Doug Pederson Prioritizes Fundamentals and Player Development at Camp

Jul 29, 2024 at 01:46 PM

John Oehser

Jaguars Senior Writer

JACKSONVILLE – It's early and it's practice.

Head Coach Doug Pederson stressed both points repeatedly Monday morning as Jaguars 2024 Training Camp finishes its acclimation period and moves toward what will be a heavier-hitting, padded Week 2.

And if camp's early days had rough spots, Pederson said such spots were to be expected.

"We’re only four days in," he said.

Pederson spoke early Monday morning before a Day 5 practice at the Miller Electric Center. The Jaguars worked for two hours in 84-degree temperatures. They practiced in shorts, shells and helmets with wide receiver Christian Kirk speaking to the media following practice.

The Jaguars are expected to practice in pads for the first time Tuesday morning, with practice open to the public.

"It's very, very early on," Kirk said. "We've had some good days. We've had some bad days. But that's part of training camp. It's all a learning experience."

Pederson, too, said this remains a period of installation with coaches working various combinations without focus on depth charts.

"We're still in this developmental phase, developing all our players," he said. "As we get going deeper in camp, we'll get more specific lineups and things like that."

The Jaguars' offense was inconsistent at times through the first four days, with nine turnovers for the week and the defense intercepting quarterback Trevor Lawrence five times.

"They're going to happen," Pederson said. "Typically at this time, you would say defense is probably ahead of the offense. It's always been that way. Turnovers can be a cause for concern, but we continue to coach and teach. On the other side of it, it's what you want your defense to do, so I'm kind of stuck in the middle."

Pederson added, "You're going to have those days. You just work through it. As coaches, it's time to make the corrections and then as players, you learn from that, and you move on and get better."

Jacksonville, Fla. — Jaguars tight end Brenton Strange (85) during training camp at the Miller Electric Center on July 29, 2024.

Pederson also reiterated that neither the offense nor the defense game plan or scheme against the other unit during training camp.

"We are installing plays," he said. "They're installing defenses. We just go out and execute. We want to see what our guys know. Can they play fast? A route combination may not be conducive to the coverage that they're playing. Are they running the right routes? That's the teaching part of training camp.

"We're not in Week 5. It's Day 5, really, of practice. We're not scheming, so it does make it look awkward that the offense may not be scoring every touchdown every time we put the ball in the air. You want to score on every play and we're competitive on the field.

"It's just a weird dynamic. It happens every year in training camp. It's just the way it is."

Pederson praised the defense through the first four days. The defense is working in its first training camp under first-year coordinator Ryan Nielsen.

"They're playing fast," he said. "They're playing with some speed. We'll find out the physicality of it this week when the pads come on. I like how they're lining up. They've been more aggressive on the corners with the alignments and different things.

"We're moving some guys around. It's not the same guys. We're trying to figure out pieces, who can fit where and who can play in different spots."

Added Pederson, "We're still installing, still learning, still teaching. We're progressing OK. Obviously we're not a finished product. We'll just continue to continue to learn and grow and work in different combinations up front, the O line, work in different combinations of receivers, and running backs."