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.
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.
Fred Taylor is taking a break from his South Florida workouts to join the team and the new rookies at practice this week. Taylor will participate in four of the volunteer workouts this week, then head back to do his personal condition, before returning to Jacksonville for the mandatory mini-camps on June 6-7.
“I’m a veteran. This is ‘veteran camp.’ I just wanted to come back and be with the team,” Taylor said following practice.
Just a few weeks after Fred Taylor said he only plans to play football until he passes Jim Brown on the all-time list, he had this to say:
“These next two years, of course; a third year, we’ll see,” Taylor said when asked how long he intends to continue playing. “I do love this game. Maybe I’ll try to get into the top five (all-time rushing leaders).
“I feel I can play as long as I want. When I come out here, I get excited just being around these young guys,” Taylor added.
Speaking of the young guys. Jack Del Rio asked Fred Taylor and Mike Peterson to speak to all the rookies about how to handle the media and fans. Fred is a great person for this. He has a wonderful relationship with the media.
Sites like ESPN and Sportsline are coming out with their NFL Power Polls this week. The Jaguars are getting a ton of respect from the national media. CBS ranked the Jaguars #3 overall and ESPN ranked the Jaguars #5. The high ranking is mostly attributed to the excellent running game anchored by veteran Fred Taylor.
Fred Taylor may be old by running back standards, but he shows no sign of slowing down. Fred’s been working out hard this off-season in South Florida just like has has the past few years. Taylor wants to come into camp strong and ready to win a Superbowl. The Jags are a trendy pick this year for the Superbowl, so let’s just hope it doesn’t get to their players’ heads.
The Jaguars OTA practice schedule starts today. The practice isn’t open to the public, but Fred Taylor will be there.
Good news for the Jacksonville Jaguars (and Fred Taylor). Both Jack Del Rio and David Garrard have been extended this offseason. Del Rio for five more years and Garrard for seven. This benefits Fred Taylor by keeping stability in the coaching ranks and at the quarterback position.
Fred Taylor’s late career dominance may be slightly due to David Garrard. With Garrard at the quarterback position, team defenses can’t stack the box. Garrard can play in the shotgun and nuder center (something Leftwich couldn’t do). This really opens up the running game for Fred Taylor.
With these two positions locked up for the future, I can only predict another great season for Fred in 2008.
The Jacksonville Jaguars recently extended full-back Greg Jones to a nice new contract, giving him the most money of any fullback in the NFL. Greg Jones was a pro-bowl first alternate in 2007, and should continue to be a stud fullback for many years to come.
This is great news for Fred Taylor, who loves to run behind Greg Jones coming off the line. Jones picks up all the defenders and clears the field for Freddy to gash through. It’s important to keep the chemistry of the backfield intact. You can’t just plug in any old full-back and expect to be as successful. It takes a lot of time to build trust and to know where your teammates will be on the field.
Fred Taylor helped the Jacksonville Jaguars win their first playoff game since 1999 and boy was it sweet. The Pittsburgh Steelers had never in their history lost to the same team twice in the same season on their home field. The Steelers rallied late, but the Jags were able to hold them off.
Fred Taylor got things going by putting the first Jaguar touchdown up on the board. MJD returned a kickoff for 99 yards, which set up the 1 yard Taylor touchdown run. Fred finished the game with 16 carries for 48 yards and one touchdown. He never really got things going, but that’s because the Steelers were ready to stop the run this game. They stacked 8-9 in the box all game, pretty much eliminating the run and forcing Garrard to throw.
I’m sure Taylor was amped to put up big numbers on Pittsburgh like he alway has, but I’m sure he’s just as happy with a Jaguar victory, something he’s been craving for nearly a decade. The Jags will now head into a very hostile environment in New Englad to face the Patriots next weekend.