"When (Fred) Taylor was at his best, he was as good as any back who has played the game. He was big. He was strong. He was explosive. He was the prototype for the current NFL style of play before it became chic to be what I call an "air" runner, a guy who operated in space." CBSSports.com
"Said guard Uche Nwaneri, "We just have to find the positives. A lot of quarterbacks get hit on three-step drops. We have to give him the ability to step up and we can't let people come up the middle. They had too much of that early on and we settled down a bit later, but that's something we will continue to work on." jaguars.com
"Come September 11, we will start to peel off the layers of these Jaguars and find out if they&39;re as good as Del Rio suspects." The Times-Union
Notebook from Thursday's preseason finale. The Times-Union
"Taylor will sign a one-day contract with the Jacksonville Jaguarson Friday so he can formally retire with the team that drafted him ninth overall in 1998. The ceremony surely will be an emotional one, with family members, friends and former teammates on hand. The former Florida star spent 11 seasons in Jacksonville and remains the franchise&39;s leading rusher with 11,271 yards. He ranks third with 286 catches and fourth with 2,361 receiving yards." CNNSI.com
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick talks about Fred Taylor. Boston Globe
"The Titans (2-1) wrap up the preseason Thursday night at New Orleans, but Tennessee&39;s season opener is Sept. 11 at Jacksonville. With new coach Mike Munchak, having Johnson on the team for the entire season was crucial for Tennessee coming off a 6-10 season." ESPN.com
Hear what Maurice Jones-Drew had to say following his first action of 2011. jaguars.com
ESPN.compicks the Jaguars third in the AFC South.
"Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback David Garrard, who was diagnosed with Crohn's in 2004 and had intestinal surgery, called Lerner last week. For Lerner, it was comforting to hear from another athlete who has gone through similar struggles."
Pete Prisco of CBSSports.com examines whether the missed offseason will cause sloppy games early in the regular season.
Paul Kuharsky of ESPN.com looks at the personality of the Texans roster.
Tweet, Tweet
Preseason- done. Bring on the regular season! Thank you God for the opportunity to play this game for my 8th season! #blessed
@JoshScobee10 (Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee)
One of the classiest, hardest-working (and most talented) players I&39;ve covered, @FredTaylorMade, retiring. Learned a lot from him.
@SI_PeterKing (Sports Illustrated's Peter King)
Congrats to my good friend, and great ballplayer @FredTaylorMade retiring as a Jag.. Next stop HOF.. #IMO
@thurmanthomas (Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas)
I&39;ll be attending @FredTaylorMade&39;s retirement tomorrow. One of my favorite teammates ever and a great man! We love you Freddy T!
@JoshScobee10
Thanks for all the love, right back at ya!!
@CecilShortsIII (rookie wide receiver Cecil Shorts III)
Great camp, definitely got better as a team, now its time for the real deal!
@MarcedesLewis89 (tight end Marcedes Lewis)
S/O to Fred Taylor. A helluva running back & good dude! CONGRATS on a great & long career. Repin the class of 98&39;
@therealholliday (former NFL player Vonnie Holliday)
Tennessee, @ Home. It&39;s time
@TheSeventyFifth (offensive tackle Eugene Monroe)
Got a lot to learn about this game.. Glad I&39;m learning from these guys! #Jaguars
@WillRackley (rookie offensive lineman Will Rackley)
Preseason is over. Left it all out there on the field. Hope for the best! Looking forward to the regular season!
@ZachPotter88 (tight end Zach Potter)
Stat of the day
Running back Fred Taylor is the Jaguars career (11,271), single-season (1,572, 2003) and single-game (234, 11/19/00 at Pittsburgh) rushing leader.
Schedule
The Jaguars will hold a news conference at 11:30 a.m. with former Jaguars running back Fred Taylor. The news conference will be streamed live on jaguars.com. In addition, head coach Jack Del Rio will address the media in the afternoon. Stay tuned to jaguars.com and @jaguarsinsider for updates throughout the day.
The last word
"There were definitely ups and downs, like I said all along; we're going to make mistakes. As a whole I have to look at it as a success, coming in the time I did, having no offseason, having no rookie mini-camps and being able to learn the playbook and getting a bunch of meaningful snaps in all of our preseason games, it's got to be a success. I executed well for the most part, but there are definitely a lot of things I've got to improve on and our offense needs to improve on, our whole team needs to improve on. We look at these preseason games as just a way to improve."
Quarterback Blaine Gabbert on his evaluation of the preseason
