Jaguars Training Camp, Day 14: Light Day Ahead of Joint Practices
The Jacksonville Jaguars were back at the Miller Electric Center for training camp on Monday, just a few days after their preseason road victory vs. the Dallas Cowboys.
It was a light, padless day for the Jaguars as the dog days of camp are moving into the rearview mirror, but what all did we see?
Calvin Ridley draws the attention of the crowd
It was an extremely light and slow-tempo practice for the Jaguars, so the fans in the stands in the far end-zones didn't exactly get a ton of plays to cheer over. They did cheer emphatically over Jacksonville's resident rock star wide receiver, however, when he caught a deep bomb from Trevor Lawrence down the right sideline for a would-be touchdown.
It wasn't Ridley's only impressive catch; he made another down the left sideline in single coverage against Gregory Junior that was one of the more impressive plays in practice. He also snagged a ball across the middle of the field before turning it upfield for what would have been a big gain. In a day without much going on, Ridley was the primary attraction.
Jaguars have a light day ahead of joint practices with the Detroit Lions
The biggest reason the Jaguars didn't have an action-packed practice was likely because they will be having full-contact practices with the Detroit Lions on Wednesday and Thursday. Those will be intense practices against another squad, so it makes sense that Monday was more of a scout day for the Jaguars, with no true live tackling reps.
This week will mean a lot of reps for the Jaguars' starters vs. the Lions' starters, so it is only natural for both Monday and Tuesday to be light days for the Jaguars. Expect for tomorrow to be more of the same before things pick up in Detroit.
“I think you can see a lot, for us offensively and defensively, it’s a different style. We’ve been practicing against a 3-4 base defense here. Now, we’re going to go against a four-down front in Detroit," Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson said on Monday morning.
"Same thing offensively, you’re going to see a lot of the same things probably from Detroit, the play action, the movment game. It’s just good to really see it in a little bit different perspective because we know our defense, our defense knows our offense, and sometimes it just goes back and forth where not too many people win. Here, you get to compete against another team in a controlled environment. Your starters are going to get the bulk of work this week and you’re still evaluating. We’re still in training camp and evaluating. The fact that we get to see a different team, a different structure, those are all things that are beneficial to us as a football team.”
Travis Etienne continues to get first reps at running back
It shouldn't be a surprise after Travis Etienne got five of the first six carries at running back against the Cowboys, but Etienne again largely commanded the bulk of the first-team practice reps in Monday's practice. It looks like Bigsby is comfortable in a role as Etienne's primary backup on base downs while also being their top short-yardage back, but this is still Etienne's backfield in between the 20s.
“I saw some good things from him. I think once he settled in and really started seeing the hole a little bit better, he had a couple of nice runs on the perimeter," Pederson said on Saturday about Bigsby's performance. "He’s a tough running back. He’s somebody that brings a little punch, runs behind his paths as you say, and this will be a good film for him to watch.”
Rookie offensive linemen have a focus on them after strong debuts
The Jaguars could have found something in both of their offensive line selections in April. First-round tackle Anton Harrison and seventh-round guard Cooper Hodges both had encouraging debuts vs. the Cowboys, with means that there will be even more eyes on them entering this week vs. a Lions defense that has plenty of resources poured into their defensive front.
"I thought Anton was another one that you really saw his aggressiveness, you saw his athleticism, again, some things we can clean up and improve upon. I thought overall he did a nice job, first time out. He really showed the type of player that he is and the reason why we drafted him," Pederson said.
"I thought Cooper did some really good things. For his first time out, I thought he played physical. He was aggressive, for the most part assignments were pretty clean, there’s some things we can clean up that we’ll do this morning as we watch the tape. I thought overall, his performance really was good for rookie offensive lineman in his first game.”
Play of the Day
The play of the day goes to Josh Pederson on Monday, who hauled in a one-handed catch over his shoulder on a dime of a throw from C.J. Beathard.
