one false start, one roughing the passer, and one unsportsmanlike conduct. Those are mental mistakes that are avoidable. Jason Babin committed three, including lining up offside twice. The Jaguars aren’t close to being talented enough to be able to overcome mistakes like that, especially against a quarterback like Andrew Luck. “We cannot have that as part of our game,” Bradley said. “Obviously our players aren’t getting the message, and that’s on me.”

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It wasn't exactly a triumphant return for Jaguars quarterback Blaine Gabbert on Sunday.

He had three passes bounce off receivers' hands and get intercepted, was sacked four times and only threw for 179 yards in a 37-3 loss to Indianapolis. He has thrown five interceptions in two games this season and is 5-21 as a starter in his career, but Jaguars head coach Gus Bradley is sticking with Gabbert as his starter, writes Vito Stellino of the Florida Times-Union.

"I'm standing strong with Blaine," Bradley said.

Bradley said he needs to see Gabbert play more in order to make a judgment on Gabbert's future with the team. All he has seen so far have been two lopsided losses in which the offense has managed just one field goal.

Here are some other pieces of Jaguars content around the web in our daily Reading the Coverage segment:

Tight end Marcedes Lewis' return from a calf injury lasted just three plays. He re-aggravated the injury that kept him out of the first three games of the season, writes the T-U's Ryan O'Halloran.

O'Halloran recaps how well the Jaguars accomplished the four keys to the game. It wasn't pretty.

Yet another tight end burned the Jaguars on defense, writes the T-U's Hays Carlyon. This time it was Coby Fleener, who caught five passes for 77 yards and a touchdown -- a 31-yarder in which he was wide open.

The T-U's Don Coble writes that the Colts' top priority on defense was stopping Maurice Jones-Drew and forcing Gabbert to throw. Mission accomplished: They held Jones-Drew to just 23 yards on 13 carries.

WJXT TV-4 sports director Sam Kouvaris and Cole Pepper talk about Bradley having to adjust his expectations, Gabbert's play, and whether the Jaguars should make a roster move this week in their podcast. Pepper also provides more takeaways from the game.

Here's a roundup of items from this blog: the Jaguars can't afford for receiver Cecil Shorts to struggle; it has been four weeks but the team still hasn't made any progress in the ground game.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It was a rough day for Jacksonville Jaguars receiver Cecil Shorts on Sunday, and that’s something the Jaguars can’t afford.

Shorts is the Jaguars’ only playmaker in the passing game, so when he struggles it virtually dooms their chances of having any kind of success. Shorts led the Jaguars with seven catches for 61 yards but he also had three drops, including one in which the ball bounced off his hands and was intercepted.

"It’s frustrating," said Shorts, who was targeted 12 times in the Jaguars’ 37-3 loss to Indianapolis. "I didn’t have the day I wanted today, but bad days happen and that’s just part of the game. So I’m going to come back with my head high and ready to go this week and get ready to go to St. Louis Sunday."

The Jaguars were hurting at receiver on Sunday because of injuries to Mike Brown (back) and Stephen Burton (concussion-like symptoms) and the suspension of Justin Blackmon. That left the Jaguars with just two healthy receivers: Shorts and rookie Ace Sanders. The team signed Jeremy Ebert and Tobais Palmer from the practice squad on Saturday and used fifth-round pick Denard Robinson at receiver as well.

Sanders, Ebert, Palmer and Robinson entered the game with a combined 11 career receptions. Other than Sanders (10 catches), the only other player with a catch was Ebert. Palmer was making his NFL debut.

Shorts had to carry the load, and he pretty much had to be perfect, too. That’s a lot of pressure for a third-year player who had only started nine games entering the 2013 season, and it’s a role he has been forced into maybe before he was ready because of the Blackmon suspension.

"He’s competing and going out there and made some plays," Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said. "I think that he’s going to feel like teams know who I am and they’re going to say, ‘One thing we know is we need to know where Cecil Shorts is,’ but he’s up for that.

