The Jacksonville Jaguars began their third and final full week of
training camp today with two practices at Ferrell Fields. The team
will continue to focus on training camp objectives, with some time
devoted later this week to planning for the second preseason game,
Saturday night against the New York Giants in East Rutherford,
N.J. The Jaguars will conclude their fifth training camp next
Monday.
Coach Tom Coughlin talked about this week being the "dog days"
of training camp. "This is a time of training camp when it starts to
grind but you have to step up," he said. "We just played a game, but
it's just one piece of the puzzle and the big picture is much larger
than that - we're still in training camp. You just keep pushing on.
The guys who can really stick to it and rise to the occasion when
it's tough, they're the guys that are going to make the greatest
impression."
The Jaguars will continue with two-a-days on Tuesday and
Thursday this week (at 8:40 a.m. and 3:20 p.m.), with one practice
scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.
A number of players have been limited lately because of injuries:
RB Tavian Banks (hamstring), FB Trevor Bollers (knee), G Ben
Coleman (knee), DE Eric Curry (ankle), WR Damon Dunn
(hamstring), G Todd Fordham (knee), TE Rich Griffith (knee), LB
Anthony Hicks (strained hamstring), LB Bryce Paup (pectoral
muscle), DT Seth Payne (shoulder), OT Leon searcy (finger), DE
Joel Smeenge (shoulder), RB James Stewart (knee), RB Fred
Taylor (ribs) and WR Alvis Whitted (strained groin).
"I'm sure they'll get better, but it's frustrating," said Coughlin. "We
don't expect, for example, offensive linemen to stay injured like they
have - you expect those guys can work their way through about
everything. We're really trying to just keep two groups on the field."
Coughlin praised his team's three young running backs who played
well last Friday in the preseason opener against Carolina. In the
Jaguars' 35-10 win, the trio of George Jones, Chris Howard and
rookie Stacey Mack rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns.
"They've been pretty consistent throughout camp," said Coughlin.
"All three of those guys performed pretty well. Stacey, obviously
being a rookie, had a lot of catching up to do in terms of protection
and those types of things. But he's done decently with that, as
well."
TICKETS STILL AVAILABLE FOR KANSAS CITY GAME
Plenty of tickets are still available for the August 26 preseason
game against the Kansas City Chiefs. Fans can call the new phone
number for single-game sales (1-888-397-0100) or buy tickets on
the Internet at www.jaguars.com Single-game prices are $40, $50,
$65 and $85 per ticket.
Fans can also purchase tickets for the Kansas City game with the
three-game Gold package, which also includes the Denver and
Tennessee games during the regular season. The Gold package
costs $129 for one seat at each of the three games. Fans may chose
their seats, subject to availability, in either the North End Zone, East
Upper Deck or West Upper Deck.
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