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Off-field issues haunt Jaguars as they visit Titans

Sep 7, 2008 - 12:52 PM Jacksonville at Tennessee, 1:00 pm, EDT

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (Ticker) -- The Jacksonville Jaguars have been closing the gap on the league's elite teams. The next step is to join them.

Jacksonville looks to build on last season's 11-win regular season when it visits the Tennessee Titans on Sunday in opener for both teams.

It is a rematch of last year's season opener between the AFC South rivals, which was won by the Titans, 13-10.

The Jaguars bounced back to win 11 of their next 15 games and won its wild card playoff game at Pittsburgh before pushing the New England Patriots to the limit in a 31-20 loss.

But a season that appeared so full of promise got off to an ominous start when backup offensive tackle Richard Collier was shot and critically wounded Tuesday morning while sitting in a vehicle.

Collier underwent surgery and was listed in critical but stable condition Tuesday night.

"We're shocked and deeply saddened by this morning's news about Richard Collier," Jaguars owner Wayne Weaver said in a statement.

On a much smaller scale, Jacksonville had another disturbing issue over the weekend when veteran running back Fred Taylor was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct in Miami.

Jacksonville earned a split of the season series by winning at Tennessee, 28-13, despite being without quarterback David Garrard, who enters his second year as the starter.

Garrard had a spectacular season in 2007, throwing for 18 touchdowns and just three interceptions, while Taylor ripped off five consecutive 100-yard games before sitting out the regular-season finale.

The Titans hope to get quarterback Vince Young untracked following a season in which he threw for a league-low nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions.

Tennessee did little to address its issues at wide receiver in the offseason, but running back Chris Johnson, the team's first-round pick who has blazing 4.24 speed, has looked outstanding in the preseason.