JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio walked into the locker room Monday and made a beeline for his offensive linemen.
They had plenty to talk about.
Regrouping. Shuffling. Improving.
Already thin along the offensive line following last week's shooting of backup tackle Richard Collier, Jacksonville lost both starting guards in its sack-filled, season-opening loss at Tennessee on Sunday. They probably will be out for the season.
Left guard Vince Manuwai tore the anterior cruciate and medial collateral ligaments in his right knee, will be placed on injured reserve and have surgery when the swelling subsides. Right guard Maurice Williams ruptured his right biceps and could join Manuwai on IR. Coach Jack Del Rio said no decision has been made on Williams' future.
"We're getting hit left and right," Manuwai said.
Jacksonville already was playing without starting center Brad Meester, who injured his right biceps early in training camp and will miss at least the first four weeks of the regular season. The team also lost Collier for the year when he was shot several times while sitting in his vehicle late one night. He remains in critical but stable condition at a nearby hospital.
"Any time you lose multiple players at one position, it presents a problem," Del Rio said. "That'd be for any team in the league. There's only so many guys, numbers-wise, you keep and take into the season. When you start losing multiple players at one position, it makes it very difficult."
The Jaguars expect backups Tutan Reyes and Uche Nwaneri to step into starting roles. Both players struggled against the Titans, who sacked David Garrard seven times and held running backs Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew to a combined 31 yards in the 17-10 loss.
"These guys have been studying, busting their butts throughout the entire preseason," Taylor said. "They were brought in here to be solid backups. This is another challenge. If I were one of them, I would be licking my chops to show people what I can do. This is what you prepare for and you wait on. It's here for them. It's more real life than anything."
With the mounting injuries, the Jaguars were left with one healthy backup, guard/tackle Charles Spencer. A third-round draft pick by Houston in 2006, Spencer missed most of the last two seasons because of a broken leg. He signed last week to fill Collier's roster spot.
Jacksonville planned to work out several free agents Tuesday, including guard Chris Liwienski, before making any moves. Liwienski, who started 14 games for Miami last season, spent part of training camp with Jacksonville.
"We know we're going to need to take a good look at available talent in the offensive line, get them coached up and bring them up to speed as quickly as possible and plug in and continue playing," Del Rio said. "As we've always done here, we're going to plug in and keep rolling."
Jacksonville's line has been one the team's biggest strengths in recent years. The unit helped the Jags record their best two rushing totals in franchise history the last two seasons. They ran for 2,541 yards (158.8 per game) in 2006 and 2,391 yards (149.4 per game) last year.
The key had been continuity along the line, with Manuwai, Williams, Meester and left tackle Khalif Barnes starting most of the games the last three years. Building that same chemistry might not happen in a week of practice.
"You don't know how long it's going to take, but it's gonna happen," Barnes said. "We understand what we have to do. One guy goes down, the other guys kind of pick up the stick and keep the flag going."
Both injuries were somewhat freak accidents.
Williams injured his biceps during pregame warmups. He tried to play through the pain, but he had very little strength in the arm. It showed, too. Taylor got stuffed for a 2-yard loss on the opening play and Garrard was sacked for an 8-yard loss on the second. Williams was replaced after the first series.
Teammate Dennis Norman rolled into Manuwai's knee early in the third quarter. It was Manuwai's first injury in his six seasons.
"Wrong place, wrong time," Manuwai said. "It's real disappointing. My '08 season is over. For me, I've got to move on, get stronger, rest my body now. It's tough. You can't do nothing about it but have surgery and do rehab."
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press
