Maurice Jones-Drew: On Pace For Career Season, But Will The Public Notice?

While the Jacksonville Jaguars have been a team in turmoil this season, the running game has continued to be the rock upon which the offense has been run.

It is only fitting that with all the problems that exist with the passing game and the receiving corps, the running back who drew questions about his health in the offseason and during the preseason has been able to prove his doubters wrong.

Maurice Jones-Drew has 307 yards over his first three games, the best output for the first three games in his career.

Jones-Drew missed the last two games of last season with a meniscus injury that led to offseason surgery. The second-round pick out of UCLA in 2006 sat out training camp and the first three games of the preseason.

Once the regular season started and Jones-Drew scored his first touchdown of the year—a 21-yard gallop through the middle of the Tennessee Titans defense—everyone in EverBank Field knew the running game was fine and alive in Jacksonville.

Last week, Jones-Drew ran for 122 yards in a loss to Carolina.

Jones-Drew's season so far has been quite opposite of the Jaguars' as a whole. The Jaguars lost their last two games, have had two starting quarterbacks and have induced a lot of questions about the coaching staff and play-calling so far this season.

Head coach Jack Del Rio has even questioned his offensive coordinator, Dirk Koetter, because of the calls he made against Carolina in the rain on obvious passing downs when he opted to run Jones-Drew instead of asking the rookie Blaine Gabbert to find a receiver downfield.

After the first game of the year, Jones-Drew commented that he knew the coaching staff wanted to protect his knee and he was on a "carry count," but felt he needed to carry the ball more in crucial situations. Backup Deji Karim has proven to be a great fill-in while the starter is on the bench.

And if Jones-Drew keeps this pace, which would be the most yards ever run for by a Jaguars running back, will it be even noticed by the public outside the Jacksonville area?

In last Sunday's edition of the Florida Times-Union, Jones-Drew acknowledged the pace he is on with running the ball, but also voiced his frustrations over the direction the offense is taking so far this season. 

"Individual stuff doesn't matter," Jones-Drew said. "Winning games and championships is all that matters in this game, anyway."

He also said the offense has to find a way to score more.

"

Our defense has done an outstanding job. Special teams did their part. As an offense, you have to find a way to score. I know it was a crazy game and it played out to being one of those just run the ball in a cloud of dust—we still have to find a way to score. We have to find a way to win. At the end of the day, we're not finding a way to win, we're just doing the opposite, We have to go back and correct it.

"

So, going into the game this weekend against the Saints, Jones-Drew will again be the focal point against a defense that has not been able to stop its opponents from scoring in two of its first three games.

The only problem is that Jacksonville has to score points of its own, and for that to happen they must put up more than 9.7 points per game (which the team averages) this season.

Jones-Drew commented further that he understands the team is frustrated, not just himself. In order to win, he said 10 points cannot be the goal.

"Ten points isn't going to win in this league. You have to score points. At the end of the day as playmakers, we all have to do our part. All we can do is continue to work. You can't snap your fingers and expect things to change."