Had it not been for a rash of dropped passes, quarterback David Garrard's passing touch would've been as hot as the weather.
Coach Jack Del Rio has gone to the whip this week, putting his team through an intense two-hour practice on Tuesday morning, under a blistering sun that sent the heat index soaring toward the 100 mark. It's almost certain that Tuesday's afternoon practice will be the hottest of training camp.
"This is what I expect from training camp," wide receiver Torry Holt said.
The up-tempo session actually spilled over the two-hour mark, as Del Rio put his team through a form of practice-ending gassers that had several linemen laboring to finish the drill.
As the Jaguars approach their first game of the preseason, there are distinct signs of improvement, and it's Garrard who's leading this movement.
In team drills toward the end of practice, Garrard completed all three of his pass attempts and two of those went for touchdowns, one of about 30 yards to tight end Marcedes Lewis and another of shorter distance to tight end Greg Estandia.
The only negative from Tuesday morning's practice was another flurry of dropped passes by the Jaguars' rookie receivers. Tiquan Underwood made a sharp move to get free for a reception of significant distance and Garrard put the ball right on Underwood's hands, but the rookie wide receiver dropped it. Rookie tight end Zach Miller contributed a drop in seven-on-seven and rookie wide receiver Jarett Dillard continued his bout of the dropsies.
"Your legs start to tire on you, your mind starts to tire on you. Those guys have a lot on their plates. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks they'll put that aside and play fluidly," Holt said.
Backup quarterback Todd Bouman threw the ball much better on Tuesday than he had on Monday.
"We're still working, still developing, still installing," Holt added of the pass-offense. Holt's sights are set on next Monday's preseason opener in Miami.
"If we do well there, we'll have something to build on. You want to see where you are. You want to gauge where you are. That's what I'm looking forward to," Holt said.
For now, the Jaguars know exactly where they are; they're in training camp. Del Rio has made that very clear this week.
