The Jacksonville Jaguars ended mini-camps last week. They now have 5-6 weeks off until the start of training camp, which begins July 25. Fred Taylor looked great in mini camps and came out healthy. He now returns to South Florida where he will continue to condition his body for the NFL season.
John Clayton of ESPN.com thinks Fred Taylor needs back-to-back 1,200 yard seasons to be considered for the Hall of Fame. That would put him at over 13,000 total rushing yards. You can read the entire article here, otherwise, below is the excerpt about Freddy T.
Fred Taylor’s 10,715 career rushing yards put him on the radar, but the Jacksonville Jaguars standout’s lone trip to the Pro Bowl means he really needs to make the most of his remaining seasons. He might need back-to-back 1,200-yard seasons to put his bid over the top.
Clayton talks about how the implementation of the two running-back systems has a negative effect on players and their chances on reaching HOF levels. Running backs simply aren’t getting the carries they used to. It’s understandable from a business standpoint though, no owner wants their star running back getting hurt.
If players aren’t getting enough carries anymore, then HOF measurements should be based on what they do with those carries. And right now, Fred is averaging 4.7 yards per carry.. that’s more then Tomlinson (4.5), Steven Jackson (4.4) and Edgerrin James (4.1).
Because I was not able to make it to mini camp this weekend, I thought I would post a couple of notes on Fred that can be found on the Jaguars Message Board.
In the 11×11s:
Fred Taylor is looking smooth and quick. Gone is the stutter step that was his trademark for many years. The more seasoned Fred Taylor continues to show outstanding patience, allowing blockers to set up in front of him, and then hitting the burners to burst through the line. He is looking as sharp as he did at any point last year. Granted, there is no contact to be found, but the way he allowed his blocks to set up, then finding the crease and accelerating through it was a thing of beauty.
In the 7×7s:
Fred Taylor showed some nice hands on a couple of plays out of the backfield. With Mathis not practicing, Brian Williams was victimized by the Pro Bowler, as Fred blew right by him.
Overall it seemed like a great session for Freddy. He came out looking like he should. He was fast and strong and showed poise running through the tackles.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are holding their first mini camp of the season today. The mini camp on Friday June 6 and Saturday June 7 ( each day there are two sessions, beginning at 10:30 a.m. and 4:15 p.m) are free and open to the public. This is a great opportunity for you to see Fred Taylor in action on the practice field.
“We’re excited about letting the public get a glimpse at some of the hard work we’ve been putting in,” said Jaguars Head Coach Jack Del Rio. “We feel like we’ve got a good squad this year and a lot of excitement in the area, and so it’s the one opportunity prior to training camp where we’ll allow the public to come out and see what we do and see us working.”
If you plan on going out, JagNation put together a nice list of what to expect and what not to expect from this weekend’s mini camp. Check it out here.
Check back on Sunday or Monday and I will be sure to post a recap on what we saw from Fred Taylor.