Jacksonville Jaguars D.C. Todd Wash Pleased With Strong Camp From Players

Jacksonville Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash knows he has a really good defense.

I mean a REALLY GOOD DEFENSE.

It has been two weeks since the Jacksonville Jaguars coaching staff implemented their additions to a system that proved to be one of the best, if not the best in the NFL last season. Todd Wash, who spoke to the local media on Wednesday, thinks this unit could be even better.

It’s a scary thought, but one he knows could be the case if everyone is healthy and continues to do what it has been doing during OTAs and the first two days of minicamp. Having such talent – which begins with the defensive line and ends with the secondary – makes his job a little easier.

There are 40 days between the end of minicamp tomorrow and the next time Wash will see this roster back at TIAA Bank Field. While there won’t be schematics to worry about, he said players will be following the playbook, keeping up with their responsibilities for studying and staying in shape.

Having a roster that has been virtually injury free has been a godsend, allowing coaches to see firsthand what they need to work on and what has worked in scrimmages an in film.

"“I think it just allows us to keep advancing. Defensively, the things that we have changed and the things that we have added this offseason – we get to see them. Some of the good things are that, earlier on, guys weren’t here, and we were able to develop the depth on our team,” Wash said.“I think that is very important. Last year, we were very fortunate to stay healthy. Knock on wood, hopefully we can again. But our job is to develop those young guys so that when they do get a chance to go in there on game day, we don’t miss a beat.”"

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If the Jaguars are to continue their march toward another playoff run, they must continue to improve on run defense and stopping opponents on third-down. As easy as it seems, there are still fundamentals this franchise must work on. Wash has used the past few days for observing, taking notes and preparing for the long grind of training camp beginning at the end of July.

"“Our base will not change. We are a base 3 deep team, and we sprinkle in some other stuff. We have to get better at everything. We did not play as well as we wanted to even though we did have some success. I think we can get better,” he added.“Our players know that we can get better. But as coaches, we have to be able to find more ways to put them in position to be successful because once again, they are very, very talented. Like I said earlier, we have to get them in that position and get the hell out of the way.”"

Wash was pleased with what he saw from Jalen Ramsey the first day back at camp on Tuesday. Having the star player on the field means the defense is whole again. He looked like he had not missed a beat in practice and continues to be the straw that stirs the drink of this unit.

"“Our coverages were obviously a little bit tighter these last couple days. It is really good to see him out there. He is in tremendous shape,” Wash explained. “He has been doing a lot of football movements when he was training with his dad and that kind of stuff. You can tell he really has put in a lot of hard work just as we anticipated. He’s an unbelievable pro. We knew that he would come back in shape and he did.”"

The one thing the Jaguars defense does every day is face an offensive line Wash believes is “stout” and “strong”. He said there is an improvement over last season, something that can only make the team better. Putting on the pads in training camp and seeing both lines get after it will give the coaching staff a barometer of exactly where everyone is as a team.

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