The Jacksonville Jaguars went through a spirited morning practice on Friday at Ferrell Fields before taking the afternoon off. The Atlanta Falcons will be in Jacksonville for two practice against the Jaguars on Saturday. Both practices are open to the public.
On Friday, defensive tackle Kelvin Pritchett suffered a hyperextended elbow (X-rays were negative) that sent him to the sidelines, along with center Michael Cheever (hip pointer), linebacker Tom McManus (knee), defensive tackle Don Davey (knee) and cornerback Ron Harrison (hamstring). Wide receiver Keenan McCardell (quadriceps) returned to practice this morning.
Jaguars head coach Tom Coughlin praised the play of some of the team's rookies. "The young guys are caught up a little bit now, particularly on third down with the blitz concept. We've been fairly complex and thrown a lot of things at them. A lot of rookies have been impressive, certainly Donovin Darius and Cordell Taylor. Some of the defensive linemen, whether they were drafted or were undrafted, have had their days. Fred Taylor, Alvis Whitted, Tavian Banks, they've all had their days. Jonathan Quinn has thrown the ball well in his opportunities. Reggie Swinton has jumped out at me a couple of times. But the key word for them is staying power - can do they do it for a length of time? Can they be consistent? Can they stay on the field physically? It's a good time to evaluate people."
Regarding the practice against the Falcons, Coughlin said, "We'll get a lot out of it. We'll be able to compare the rookies against another team rather than against their own teammates, so it'll be a very, very good opportunity for them. But the workout will be relatively basic. I want our players to be instinctive and react as football players without having to do a lot of thinking."
The practices with the Falcons will be at 8:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at Ferrell Fields. NFL officials will work both practice sessions.
