Bortles is best when he's able to move around and create. Right now it looks like everything is 3 and 5 step drop throws from the pocket. He obviously needs to be able to do that but he's best when he can improvise and move around.
@Rooster while I agree with you that playing outside the pocket is one of Blake's strengths, I would disagree that that's where he's best. Caldwell said that his best game was against Penn State so I have watched his cut-ups for that game several times. During the game, he made several throws (including one deep corner that made my jaw drop) from the pocket.
He seems, at least to me, to prefer winning from the pocket and then creating if he must. I would also point out that it's very difficult to simulate improvisation in camp, because that's contradictory by it's definition. I was at the camp yesterday watching them throw yoga balls at the QBs feet. That's great but it won't help when the real action starts. That kind of improvisational ability comes during the games or not at all.
Just looking at some of the tweets from today...
Johnny O says Telvin is getting reps with the first team (probably cause it's Geno's day off, IMO)
Josh Evans is working but limited.
Pros is with the threes.
Stephen Morris isn't doing too well.
Demetrius McCray made a good pass breakup deep.
Bortles led offense to a TD in 2 minute drill, completing all three passes.
TD in three plays? He left too much time on the clock..lol
Blake really showed out today. The throw he made to Hurns for a TD was probably the prettiest ball I've seen from a Jags QB since Garrard
Quote:Blake really showed out today. The throw he made to Hurns for a TD was probably the prettiest ball I've seen from a Jags QB since Garrard
Nice. Were you there? I'm feening for some reports!!
Quote:Bortles is best when he's able to move around and create. Right now it looks like everything is 3 and 5 step drop throws from the pocket. He obviously needs to be able to do that but he's best when he can improvise and move around.
I actually like hearing that....
Gabbert was absolutely incapable of improvisation.
Henne isn't much better at it.
Brunell might be the last Jags QB who's been able to do it well.
I just got back from training camp and here are a few things I saw:
Denard Robinson made a great catch on a poorly thrown back shoulder throw. The throw was low and outside, and he went down and got it.
The roster lists Red Bryant at 6-4, 323, but he looks HUUUUUGE. I saw him pancake some unfortunate offensive lineman in a blocking drill.
The defensive line looks a lot better than the offensive line. The defensive linemen were whipping the offensive linemen, especially the rookie offensive linemen.
Geno Hayes had a nice pick-six on a throw by Ricky Stanzi.
Good to hear about DRob. Loved him at Michigan.
Quote:I'm so glad we didn't draft Johnny Party.
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2112271-cleveland-browns-reportedly-ask-johnny-manziel-to-tone-it-down'>"I'm not going to change who I am for anyone."</a>
<a class="bbc_url" href='https://www.cleveland.com/browns/index.ssf/2014/07/browns_alarmed_by_some_of_john.html'>Browns 'alarmed' by some of Johnny Manziel's behavior, concerned it's set him back in QB competition.</a>
Agreed. I loved the athleticism of Manziel but his maturity is an issue
according to O'Halloran, our new rookie LEO Chris Smith "can't be blocked by backups" and should get more snaps with the 1's soon.
Quote:according to O'Halloran, our new rookie LEO Chris Smith "can't be blocked by backups" and should get more snaps with the 1's soon.
This is awesome.
Quote:according to O'Halloran, our new rookie LEO Chris Smith "can't be blocked by backups" and should get more snaps with the 1's soon.
Wow so cool. I can't until all these guys progress
Monday's report:
Quote:NEW INJURIES
TE Clay Harbor sustained a calf strain and will miss several days. WR Damian Copeland had his left ankle re-taped but returned to practice.
TOP PLAY
On the opening snap of 11-on-11, DE Chris Clemons tipped a pass from QB Chad Henne and it was intercepted by DT Roy Miller.
THUMBS UP
*St. Johns County for coming out for the Jaguars’ practice at Bartram Trail High School. The announced crowd was 3,329, the largest of training camp. Look for this to continue next year.
*DE Gerald Rivers is having his way with the Jaguars’ second- and third-team offensive tackles in pass-rushing drills. He’s earned a shot at going against better competition.
*Rookie CB Rashaad Reynolds intercepted QB Stephen Morris on the second-to-last play of practice.
THUMBS DOWN
*The offense in general and quarterbacks in particular. During 11-on-11, the Jaguars’ quarterbacks with a combined 12-of-24 passing with two interceptions.
*RB Denard Robinson dropped a pass for the second consecutive practice.
ODDS AND ENDS
*Quarterback statistics: Henne 16 snaps, 4-of-8, one INT; Blake Bortles 12 snaps, 3-of-7; Morris nine snaps, 3-of-7 with one INT; and Ricky Stanzi two snaps, 2-of-2.
*Catching punts were Tandon Doss, Nathan Slaughter, Will Blackmon and Chad Bumphis. The guess here remains that Doss will get the top shot to handle those duties when the regular season started.
*During individual drills, when DE Red Bryant abused three tackling dummies with arm rips, you almost felt sorry for the dummies.
*With Harbor out with a strained calf and Tialavea nursing a quad injury, the Jaguars are down to four healthy tight ends (Marcedes Lewis, Brandon Barden, Marcel Jensen and Reggie Jordan). The injuries represent a golden opportunity for Jensen to get second-team reps and earn a roster spot.
*In a 9-on-7 run drill, Jordan drove LB Allen Bradford 10 yards downfield before pancaking him into the turf.
*Among Henne’s snaps in team drills were three plays when he couldn’t find an open receiver and started to scramble. The play is then blown dead.
