Jones-Drew seeks better luck back home

Jacksonville Jaguars running back Maurice Jones-Drew on Sunday will be back in the Bay Area, where he didn't lose in high school but has struggled since.

"My record is like 1-4 right now, so that's not a good thing," Jones-Drew said Wednesday by conference call.

Jones-Drew was talking about his record playing for UCLA in San Jose (the Silicon Valley Bowl) and at Stanford and Cal, in addition to a 20-3 Jaguars loss in San Francisco in 2009.

He hasn't played an NFL game in Oakland, his hometown, where the Jaguars face the Raiders on Sunday in a matchup of 1-4 teams.

Coming off a season in which he set a franchise record with a league-high 1,606 rushing yards, the De La Salle High School graduate is ranked 14th in the NFL with 408 yards and one touchdown.

A good chunk of those numbers came in Jacksonville's 22-17 victory over Indianapolis, in which he had 177 yards on 28 carries, including a 59-yard touchdown run.

Jones-Drew points at Jacksonville's five-yard average per carry and thinks there isn't much wrong with the running game that a lead couldn't fix.

"We've gotten down pretty quickly in games, and we've had to throw the ball to get back in it, so that's why you see 12 carries or 13 carries," Jones-Drew said. "Our game plan is to stick to what we do best and be balanced on offense."

The Raiders realize their most important task will be to contain Jones-Drew, who expects about 50 family members and friends to be in attendance Sunday.

"They're definitely going to run the ball downhill," cornerback Michael Huff said. "They've got their play-action, and they're going to take their shot. We still have to hold up on the back end, but they're definitely more of a run team. We've got to make sure we're stout in the run game."

Jones-Drew sat out training camp hoping to renegotiate a contract he feels is not in line with the NFL's elite backs. He has collected $21.3 million in the first three years of a five-year deal and will make $4.45 million this season.

Coach Mike Mularkey said by conference call the absence hurt Jones-Drew's football conditioning and delayed his assimilation into a new offensive system, but he now thinks his star runner is up to speed.

Jones-Drew begs to differ.

"(The holdout) didn't hurt at all. I've been playing football for a long time, and so I think more than anything, it didn't allow me to take those unnecessary hits you get during training camp and (organized team activities) and things like that," Jones-Drew said.

"I was much fresher coming in. I trained while I was away just as if I was in training camp, two- or three-a-days, or whatever I could to keep my body, so when I did come back I could be in the best shape possible."

Notes – Linebacker Aaron Curry returned to practice for the first time since May 15, the first Raiders' OTA. Curry has been rehabilitating sore knees since. The Raiders have a three-week window before they have to put Curry on the 53-man roster, place him on injured reserve or release him. He currently is participating on a roster exemption and does not count toward the 53-man roster.

• Guard Mike Brisiel was on the field, in a helmet, presumably in the first stage of his recovery from a concussion. So far, Raiders players who were on the field Wednesday following a concussion have played Sunday.

• Those who weren't on the field as team sessions began were guard Khalif Barnes (groin), cornerback Shawntae Spencer (foot) and tight end Richard Gordon.

• Read more articles by Jerry McDonald

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