Before closing training camp practices to the public next week, the Jacksonville Jaguars held their annual intrasquad scrimmage on Saturday. The scrimmages are generally not very noteworthy except for seeing how some of the rookies look on the field in a “game” environment.
From notes and reports from the people there, it sounded like most players performed at the same level they have throughout training camp practices so far.
Ace Sanders has shined throughout training camp, and it sounds like he’s going to get plenty of reps with the starters through the preseason.
Gabbert with starters. Ace Sanders and Cecil Shorts III at receiver.
— John Oehser (@JohnOehser) August 3, 2013
Scrimmage MVP so far is the #Jaguars Ace in the hole. Sanders shining early.
— Eugene Frenette (@GeneFrenette) August 3, 2013
Cecil Shorts has arguably been the best player in training camp so far and he continued to play well in the scrimmage.
Henne TD to Cecil Shorts III in goal line. Two TDs for Henne in goal line.
— John Oehser (@JohnOehser) August 3, 2013
Quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert and Chad Henne have both been inconsistent throughout camp practices and while both had a couple issues Saturday, Gabbert seemed to maintain a slim margin over Henne on the depth chart.
Henne jump ball to Marcedes Lewis td #jaguars
— J.P. Shadrick (@jpshadrick) August 3, 2013
Nice roll out and touchdown to Massaquoi by Gabbert. #Jaguars
— Rick Ballou (@Ballou1010xl) August 3, 2013
Gabbert makes beautiful throw to TE Brett Brackett in end zone beating tight coverage.
— Hays Carlyon (@HaysCarlyon) August 3, 2013
Back-to-back errant passes from Gabbert.
— Dan (@ThatStatBoy) August 4, 2013
They both aren't good but Gabbert clearly looks better than Henne. #Jaguars
— MettaWorldCrazy (@MettaWorldCrazy) August 4, 2013
Updated training camp totals; Gabbert 54-of-98, Henne 70-of-110 in 11-on-11 drills. #Jaguars
— Ryan O'Halloran (@ryanohalloran) August 4, 2013
The Jaguars defense seemed to play well during the scrimmage as Jason Babin got consistent pressure working on rookie Luke Joeckel.
@kyleterr Babin schooling Joeckel so far
— Mark Long (@APMarkLong) August 3, 2013
But overall the biggest story of the scrimmage happened in the stands and not on the field. Jaguar fans came out in droves, filling the stadium with over 19,000 fans. Plenty of ignorant and misinformed media types like to make comments about the apathy towards the Jaguars in Jacksonville, but the attendance and overall vigor at Saturday’s scrimmage are going to make it harder and harder to keep spewing such a false narrative.
Jaguars 2013 Scrimmage Links
-Daniel Lago
Yell at me on Twitter @dlago89