Jaguars Training Camp: Quarterbacks Struggle

The Jacksonville Jaguars got onto the practice field tonight for their final day of full padded practice. It was a nice night outside, not too muggy, and there was a nice crowd out for "Military Appreciation Night." After the usual stretching and a few quick positional drills, the Jaguars lined up for their first 11 x 11 drill, and it set the pace for practice.

On the first play, quarterback David Garrard badly under throws wide receiver Mike Thomas and is picked off by rookie safety Chris Prosinski.

The Good:

• Undrafted rookie defensive end Odrick Ray was in the backfield all night long. He's listed as a defensive end at about 276 pounds, but he played on the inside at defensive tackle. He was consistently in the backfield on multiple plays. It got to the point to where I was saying, "...and it's number 70 again!"
• Rookie wide receiver Cecil Shorts continues to impress. I'm not sure I've seen him drop or bobble a pass yet. On one particular play, Blaine Gabbert had to rush his throw and fired to ball to Shorts on the sideline. It was almost like a throw away, but Shorts was close enough to make a play on the ball and make a fantastic catch in bounds, where he almost ran over ESPN's Paul Kurharsky.
• Running back Rashad Jennings looks big and fast. It would almost be a crime to not see him get some more touches.

The Bad:

• As I mention, David Garrard started off practice with a bad interception, which was foreshadowing for the night to come. Garrard was off much of the night, mostly hitting his check downs in team drills. He threw another interception later on to Don Carey, hitting him right in the chest. I guess he was trying to throw to Jason Hill, but there were three defenders around, so I don't know exactly what he saw.
• Rooke Blaine Gabbert wasn't that much better. He was picked off by rookie Rod Issac right before Garrard's second interception. Gabbert tried to get the ball to Cecil Shorts, but safety Terrell Whitehead cut off the route and knocked the ball in the air where Shorts was able to grab it. Gabbert also mis-fired high on a few other passes and had a rough 45-second drill. It was probably Gabbert's worst day of practice.
• Safety Chris Prosinski missed a few more tackles he shouldn't have in practice, and was juked badly enough to do the Superman pose trying to bring down rookie running back Richard Murphy. Later on, Prosinski hurt his knee defending a pass from Luke McCown to Tiquan Underwood, who looked more like he was flailing than trying to catch a ball.
• John Matthews has got a serious case of the dropsies in camp so far. He dropped another perfect pass from Blaine Gabbert, letting the ball literally just bounce off his chest.