Before their preseason game, the Jacksonville Jaguars had a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints. One of the biggest storylines was that running back Chris Rodriguez was part of a scuffle. However, head coach Liam Coen downplayed the whole thing, noting that it wasn't malicious.
Moreover, Coen says that the Jags have two rules, and both of them were on display in the joint practice.
Chris Rodriguez followed the Jaguars rules in the scrimmage
Liam Coen met with reporters after the joint practice. He didn't sound overly concerned about the brawl, noting that Chris Rodriguez got physical with a Saints cornerback.
"It wasn't anything crazy. Chris was trying to truck the corner. The corner tackled him a little bit," Coen told reporters (3:57 mark). "I actually, we haven't had one in camp. So, it was done professionally. I'll say that."
Later in the exchange, Coen said that Rodriguez followed the team's rule: Protect his teammates and be on time.
"Yeah, I mean, he can go off into a different universe at times, but he protects his teammates, which you know, we got two rules: protect the team and be on time. And he definitely, he usually takes care of that for us."
After the initial scuffle, practice resumed without further incidents. Moreover, the offense hit its stride, going 3-of-3 in red-zone attempts. Rodriguez, in particular, got plenty of work with the first team and looked physical throughout the whole ordeal, according to Rick Ballou of 1010 XL.
The Jags also had a brawl during a joint practice with the Miami Dolphins last year. They'll next practice with the Carolina Panthers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Any additional scuffles shouldn't be ruled out.
The Jaguars need to keep working on the discipline part
Liam Coen isn't the kind of head coach who will back down. That trickles down into the team. And that's been evident dating back to last year. During the Doug Pederson era, the Jaguars seemingly lacked toughness. That's changed since Coen took over. On the other hand, you can't just be reckless.
Although you need to be feisty and set the tone, you cannot just be undisciplined, as that hurts the team with penalties and ejections. That's why it's encouraging to see Coen put an emphasis on time.
On the other hand, punctuality is just one part. The Jaguars struggled with penalties last year, and they'll need to correct that issue if they don't want it to hold them back.
In the end, the joint practice with the Saints served its purpose. The starters got plenty or reps, while the Jaguars were able to showcase their discipline as a team. They'll need to build off of it for their preseason games and later the regular season.
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