Jags Continue To Make Strides In Preseason Camp
Coach Tommy Perry talks with running back Terrance Timmons during preseason camp.
The Jaguars returned the to the field for their third consecutive day of practice this week and their sixth thus far of preseason camp. It was also their second day of practice in full pads as well.
Coach Jones and his staff backed off slightly today, instead of practicing for nearly three hours, they only went for about two hours in a hot, humid morning practice.
“Practice was good,” Coach Jones explained. “I challenged them today. I thought there were times we were up and times we were a little bit down, the heat really got to us a little bit. But, I kept seeing them fighting back and getting better. When they dipped down, I thought they might be done, but they fought back which I was real proud of. We have to concentrate in those times when it’s hot, the mistakes you make when you’re tired are what loses ball games. We have to be able to concentrate and do what we are supposed to do.”
They began practice with team drills with the ball placed at the offense’s 35-yard line. Returning starter C.J. Bennett began the drill with a 10-yard pass to Bryant Lavender. Demetre Baker picked up at least five yard on rushes twice as well. Ross Metheny and Wes Saxton combined for a 20-yard completion as well. Terrance Timmons made a couple good runs as well.
The final period of team drills had the first and second teams running three goal-line plays from the defense’s three-yard line. Kendall Houston was stopped twice by Ben Giles in the first three plays from scrimmage. Ross Metheny found Wes Saxton in the end zone for a touchdown. Demetre Baker found his way into the end zone twice.
“It was good,” Jones said of the goal-line drills. “The defense came out first series and stopped the offense, but the offense got better on the next set of downs. It was like two heavyweights punching each other, I liked it.”
While being satisfied with how the offense has been progressing so far during preseason camp, he knows what they need to continue to focus on as they progress through camp. “The consistency has to be there,” he stated. “You want them to be successful every play, that’s not going to happen, but the offense hit some plays today. I see some good things. If we can shore up the line of scrimmage where we can really block and protect, we have enough skill to where we will be able to do some good things. We’re putting a lot of pressure on those guys up front to do what they are supposed to do.”
With the Jags facing their first two-a-days beginning tomorrow, Coach Jones knows the players are getting tired. “The biggest thing is we have to fight through,” he said. “We’re at the point where our legs are getting tired, but we will have to battle through that. We’ll back off Friday before the scrimmage, so the coaches are going to stop installing and getting things ready for Saturday. That way we can evaluate the kids better. We don’t want them confused Saturday, we want them to be able to execute and show us what they can do.”
As mentioned above, the Jags will go out onto the practice field twice tomorrow. Their first practice will begin around 7:15am then they will return to the field for the second session around 4:30pm. Each should be around one and a half hours in duration.