JACKSONVILLE – This is beginning to feel like football.
Training Camp 2020 is heating up, the regular season is a little more than a month away and the Jaguars this week will conduct practices for the first time in a long time. With that in mind, this week's O-Zone Podcast offers an in-depth, in-house preview of the month – and the season – to come.
With the first official practices of training camp set for Wednesday, the Jaguars' in-house broadcast team -- senior correspondent Brian Sexton, senior reporter J.P. Shadrick and digital host Ashlyn Sullivan – joined senior writer John Oehser for this week's O-Zone podcast.
All offered their thoughts on how training camp and the 2020 season will look as the league deals with COVID-19, how jaguars.com and Jaguars media will cover the team in a season of social distancing – and the keys to the Jaguars season.
A few highlights:
*Sullivan: "Everyone has noticed the immediate difference that [quarterback] Gardner [Minshew II] has taken this year, knowing that he is the starting quarterback. [Players have said] that with this being a virtual offseason, Gardner has handled this [offseason] the best possible way he can. You also have to look at the run defense. We said run defense about 18 times a day in the second half of last season. That was the Achilles Heel for the Jaguars last season and I don't think you have a chance to win this year unless that's fixed." …
*Sexton: "It's tough to say [how 2020 will play out] because we haven't had a chance to see Gardner Minshew. It rests on his shoulders. I think they've made a lot of astute personnel moves to solidify places that were weak. I don't think they're a top team, but I think with a good job by the coaching staff they will be a very competitive team. If Gardner Minshew has improved significantly, then they can do what they did a year ago – which is compete week-to-week and find themselves in games in the fourth quarter." …
*Shadrick: "I think the offense has a chance to be pretty good … I'm not too concerned about the offensive side of the ball, to be quite honest. That defensive side … I think they'll have the stoutness up front. …One of my concerns is the unknowns in the secondary right now. The safeties are good players and the unknowns are the corners. Tre Herndon is a young guy in the league … and then you have a first-round pick (CJ Henderson) on the outside that you haven't seen on the grass yet." …
To hear the entire O-Zone podcast with Sullivan, Sexton and Shadrick, click here.
