Jacksonville Jaguars

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Maurice Jones-Drew is a kid at heart and doesn't take himself too seriously. Case in point: On the day before Halloween, the running back drove his Hummer home from Jaguars headquarters wearing the giant, fuzzy red head of a popular Sesame Street character. So when a cluster of Jets fans taunted him before last Sunday's game at the Meadowlands with a chant of "Over-rated! Over-rated!" this 5-foot-7 Elmo impostor was - what else? - tickled. "It got pretty bad; they almost rattled me," Jones-Drew said.

Wide receiver Lee Evans, who was released by the Ravens last month in a cost-cutting move, will sign a one-year deal Monday with the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Evans played one season in Baltimore. The Ravens traded a fourth-round draft pick to the Buffalo Bills during last year's training camp to acquire Evans, who was expected to be a regular target of quarterback Joe Flacco. But Evans missed seven games with a foot injury, lost his starting spot to rookie Torrey Smith and ended up catching just four passes for 74 yards and zero touchdowns.

For the first time since he became one of the NFL's top receivers, there were questions surrounding Jimmy Smith this preseason. Smith, the cornerstone of the Jacksonville Jaguars' passing game the past five years, had two off-season abdominal operations that hospitalized him for a total of 35 days. He lost 20 pounds but gained it back shortly before training camp. If Smith can regain his form - the one he used to lead the league with 450 catches for 6,599 yards the past five years - the season may not be as long as many are predicting it will be for the Jaguars.

In the last installment of our position-by-position free agency primers, we will look at the safeties. The Ravens will likely have holes to fill at safety, but they aren't going to be in the market for a high-priced free agent, not with Ed Reed returning in 2012 and not after strong safety Bernard Pollard fit in so well in his first season in Baltimore. But Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski, reserve safeties whom the team drafted in 2008, are free agents and could leave for expanded roles elsewhere.

Hardy Nickerson can help the Jacksonville Jaguars with his tackling, toughness and as an answer to the Tennessee Titans. The five-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker was signed as a free agent to bring some fight to the Jaguars defense. Though Jacksonville was fourth overall in total defense last season, it was overpowered in its only three losses last season, all to the Tennessee Titans. "We think he's the ingredient that has been missing from our defense," Jaguars coach Tom Coughlin said.

Opponent: Jacksonville Jaguars Site: Ravens Stadium When: Sunday, 1 p.m. TV/Radio: Ch. 13/WJFK (1300 AM), WQSR (102.7 FM) Line: Ravens by 1 1/2 SunSpot: For more coverage, visit sunspot.net/ravens Coming Sunday: A special section in The Sun commemorating the life and career of John Unitas.

Kurt Warner looked like his old Most Valuable Player self against the St. Louis Rams. Mark Brunell delivered overtime heroics against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even 12 years ago, Joe Montana showed there still was life in his aging arm against the San Francisco 49ers. Ravens@Titans Today, 1 p.m., Ch. 13, 1090 AM, 97.9 FM Line: Ravens by 7

A few years ago, the Ravens were counting down the seconds of a victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars when guard Edwin Mulitalo pushed Jaguars defensive tackle Gary Walker aside. Walker, no slouch at 6 feet 2 and 325 pounds, apparently didn't appreciate the gesture and rushed at the 6-3, 350-pound Mulitalo. Before Walker could reach Mulitalo, however, 6-3, 305-pound center Mike Flynn jumped in and tangled with Walker. Next preseason game Ravens@Vikings, Friday, 8 p.m., Ch. 45, 97.9 FM

A year ago, Mark Brunell appeared to be at the end of his NFL career. After coming to the Washington Redskins in 2004, Brunell had lost his starting job to Patrick Ramsey midway through that season and, from the looks of things, many of the skills that had led to three Pro Bowl invitations in nine years with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Season opener Vikings@Redskins, Monday, 7 p.m., ESPN, 1430 AM Line: Redskins by 4 1/2

In the last installment of our position-by-position free agency primers, we will look at the safeties. The Ravens will likely have holes to fill at safety, but they aren't going to be in the market for a high-priced free agent, not with Ed Reed returning in 2012 and not after strong safety Bernard Pollard fit in so well in his first season in Baltimore. But Haruki Nakamura and Tom Zbikowski, reserve safeties whom the team drafted in 2008, are free agents and could leave for expanded roles elsewhere.

The Ravens' demoralizing 22-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks Sunday was a step back for a team poised to take charge of the AFC North and the overall conference. But why the Ravens performed so dismally is a subject that befuddles many of those who watched Sunday's game and the team's showings in losses to the Tennessee Titans on Sept. 18 and the Jacksonville Jaguars on Oct. 24. Former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver and NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin is one of those puzzled by the Ravens' play this season.

