Tom Brady is a great NFL quarterback — perhaps the greatest ever — because his killer instinct doesn't have an "off" switch. It's not just that he reads defenses, makes throws, and gets in his teammates' (and the game officials') faces every Sunday for 60 minutes. It's that he watches film, works with his receiving corps, and critiques himself every weekday for hours on end.

That consistent killer instinct is what separates the league's 12 playoff teams — or at least 11 of them, with the exception of whichever miscreant ends up crawling out of the putrid NFC West — from the pack of franchises that, while stocked the same with professional athletes, ficker on and off between winning and losing form.

In losing 20-17 to the down-and-out Washington Redskins, the Jacksonville Jaguars proved that they're not ready to join that elite group yet.

Maurice Jones-Drew's absence wasn't the problem. Jacksonville's Pro Bowl bell cow, beloved by fantasy football owners, would have done better than second-year backup Rashad Jennings, but the Jaguars' ground game suffered mainly this week (as last week) from missed assignments up front. Specifically, Uche Nwaneri added another sub-par effort to what's been a disappointing year for him and Jordan Black — whether due to injury or ineffectiveness — had to be replaced by Guy Whimper.

David Garrard wasn't the problem, even though his two interceptions led to 10 of Washington's points, including the game-winning field goal in overtime. As much as his early overthrow forced Jacksonville to play catch-up, Garrard successfully brought the Jaguars back by calling his own number late in the fourth quarter on a 20-yard touchdown run.

Then, with the offense pinned inside the 15-yard line by rookie Deji Karim's bumbling kickoff return, a hit to Garrard's throwing arm sent a sideline throw flailing to Washington's Kevin Barnes for the pick.

Jacksonville's defensive "rushmen" weren't the problem, either. They only managed one sack—Larry Hart's dogged takedown of Rex Grossman to end the Redskins' last drive in regulation — but Tyson Alualu and Terrance Knighton forced Washington to run strictly outside the tackles, and Austen Lane and Jeremy Mincey spent most of the afternoon wreaking havoc in the flats.

But taken together, the warts on the Jaguars' solid Sunday were enough to lose a very winnable game. Last year, Jacksonville's four-game crash landing to end a promising season was a case of an overacheiving team running out of gas.

This year, the improved Jaguars just haven't kept the pedal to the metal.

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-- JACK HARVER
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