Happy Monday Jaguars Fans!
I have the greatest of news to report! On Friday, the Jaguars will open training camp, Del Rio style! It's been a very long time since the Jaguars closed out their season, but in less than a week 2006 is forgotten and it all focuses on here and now.
With the Dead Zone coming to a rapid close, let's take a look at Training Camp!
- First and Foremost, if you'd like to attend camp all the relevant details can be found here. I went last year and it was a very exciting time. The team takes care of their fans during the event and you can really gain a finer appreciation for some of the more technical side of things! Unfortunatly for me, Jacksonville is a bit far from Missouri, so I'll be depending on second-hand reports.
- Speaking of second hand reports, your best place for scouting reports, other than right here, is with Tim McClellan. His breakdowns of camp are legendary in the Jaguars fan community.
- Jack Del Rio likes to use the Oklahoma Drill to set the tone of camp during the first "pads" practice. The link there is an older one (and about the Patriots no less), but explains what happens during the drill and why it's known for its sheer physicality. Jaguars.com editor Vic Ketchman often gets to pick one "match up", and it's usually a good one!
- Dates to Remember: On Thursday August 29th, the team must cut its roster to 65 players. Saturday September 2nd is when the team must be at its 53 active player roster. Until the 29th, the team can have up to 80 signed players.
- Only Reggie Nelson and Justin Durant remain unsigned as of today. Signing Durant should be no problem at all, it's just a matter of waiting till the slotting of the players around him takes place. Reggie could be a bit harder as the player in front of him (Brady Quinn) is expecting to hold out. You see, teams like to sign players after the one picked before them and after them is under contract. This narrows the range of negotiations and simplifies the process. This is not to say that Reggie is going to hold out and miss camp, but that the possibility exists that he's not quite ready to go on Friday. Considering that the Steelers signed their 15th overall pick without anyone else near that choice signed, unusual things can happen. Just for the record, Timmons received a 19% increase over last years 15th round pick, so you can track the trend over time.
- Pro Football Reference did a nice little article explaining Maurice Jones-Drew's season in the context of his runs. You see, some argue that MJD was not as good as he looked because he often ran against "Nickel" or pass-oriented defenses. The stats wizards do a decent job refuting it, especially knowing MJD's ability to catch.
- If you're drafting a Fantasy Football team, don't forget that Fred Taylor is still the "number one" in the RB mix. I'd go with the idea that Fred will have a stronger start of the season than Jones-Drew, but both will equal out over the season. Once Fred gets to 10,000, look for a greater shift toward the younger star!
-Chris