"I think he has to understand when you do well in games in the NFL that’s going to come, and it can’t slow you down. That’s the challenge for him and to be consistently playing high at that level."

Shorts wasn’t sure if he was trying to do too much, but he admits that he knows how much pressure he was under to perform because of the limitations at receiver.

"That’s a good question," he said. "That’s something I have to sit back and think about. Not sure. I need to watch the film.

"I don’t necessarily feel like I’m pressing, but I could be. I could be."

That’s something the Jaguars offense can’t afford, even when Blackmon returns next week.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jacksonville Jaguars offensive lineman Uche Nwaneri was clearly frustrated after Sunday’s 37-3 loss to Indianapolis.

Not just at the 34-point margin, but because of how poorly the team ran the ball. And not just against the Colts, either. The 40 yards on 18 carries was embarrassing enough, but it was just a continuation of a month-long struggle to find success on the ground.

"That’s an elite back right there," Nwaneri said, nodding his head toward Maurice Jones-Drew, who ran 13 times for 23 yards, the second-lowest total of his career in a game in which he had double-digit carries. "For him not to get yards, it makes me angry just because I know he should be getting yards."

Jones-Drew and the Jaguars haven’t been getting them all season. After four games they’re averaging 49 yards per game and haven’t rushed for more than 71, which they did in the opener. Jones-Drew has 138 yards on 57 carries (2.4 yards per carry) and his longest run of the season is for 10 yards.

Though the Jaguars ran for fewer yards (34) against Oakland, that was somewhat mitigated by Jones-Drew leaving the game in the first half because of an ankle injury. The Jaguars’ longest carry against the Colts on Sunday was for 6 yards.

There are several reasons for the struggles, which is why it’s going to be tough to fix. The interior of the offensive line -- center Brad Meester and guards Nwaneri and Will Rackley -- have not played well, although they were better against the Colts than during the first three weeks. The unit as a whole has not adjusted to the zone-blocking scheme as quickly as was hoped. Teams are also stacking the box and not worrying about the passing game because of the Jaguars’ lack of playmakers.

The result is a paltry 2.3 yards per carry, which, if it were to hold for the next 12 games, would shatter the team record for fewest yards per carry over a season (3.8 in 1997).

"It’s very frustrating," Jones-Drew said. "We’re just not executing at the right speed and the right tempo to go out there and put up points. That’s something we have to continue to work on to fix. Obviously, yelling and screaming is not going to help. We have to look at each other and look in the mirror and see what we have to do better as a person and go out there and execute your job. And that’s on everybody."

The Jaguars ran more power and gap-blocked plays on Sunday than they had in previous games, but it didn’t make any difference. The Colts crowded the line of scrimmage by bringing a safety close to the box and limited the Jaguars to 2.2 yards per carry. Jaguars coach Gus Bradley said opponents will do that until his team can make plays in the passing game to force defenses into using two safeties in coverage.

"If we can get the defense to loosen up some …" Bradley said. “We’re seeing a lot of eight-man boxes, man coverage, extra guy on the shelf. We’re not seeing a lot of split safety. We have to get them in those situations to where teams just can’t load up the box and defend the run for us."

The Jaguars haven’t been able to do it because they’re devoid of playmakers in the pass game except for Cecil Shorts. Defenses are rolling coverages his way and making the Jaguars beat them with a mix of Ace Sanders, Mike Brown, Stephen Burton, Tobais Palmer and Jeremy Ebert. There’s no help at tight end either because Marcedes Lewis lasted less than a quarter before having to leave the game after aggravating a calf injury.

That’s no excuse, though. Four of the five starters on the offensive line are the same players who blocked for Jones-Drew when he led the NFL in rushing in 2011. The Jaguars averaged a franchise-low 136.2 yards per game passing that season.

"There’s been years before that we haven’t had a passing game and we’ve been able to run the ball," Jones-Drew said. "I just think we have to be more of a balanced offense. We’ve got to continue to run the ball efficiently, throw the ball, convert first downs and move.

"We haven’t been helping our defense out at all. We just have to figure out how to move the chains a little bit and start there."