News from Jags Falcons Practice Multi sources
Rapid Reports not really giving much info so here are some blurbs from different sources. If you have more please add.
Quote:Jaguars and Falcons Practice Observations
by Alfie Crow
Aug 18, 2011 8:01 AM EDT in Jacksonville Jaguars Camp Recaps
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Last night the Jacksonville Jaguars and Atlanta Falcons held a joint practice down at the Florida Blue practice fields. It was very interesting to see how practice played out with teams not going against players they're used to seeing everyday and it made for a more competitive and intense practice. One big observation that jumped out to me, was how good the Atlanta Falcons are. Not just on their front lines, either. They're deep.
You could tell from watching the two, there is a clear cut gap between the Falcons and the Jaguars. In virtually every area sans maybe runningback and tight end, the Falcons are markedly better.
I set out to watch a few specific things in the practice on my way to the field, but because of how practice flowed it was tough to catch everything. The teams ran the same drills on two fields at once. The Jaguars offensive unit was on the field closest to the bleachers while the Jaguars defensive unit was on the middle field. Due to this, it made it difficult to really single out defensive players, so my overall observations are going to be offensively focused. Here are a couple of quick defensive observations, though:
•Rashean Mathis is poised for a good season. He had Roddy White blanketed in coverage on one play, then on the very next play swatted a ball away from rookie Julio Jones.
•Austen Lane was handled by tackle Tyson Clabo. It wasn't just Lane however, as the majority of the Jaguars defensive line was handled by the Falcons offensive line. Only Jeremy Mincey seemed to be able to get some pressure and Matt Roth chased Matt Ryan out of the pocket once.[b]
•Courtney Greene made a nice interception off a Matt Ryan ball tipped by a Jaguars defender, but I'm not sure who tipped the ball in the air.
[b]•Matt Ryan and the other Falcons quarterbacks typically had a clean pocket to work with.
•Julio Jones is good.
Now, the Jaguars offense was easy to follow since it was right in front of us.
•David Garrard had two very nice touchdown throws in 11x11 drills. In one redzone drill, he rifled a ball to Jason Hill on a slant for a touchdown. On the opposite side of the field, Garrard put a nice fade pass to the corner of the endzone for a leaping touchdown. Garrard also had some misfires too, often checking down to his backs and tight ends. Overall though, he had a solid practice and it didn't look like his back was bothering him. Well, aside from the fact that trainers were constantly tending to it between drills. Garrard didn't do the final two-minute drill at all, I assume because of the risk of contact and his back issue.
•Right tackles Guy Whimper and Daniel Baldridge were beaten silly in pass rushing drills. On more than one occasion, they didn't even get a hand on their guy. Kroy Biermann whipped each easily on multiple occasions. Get well soon, Eben.
•Eugene Monroe had a solid night. He was beaten by Ray Edwards easily in one drill, but for the most part held his own against Edwards and John Abraham.
•Blaine Gabbert had a nice night as well, concluding practice running the two-minute drill with the first unit. In redzone drills, Gabbert rifled a ball between defenders to runningback Richard Murphy for what should have been a touchdown, but Murphy dropped the ball. On another 11x11 drill, Gabbert was nearly picked by a Falcons defender, not quite putting enough arch on his pass.
•Tiquan Underwood had a nice practice, I can't recall him dropping a pass. Undrafted rookie Jamar Newsome however, had a rough night. He was able to get open on multiple plays, but just couldn't seem to haul in the passes.
•Cecil Shorts continues to shine, and in my opinion has been the best receiver throughout training camp... including Mike Thomas. Barring injury, I think Shorts has the slot receiver position on lockdown.
It will be fun to watch the game on Friday. David Garrard is slated to start the game, as expected. How long he will play is what will be interesting. If he's getting hit, I feel the leash will be short as to not risk aggrevation of his back. Gabbert is expected to come in mid-second quarter, with Luke McCown finishing off the game in the second half.
Quote:D.led
Notes:
[b]The competition for nickel is getting interesting between Christopher Owens, Dominique Franks and Rafael Bush, a safety. During the two-minute drill against Jacksonville, Bush played the slot and picked off Luke McCown at the 2-yard line to stop the Jaguars’ drive. Owens is the incumbent. Franks is having a strong camp and now Bush is stepping up. The Falcons need a solid nickel back in order to improve their passing defense, which was ranked 22nd in the league last year.
Quote:Falcons join the mix at Jaguars practice
Joint session a warm-up before game
Posted: August 17, 2011 - 11:55pm | Updated: August 18, 2011 - 12:19amPhotos
Observation deck
• Jaguars CB Rashean Mathis knocked down rookie WR Julio Jones in the end zone on the first play of team 11-on-11 drills, then Mathis shut down the Falcons’ marquee receivers on back-to-back plays in a subsequent period. Falcons QB Matt Ryan threw to WR Roddy White, who couldn’t get the ball and was tightly covered by Mathis. On the next play, Mathis knocked the ball away from Jones.