*LB Geno Hayes (knee) practiced for the second straight day, a positive development for the Jaguars, who thought last week that he would be on an every-other-day schedule.
*The second-team secondary was safeties Joe Young and Josh Evans and cornerbacks Jeremy Harris and Blackmon.
*Pass break-ups/good coverage by the defense included plays by DT Sen’Derrick Marks, LB Telvin Smith, S Johnathan Cyprien and Jeremy Harris.
*Cyprien’s play came on a downfield pass intended for WR Allen Robinson, who got a step on CB Demetrius McCray. Cyprien dashed over to break up the play and collide with Robinson.
*Marks’ made a fine play at the line of scrimmage – he beat the block attempt by FB Will Ta’ufo’ou and immediately jumped with his hands up to bat down the pass.
*OLB LaRoy Reynolds resembled a missile when he knifed through the offensive line on a stretch running play to deliver a hit (but not a tackle) on RB Jordan Todman.
*Slaughter dropped a long pass from Morris when he beat CB Deion Belue.
*RG Brandon Linder worked with the first team so the Jaguars are sticking with their every-other-day plan with him and Jacques McClendon.
*Copeland continued to flash, beating CB Jamell Fleming and making a diving catch on a throw from Morris.
*The linemen drills didn’t have any altercations like on Sunday. Among the wins by the defense were by DT Abry Jones (outside move on C Mike Brewster), Clemons (rip move on LT Luke Joeckel), DT Ziggy Hood (swim move on C Luke Bowanko), Rivers (against LT Cam Bradfield and LT Josh Wells) and DE Tyson Alualu (on LG Zane Beadles).
*Wins for the offensive linemen included Beadles (against Marks) and C/G Patrick Lewis (against DT Ricky Havili-Heimuli)
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://m.jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/544821/ryan-ohalloran/2014-07-28/jaguars-monday-practice-report'>http://m.jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/544821/ryan-ohalloran/2014-07-28/jaguars-monday-practice-report</a>
Quote:After an impressive performance by the quarterbacks and receivers on Sunday, the defense rebounded with a strong day in the Jaguars’ practice at Bartram Trail High School. There were two interceptions -- defensive tackle Roy Millermade a diving catch after Chris Clemons deflected Chad Henne's pass and undrafted rookie Rashaad Reynoldssnared an errant throw by Stephen Morris and returned it for a TD -- and four pass breakups (including deflections by Clemons and defensive tackle Sen'Derrick Marks) during 11-on-11. “The other day the offense really came off the ball and did a good job at establishing the line of scrimmage,” coach Gus Bradley said. “The defense came back and said, ‘Alright, not tonight, not tonight.’ They attacked it like that. It went back-and-forth overall, but the defense, I thought, came out really spirited.”
Second-year cornerback Demetrius McCray continues to impress while working with the first unit in pace of Alan Ball(ankle). He had another pass breakup in one-on-one drills on Monday. He’s an intriguing player because of his size (6-foot, 185 pounds) and length. If he continues to develop, the Jaguars are going to have an interesting situation after the season. Ball, whom Bradley says may return on Wednesday, has played well as the starter oppositeDwayne Gratz but his contract expires after the season. The team drafted Aaron Colvin in the fourth round despite a torn ACL and the expectation is he would be ready to become the starter in 2015. But McCray may be an option. If neither appears to be ready, the Jaguars may opt to re-sign Ball.
Backup tight end Clay Harbor suffered a strained calf and will miss at least several days. He’s the primary backup toMarcedes Lewis and the team’s only flex tight end. He caught 24 passes for 292 yards and two touchdowns in his first season with the Jaguars. This will mean more opportunities for undrafted rookies Reggie Jordan, Marcel Jensen, and Brandon Barden. D.J. Tialavea, another undrafted rookie, is out with a quad strain.
The Jaguars announced an attendance of 3,239 at Bartram Trail High School, the biggest crowd to watch a training camp practice so far. ... The Jaguars are off on Tuesday and will return to the practice field at 9:55 a.m. ET Wednesday. ... One of the highlights of what was a relatively uneventful practice came during a water break, when Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee tried to hit mascot Jaxson de Ville, who was hanging from the crossbar. He took two playful shots at him but missed both times. ... Here are the QB stats from 11-on-11: Henne was 3-for-8 with an interception; Blake Bortles was 3-for-7; Morris was 3-for-7 with an interception, and Ricky Stanzi was 2-for-2.
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=jacksonville-jaguars&id=6926&src=desktop&rand=ref~%7B%22ref%22%3A%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bigcatcountry.com%2F2014%2F7%2F29%2F5947543%2F2014-jaguars-training-camp-practice-report-roundup%22%7D'>http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/blogpost?blogname=jacksonville-jaguars&id=6926&src=desktop&rand=ref~%7B%22ref%22%3A%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bigcatcountry.com%2F2014%2F7%2F29%2F5947543%2F2014-jaguars-training-camp-practice-report-roundup%22%7D</a>
Quote:Monday's report:
<a class="bbc_url" href='http://m.jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/544821/ryan-ohalloran/2014-07-28/jaguars-monday-practice-report'>http://m.jacksonville.com/opinion/blog/544821/ryan-ohalloran/2014-07-28/jaguars-monday-practice-report</a>
Gerald Rivers is an intriguing prospect, he's super athletic but undersized (similar to Bruce Irvin), he could thrive in the LEO role if he continues to develop.
McCray is becoming an interesting player to keep an eye on.