Jacksonville Jaguars Odds to Win the 2009 Super Bowl

The Jaguars themselves have done nothing wrong. Poll Americans to find out which teams are most despised and you wouldn't see Jacksonville's name anywhere near the top of the list. But herein lies the problem. There is a cruel sense of apathy toward this team. Almost as if the Jaguars were in the NHL. Or even the WNBA. Rooting for Jacksonville has become like protesting discrimination against women at Augusta National: many appreciate the idea, but whatever.

David Garrard is The Man in Jacksonville, but the fulcrum of the offense is the rushing attack. It ranked second in the league last season thanks to its star tandem of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. Both players are thrilling home run threats who thrive on speed and elusiveness. Taylor, once bestowed with the dubious moniker Fragile Freddy, has produced the most unlikely of late-career surges. At 32, he heads into his 11th season fluid and healthy. He averaged a career-high 5.4 yards per carry last season, due in part to his league-leading four runs over 50 yards. He makes up for the half-second he's lost in speed with outstanding vision and an innate understanding of how to use his blocks.

Taylor receives approximately two-thirds of the carries, though that number could decrease as the Jags focus on getting the rock more in the hands of the 23-year-old Jones-Drew. An '06 second-round pick from UCLA, Jones-Drew is already one of the elite playmakers in the NFL. At 5'7", 212, he's a bowling ball between the tackles. His reliability in the passing game (40 receptions a year ago) makes him the optimum third-down back. Jacksonville, of course, uses him on all four downs.

But they have addressed that issue by drafting Derrick Harvey and Quentin Groves in the first two rounds of the draft.