CONNECTIONS
- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, while leading the Cleveland Browns, hired Terry McDonough as a scout. McDonough is now an Executive Scout with the Jaguars.

• Patriots quarterbacks coach John Hufnagel was the Jaguars quarterbacks coach in 2002.

• Patriots assistant strength & conditioning coach Markus Paul was born on April 1, 1966, in Orlando, Fla. He was an all-state quarterback and defensive back at Osceola High and led his team to the high school Citrus Bowl in 1983.

• Patriots quarterback Damon Huard saw his only postseason action as a quarterback against the Jaguars, completing 5-of-16 passes for 46 yards. (1/15/00)

• Patriots fullback Fred McCrary was born on September 19, 1972, in Naples, Fla. He gained more than 1,200 yards as a senior at Naples High School and was honored as the school's top athlete in 1991.

• Patriots defensive end Anthony Pleasant was born on Jan. 27, 1968, in Century, Fla.; he earned All-America, all-state and all-conference honors as a senior at Century High School.

• Patriots cornerback Asante Samuel was born on Jan. 6, 1981, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. He was the quarterback, defensive back, kicker and punter at Boyd Anderson (Lauderdale Lake, Fla.) High, as well as a member of the basketball and baseball teams. Samuel's collegiate ball was played at Central Florida.

• Patriots wide receiver J.J. Stokes spent the first nine weeks of this season with the Jaguars, starting three of the six games he appeared in and catching 13 passes for 116 yards.

• Patriots nose tackle Ted Washington is originally from Tampa, Fla.

• Jaguars offensive line coach Paul Boudreau was born on December 30, 1949, in Arlington, Mass. He was a letterman in both football and baseball at Boston College (1971-73). Boudreau's first season of coaching was at Oxford (Mass.) High School in 1973, followed by two seasons at Boston College and three seasons at Maine. He returned to New England in 1997 to coach the Patriots for two seasons.

• Jaguars defensive line coach Ray Hamilton was a 14th round draft choice by the Patriots and a fixture on New England's defensive line from 1973 to 1981; he began his coaching career at New England (1985-89) and returned eight years later for another stint with the Patriots (1997-99). Hamilton's son Kadar spent a training camp with New England as well.

• Jacksonville fullback Marc Edwards spent the past two seasons with the Patriots, starting 23 of the 32 games he appeared in, as well as all three postseason appearances. While with New England, Edwards had 82 rushes for 237 yards and 48 receptions for 386 yards.

DEFENDING THEIR TERRITORY
The Patriots' defense has not allowed their opponents to score a single point at Gillette Stadium in 10 consecutive quarters of football. The last time an opponent scored at Gillette Stadium was when Phil Dawson of the Cleveland Browns converted a 29-yard field goal with 24 seconds left in the first half on Oct. 26. New England shut out Cleveland in the second half of its 9-3 win, then shut out the Dallas Cowboys, 12-0 on Nov. 16. and shut out the Dolphins, 12-0 on Nov. 7.

THE HEAD COACHES
BILL BELICHICK
Overall Record: 76-70 (.521)
Regular Season: 72-69 (.511)
Postseason: 4-1 (.800)
With New England overall: 39-25 (.609)
Overall since Oct. 26, 2001: 33-11 (.750)

Bill Belichick is celebrating his 29th consecutive season as an NFL coach, and has been one of the most successful coaches in the league over the past three decades. He has been a part of three Super Bowl championship teams, including the memorable victory in Super Bowl XXXVI that brought the Patriots their first title in franchise history. Belichick has ensured that the spark of the Super Bowl season ignited a run of success that will last well into the future. Since Oct. 14, 2001, the Patriots have blossomed, rattling off 33 wins in their last 44 games and making Belichick the winningest NFL Head Coach since Week Four of the 2001 season.

JACK DEL RIO
Overall Record: 4-9 (.308)
Regular Season: 4-9 (.308)
Postseason: 0-0 (.000)
With Jacksonville overall: 4-9 (.308)
Overall since Oct. 26, 2001: 4-9 (.308)

Jack Del Rio is in his first season as Jaguars head coach, assuming the helm of the team on January 17, 2003. Del Rio spent six seasons as an NFL assistant coach, including one season as a defensive coordinator for the Carolina Panthers in 2002. Prior to joining the Panthers, Del Rio was the linebackers coach for the Baltimore Ravens from 1999-2001, and earned a Super Bowl ring in 2000 as the Ravens posted one of the most dominant defensive performances in NFL history. Del Rio broke into the coaching ranks in 1997 as an assistant strength coach for the New Orleans Saints before becoming the Saints' linebackers coach the following season. He spent 11 seasons as an NFL linebacker, playing for the Saints, Chiefs, Cowboys and Vikings. He led Minnesota in tackles for three straight seasons (1992-94) and was selected to the 1994 Pro Bowl.

BACK-TO-BACK HOME SHUTOUTS
The Patriots have recorded shutouts in consecutive home games for the first time in team history. It's the third time in franchise history the Patriots have recorded two shutouts in a season. The other times New England notched twin blankings were in 1983 and 1982. Last week's 12-0 win over Miami was the 19th shutout in franchise history. Prior to this season, the Patriots had not recorded a shutout since 1996.

SOUTHERN HOSPITALITY
The Patriots have an all-time record of 62-41-1 (.601) against the teams that make up the AFC South. It is the only division in the NFL where the Patriots own a winning record against all of the teams they have played. New England owns winning marks against Tennessee (19-16-1), Indianapolis (39-24), Houston (1-0) and Jacksonville (3-1). In 2003, the Patriots are 3-0 against the AFC South, having beaten Tennessee on Oct. 5 (38-30), Houston on Nov. 23 (23-20 ot) and Indianapolis on Nov. 30 (38-34). This week against Jacksonville, the Patriots will make a bid for a clean sweep of the South in 2003.