The Jacksonville Jaguars had their first joint practice session of the preseason on Aug. 13, facing off against the New Orleans Saints at the Ochsner Sports Performance Canter.
The team competed for three hours with the Saints ahead of the first preseason game of the year on Aug. 15, allowing starters on both sides of the ball to get plenty of practice.
“Overall, great work,” head coach Liam Coen told reporters in New Orleans after the practice. “Had a couple little things, but no big fights or anything. It was just good quality work that you can’t simulate at home.”
Coen has already ruled out starters for the game Saturday, allowing younger and end of roster players a chance to compete in live reps. The Saints announced that Spencer Rattler would start the contest, but the Jaguars haven’t named a starter yet.
Liam Coen gives insight to joint practice vs. New Orleans Saints
The Jaguars had early adversity in the practice as quarterback Trevor Lawrence’s first pass of team periods was intercepted. But by the end of the session, Jacksonville’s offense had fired off several touchdown passes.
They seemed to have a really strong redzone period where they scored multiple touchdowns against the New Orleans defense. Coen said he gave kudos to the team after the practice for powering through some of the early mishaps.
“This is a great thing for us, because you get exposure to game like scenarios and that’s momentum,” he said, noting that the team had travel delays prior to getting settled in New Orleans. “That’s playing the next play and that was the biggest thing I applauded them for after the practice.”
Travis Hunter splits time on offense and defense during joint practice
Second-year cornerback/receiver Travis Hunter had a busy day.
He started with Jacksonville’s defense as an outside corner, then saw reps alongside the offense later in the practice. He bounced between fields as he continued to log reps on both sides of the ball.
It’s the first time he has participated in a joint practice in that manner, never switching during Jacksonville’s joint practice with the Miami Dolphins last season. Coen did not give an update on if Hunter would play in the preseason game or not, but it would not be surprising if he did.
He was listed as a starter on defense and a backup on offense on the team’s depth chart. After missing nine months with a knee injury, Hunter will need game reps prior to the start of the season.
Liam Coen will spend time on defensive headset during preseason game
Offensive coordinator Grant Udinski will be the play caller for the game on Saturday which will free Coen up to do other things. One of those freedoms will be checking in with the defensive coaching staff as they communicate on the headset.
It’s something Coen can’t typically do in a regular season game because he’s working to make adjustments for the offense when the defense is on the field.
“It’ll be a really good time for me to be on the defensive headset a little bit,” Coen said. “We’ve got Mat Araujo being a new pass game coordinator on defense, I’d like to be able to hear some more of the communication between [defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile] and him and the defensive coaching staff.”
Coen will also get the chance to evaluate players in real time. Since it’s early in the preseason, many of the plays called will be straight from the practice field.
The team won’t have new concepts or formations to break out. It’ll largely just be what they’ve worked on for most of the summer and start of camp. Which will provide the players who get game action a chance to show what they’ve picked up.
“With limited overall reps throughout a training camp, we’re going to keep it fairly simple in terms of formations, the motions, the coverages, the calls,” Coen said. “I just want to see a clean operation. Then just go play. Who’s going to be the guy that’s going to go make plays when it’s not perfect.”
The Jaguars and Saints will face off in preseason action on Aug. 15 at 4 p.m. ET. from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars’ Liam Coen breaks down joint practice with New Orleans Saints
Reporting by Juston Lewis, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
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By Juston Lewis, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union | USA TODAY Network
