JACKSONVILLE – The pace was good; the tempo, quick.
There may come a day when that's not enough for a productive day of practice, but on the second day of Gus Bradley's first minicamp as Jaguars Head Coach, that day hadn't yet come.
The music blared, coaches smiled and work got done.
On Day 2, that was plenty.
"It was a good day," Bradley said late Wednesday afternoon after the second practice of the Jaguars' 2013 veteran minicamp at the Florida Blue Health and Wellness Practice fields.
"The big challenge was we thought we had good energy (Tuesday).The challenge for them was that's past. It's not about what yesterday could bring. It just put us in a position to have two good days in a row. That was it. I thought they did."
Tempo remained a topic on the second day of minicamp, with offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch saying playing fast and applying pressure will be crucial to the team's new offense.
"Our tempo is really our core belief," Fisch said. "We're going to play fast. We're going to emphasize that our guys are going to get on and off the field quickly. We're going to be moving. We're going to be running. We're going to be coaching on the move. I think the guys have responded."
Bradley and Fisch each said the players have responded well despite having been given a lot of information and having been asked to execute a large part of the offense very early in the learning process.
"We're trying to find out who our playmakers are," Bradley said. "We're trying to put them in different situations. It's just to challenge guys and find out who the playmakers are in our offense. That will be an ever-going process, the competition part of it."
Also around the Jaguars Wednesday:
*Fisch said despite having just 59 roster players and 18 workout players, the team has been able to move ahead in the process of installing the offense. "We can do everything we want to get done right now," he said. "It's only April. We're teaching everything. We're evaluating them on what they can process, on how they can take the meeting room onto the field."
*While players and coaches aren't offering specifics on the offense, Fisch talked on Wednesday about playing up-tempo. Quarterback Chad Henne said the scheme will have elements of the so-called "sugar huddle," in which players half-huddle near the line of scrimmage. The approach gives the offense the ability to call plays quickly at the line of scrimmage. "It's just tempo," Henne said. "Our tempo is very much upbeat. We're more of sugar huddle, which is very close to the line of scrimmage so we can get the play call in, get up and get the ball snapped as soon as we can. We want to keep the defense off balance at all times."
*Bradley said he liked what he has seen from safety Dwight Lowery, as well as Marcedes Lewis. He said each player has responded after being asked to take on a leadership role.
*Owner Shad Khan made his first appearance at minicamp practice, talking extensively with General Manager David Caldwell throughout the two-hour, twenty-minute workout.
*The following players were held out of practice: defensive end Jeremy Mincey (ear infection), guard Uche Nwaneri (knee), guard Jason Spitz (foot), running back Maurice Jones-Drew (foot), fullback Montell Owens (knee), running back Jordan Todman (knee), defensive tackle D'Anthony Smith (calf strain), tight end Matt Veldman (knee), wide receiver Jerrell Jackson (groin) and defensive tackle Roy Miller (tendonitis).
*There were several batted-down passes during practice Wednesday. Bradley said while some coaches discourages defensive linemen practicing with their hands up to bat passes, as a defensive coach he tries to teach that principle of pass defense. "It's more about just executing their fundamentals," he said.