• TE Zach Miller, CBs T.J. Heath and Jalil Johnson, S Chris Prosinski, LB Jacob Cutrera, DT Andrew Lewis, DE Steven Wesley and OL Eben Britton did not practice.
• Falcons QB Chris Redman threw a touchdown pass to WR Kerry Meier with Jaguars S Terrell Whitehead trailing him. Whitehead got an earful from coach Jack Del Rio after the play.
• On consecutive drills, Garrard completed three passes — two to Deji Karim and one to TE Zach Potter — then Gabbert came in and completed two of three.
• Two simultaneous touchdowns to tight ends occurred at one point. Ryan threw a TD pass to Tony Gonzalez, and Garrard threw one to TE Marcedes Lewis.
Blog: Jags QBs David Garrard and Blaine Gabbert take competition into second preseason game
By Tania Ganguli jacksonville.com Copyright 2011 The Florida Times-Union. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
August 17, 2011 - 11:55pm
Falcons join the mix at Jaguars practice
On the middle practice field outside EverBank Field, Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan threw a touchdown pass to first-round draft pick Julio Jones.
Seconds later, Jaguars running back Deji Karim scored on the adjacent field.
Because of the lockout, fewer teams have joined forces to do training camp practices together, but with the Jaguars and Falcons set to play in a preseason game Friday night, the teams opted to spend one fully padded practice together on Wednesday night.
"Once you go against a new team, a fresh face, for a scout I think it's more of a valid indicator of their instinct and awareness as a football player," Jaguars general manager Gene Smith said.
Jaguars running backs Maurice Jones-Drew and Rashad Jennings didn't participate in team drills. Jaguars linebacker Clint Session missed practice as well, still recovering from a concussion he sustained against the New England Patriots.
Zach Miller missed practice with a right knee injury and will be held out for the rest of the preseason, as will offensive tackle Eben Britton, who had a minor back procedure in North Carolina recently.
Each team spent some time doing individual drills by themselves before joining forces for team drills against each other. They did 11-on-11 and skeleton drills against each other. The linemen faced off as well.
"I was very impressed the way the [Jaguars] football team looked tonight," said Mike Smith, the Falcons head coach who spent 2003 through 2007 as the Jaguars' defensive coordinator. "There's a lot of young physical guys, and I thought we had a very good session with these guys, but there's probably only about eight or nine guys on the roster that were here when I left."
Last season, the Jaguars traveled to Atlanta for two days and the two teams had four practices against each other in Flowery Branch, Ga. This year, CBA rules only allow one padded practice per day, limiting the number of joint sessions.
"We're going to see if we can get a really high-tempo hats morning in as well," Del Rio joked. "I think that's what's most important."
Blog: Jags QBs David Garrard and Blaine Gabbert take competition into second preseason game
The chippiness that sometimes characterizes joint practice wasn't there Wednesday night. With the exception of a few barks from former Jaguars linebacker Mike Peterson, most of the players' interactions were friendly — most of Peterson's were as well.
Kicker Josh Scobee said hello to former Jaguars long snapper Joe Zelenka. Atlanta cornerback Dominique Franks, an Oklahoma native like Karim, teased the second-year running back.
And Jaguars rookie quarterback Blaine Gabbert enjoyed opposing former teammates from Missouri, safety William Moore and linebacker Sean Weatherspoon.
"It's always fun to get out there and play a different team," Gabbert said. "It's a great change of pace. Couple starters from Mizzou, so it was fun going against those guys again in 7-on-7, team period. Overall, it's a great night."
Quote:Notebook: August 17
By: Jay Adams
Bringing the Excitement: You’d be hard pressed to find a more excitable bunch than the Falcons defense.
The unit started out Wednesday night jawing at the Jaguars — during stretches.
As the session wore on, the defense started to get more and more intense and into the practice, until it culminated with a complete celebration when safety Rafael Bush intercepted a pass during a two-minute drill to end the session.
“We’re just out there having fun and doing what we love to do,” Bush said. “As long as we’re having fun and doing what we love to do, we’ll all be happy.”
Offense Rolls: The Falcons defense wasn’t the only unit showing up to play Wednesday night.
The Falcons offense also created some big plays, especially during the combined team period and two-minute drill. Quarterback Matt Ryan led the offense on a great drive to end the practice that finished up with him finding Eric Weems in the end zone for a touchdown.
Weems’ catch came right over the middle between two defenders. Had the play been full contact, Weems likely would have gotten clobbered, but he held on to the ball for the six-point play.
“That was good,” Ryan said. “We were efficient, both with our first unit and second unit. We were efficient getting the ball down the field, making the smart plays in those types of situations. Sometimes you’ve got to throw it away, sometimes you’ve got to check it down, but I thought, on the whole, we all did a really good job.”
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Falcons: News from Jags Falcons Practice Multi sources
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