Ben Grubbs doesn't score touchdowns or record interceptions, but the left guard provided a lift with his return to the Ravens' starting lineup in the team's 23-20 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers Sunday night. Grubbs bolstered the offensive line as he reassumed his role as the starter. Andre Gurode had made five consecutive starts for Grubbs after straining ligaments in a toe on his right foot in the team's season-opening rout of Pittsburgh on Sept. 11. “So far, so good as far as that.

The Ravens' offense has been in a bit of a swoon in the past two weeks, performing miserably in a 12-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and in the first two quarters against the Arizona Cardinals before scoring 24 of the game's final 27 points to escape with a 30-27 win. So which offense will fans see Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers? “A good one,” quarterback Joe Flacco said Wednesday. “We are going to go in there with a game plan, one that we can be successful with - things that we do well - and we are going to go execute it to the best of our ability.

Bernard Pollard confirmed The Sun's report on Friday that the NFL had fined the strong safety $10,000 for a hit on Jacksonville Jaguars running back Deji Karim in the third quarter of the Ravens' 12-7 loss a week ago. Although it was not a helmet-to-helmet hit, an NFL spokesman said that Pollard was fined specifically for striking a defenseless player in the head and neck area on a pass play. Pollard, who was already irritated at an official's ruling that he had taunted Arizona Cardinals tight end Jeff King after pushing him out of bounds Sunday, didn't require much prompting to sound off on the fine.

Conventional wisdom around the Ravens was that once Jimmy Smith recovered from the high left ankle sprain that had shelved him since the season opener on Sept. 11, the rookie cornerback would quickly overtake Danny Gorrer as the fifth defensive back in the defense's nickel package. But that wasn't the case on Monday night as Gorrer, not Smith, lined up as the nickel back in the team's 12-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Smith, who is still dealing with some soreness in the ankle, was relegated to strictly special teams work against Jacksonville.

On Monday, Ravens coach John Harbaugh took the unusual step of stating his opinion that Billy Cundiff's unsuccessful field-goal attempt from 52 yards in the third quarter might have made a difference in changing the outcome of Monday night's 12-7 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cundiff, who went to his first Pro Bowl last season, didn't necessarily agree or disagree with Harbaugh's opinion. “I think the one thing as a kicker that I try to avoid is revisionist history in the sense that it's hard to go back say, 'Well, if he would have made this kick, then we would've done this or that,' because it kind of changes the complexion of the game,” Cundiff said Thursday.

BaseballTexas Rangers -- Announced that they will not offer contracts to P Kevin Brown, P Jay Howell, OF Chris James and OF Gary Redus.CollegeBall State -- Announced the resignation of assistant football coach Mike Haywood to take a similar position at Louisiana State.Missouri -- Declared senior F Marlo Finner (3.7 ppg) academically ineligible.UCLA -- Announced that junior G Marquis Burns (1.8 ppg) plansto transfer.FootballJacksonville Jaguars -- Named Kevin Gilbride offensivecoordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Ravens single-game tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. They will be available at the M&T Bank Stadium box office, at Ticketmaster outlets, by Ticketmaster phone charge (410-481-7328) and at Baltimoreravens.com. There are limited seats available for games against the Cleveland Browns (Sept. 14), Kansas City Chiefs (Sept. 28), Denver Broncos (Oct. 26), Jacksonville Jaguars (Nov. 2), San Francisco 49ers (Nov. 30) and Pittsburgh Steelers (Dec. 28). A larger number of tickets are available for games against the Seattle Seahawks (Nov.

The theory that players suffer a drop in production after signing big contracts apparently doesn't apply to Sam Koch. Through six games, the Ravens punter is enjoying career highs in both punting average (47.3 yards) and net average (41.4) after agreeing in February to a five-year deal believed to be in the range of almost $12 million. Koch has plenty of reasons to perform well, and one of those is the absence of guaranteed contracts in the NFL. “It is a little bit of security, but then again, that contract really doesn't mean much because if you don't go out there and perform week in and week out, that contract could be voided within a day,” Koch said Thursday.

Brendon Ayanbadejo joked that he has been walking around the halls of the Ravens' training facility a little slower because his pockets are full with money the inside linebacker thought he had lost. On Friday, Ayanbadejo confirmed what he had written on his Twitter account, verifying that the NFL informed coach John Harbaugh that Ayanbadejo should not have been ejected from Monday night's loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars and that he will not be fined for striking right tackle Guy Whimper.