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          Jacksonville Jaguars schedule analysis

          • Michael DiRocco, ESPN Staff WriterApr 23, 2014, 08:12 PM ET
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              Michael DiRocco is an NFL reporter at ESPN. DiRocco covers the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously covered the University of Florida for over a decade for ESPN.com and Florida Times-Union. DiRocco graduated from Jacksonville University and is a multiple APSE award winner. You can follow DiRocco on Twitter at @ESPNdirocco.
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          Breakdown: If the Jaguars are going to get off to a good start in 2014, they’ll have to do it against some pretty tough competition. They play three of their first four games against teams that made the playoffs last season, including two on the road (Philadelphia to open the season on Sept. 7 and San Diego three weeks later). In fact, the Jaguars play five games against four teams (Indianapolis twice) that made the playoffs last season and four of those games come within the season’s first nine games. In addition to Philadelphia and San Diego, the Jaguars play host to Indianapolis on Sept. 21 (home opener) and play at Cincinnati on Nov. 2. If the Jaguars are going to challenge the .500 mark this season, they can’t afford to play like they did in the first half of the 2013 season when they lost all eight games by double digits.

          Complaint department: The Jaguars have just one home game in the season’s first month and play four of their first six games on the road for the second consecutive season. It’s not as bad as it was in 2013, when they played at Oakland and Seattle in Weeks 2-3, but it still robs the team of gaining a little momentum from an attendance boost because of the new scoreboards and amenities at EverBank Field. There’s also a stretch in which the Jaguars don’t play a game at EverBank for nearly a month because of the annual Florida-Georgia game, the game against Dallas in London, a bye week and the Great Jacksonville Agricultural Fair.

          Secondary concerns: We’ll quickly get a chance to see how much cornerback Dwayne Gratz and safety Johnathan Cyprien have improved in their second season and whether the pass rush is any better. The Jaguars start the season by facing a run of pretty darn good quarterbacks in the season’s first five games: Philadelphia’s Nick Foles, Washington’s Robert Griffin III, Indianapolis’ Andrew Luck, San Diego’s Philip Rivers and Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger. The Jaguars finished the 2013 season tied for 25th in pass defense (247.6 yards per game) and tied for last in sacks (31). The addition of defensive end Chris Clemons and linebacker Dekoda Watson, plus a potential high draft pick, should improve the rush.

          Strength of schedule: 29th, .453 | Vegas over/under: 4.5

          Jaguars Regular-Season Schedule (All times Eastern)

          Week 1: Sunday, Sept. 7, at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.

          Week 2: Sunday, Sept. 14, at Washington, 1 p.m.

          Week 3: Sunday, Sept. 21, Indianapolis, 1 p.m.

          Week 4: Sunday, Sept. 28, at San Diego, 4:05 p.m.

          Week 5: Sunday, Oct. 5, Pittsburgh, 1 p.m.

          Week 6: Sunday, Oct. 12, at Tennessee, 1 p.m.

          Week 7: Sunday, Oct. 19, Cleveland, 1 p.m.

          Week 8: Sunday, Oct. 26, Miami, 1 p.m.

          Week 9: Sunday, Nov. 2, at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.

          Week 10: Sunday, Nov. 9, Dallas, 1 p.m. (in London)

          Week 11: BYE

          Week 12: Sunday, Nov. 23, at Indianapolis, 1 p.m.

          Week 13: Sunday, Nov. 30, NY Giants, 1 p.m.

          Week 14: Sunday, Dec. 7, Houston, 1 p.m.

          Week 15: Sunday, Dec. 14, at Baltimore, 1 p.m.

          Week 16: Thursday, Dec. 18, Tennessee, 8:25 p.m.

          Week 17: Sunday, Dec. 28, at Houston, 1 p.m.