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JACKSONVILLE -- The Jaguars wore shells for the second day on a row on Monday morning and the offense finally seemed to be making some headway against the defense. The offense wasn't unstoppable by any means, but it was good enough to where defensive coordinator Bob Babich and head coach Gus Bradley had some words for the defensive unit.
The quarterbacks: The quarterback battle is still alive and well in Jacksonville and likely isn't going to be resolved anytime soon. Blaine Gabbert continued to pick up his play, following up his solid day on Sunday and completely 100 percent of his passes in the team's first set of 11-on-11 drills. The problem however seems to remain that he struggles with consistency as he went one for five on his second drive.
Par for the course really, but Gabbert continued to look more good than bad. He had some nice throws once again, including a diving catch by tight end Allen Reisner after he beat Chris Prosinski on a route. Reisner dove for the ball, but it was placed over the top of the defense for the tight end to make a play.
Chad Henne started out hot as well, going three for three in his first 11-on-11 series, but like Gabbert came back down to earth as the two combined at one point for eight straight incompletions. Later on Henne nearly had a ball picked by Dwayne Gratz in 7-on-7 drills on an ill-advised pass, then resorted to checking down much of the rest of the drill.
There still isn't a proverbial winner yet in the competition, but if I had to grade it by who was better each day I'd have it Gabbert with 2 days, Henne with one, and a push for the first day.
The injured: Gabbert had his ankle stepped on late in practice, which caused some initial concern when he was helped over to the trainer's tent and then carted off to the locker room. All indications from the team however is that Gabbert is fine. He was seen walking around without a walking boot or a significant limp.
Tobais Palmer, who injured his ankle on Sunday, sat out practice on Monday. Jeremy Ebert returned to practice, after sitting out two days from a hit on the first day of camp.
The depth chart: Ace Sanders took quite a bit of reps while the team held Cecil Shorts III out of some team drills (not injury related) and stood out. He beat third-round pick Dwayne Gratz quite a bit, as Gratz struggled to get hands on him, and caught everything thrown his way. Sanders wasn't limited to just the slot however, as that was predominantly occupied by Mike Brown once again, and did a lot of his damage on the outside on quick throws and throws to the sideline.
Allen Reisner appears to be working as the second team tight end behind Marcedes Lewis so far in camp and has done well catching the football and getting open. Rookie Ryan Otten has looked solid too, but Reisner appears to have caught the coaches eyes.
The standouts: Tyson Alualu was once again disruptive from the defensive end position both against the run in drills and got decent pressure on passing downs. He's predominantly played end, but he told me after practice he's working on earning a role as an inside pass rusher on passing downs.
Offensive lineman Dan Gerberry has shown out well the past few days, and a few times worked at center over Michael Brewster with the second team. He's gotten snaps at both guard and center so far and might have a shot to make the roster if he keeps his play up with full pads and in the preseason.
Honorable mentions: Not really because of his stellar play for the day, but Denard Robinson connected with Mike Brown on a 25-yard pass out of the wildcat formation. Robinson also handed off to Maurice Jones-Drew for a big play out of the same formation.
Quotables:
"You know what? We had a walk through yesterday and after the walk through he stayed after and wanted to get extra work. We had some time left over in our daily schedule and it’s very important to him. As a coach when he’s talented like he is and it’s that important to him that’s all you ask. If he’s willing to put the time in like he is and really understand the concepts and what’s important to us then he’s got a good chance."
Gus Bradley on Denard Robinson.