The Jaguars returned to practice today after taking yesterday off following Friday’s two practices against the New Orleans Saints. The team went through two sessions, although the afternoon one was cut short after 50 minutes because of rain and lightning. The team completed the afternoon session with a 20-minute walk-through in the Touchdown Club.

“We’re on schedule,” said Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin. “I think we have a real good feeling of team right now in terms of the cooperative venture on the part of everyone. They’ve worked hard. They’ve done what we’ve asked them to do. They turned it up a notch and were physical on Friday afternoon. We now enter a very important week. I’d like to see more improvement this week.”

The Jaguars will play the Atlanta Falcons on Friday in their preseason opener in the Georgia Dome. “We’ll go through our entire work, and then the day before the game will be the first let-up actually,” Coughlin added. “The first thing they have to do is get back into the training camp grind. We don’t change the schedule much for the first game.”

Rookie offensive tackle Mike Pearson, the team’s second-round draft choice, returned to practice for the first time since suffering a sprained ankle in last Monday’s practice. “I think he had a good morning,” said Coughlin. “He’s taking 50 percent of the normal reps. It’s good to see him out here. We need him to move forward. He paid attention all the time he was out and got back as fast as he could. Obviously, he missed some, but hopefully he’ll come back fast and catch up.”

On Monday, the Jaguars will practice at 8:40 a.m. and 3:20 p.m. Tom Coughlin will be available after the morning practice, and players will be available at the Radisson from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.