Jaguar Training Camp: Week 1 Review

It has officially been one week since the Jacksonville Jaguars reported to training camp.  With the team scrimmage coming up in about 24 hours, let’s take a look back on how week 1 went:

Friday morning was the first session open to the media.   Some of the things to come out of that session included discovering that once again, LB Clint Session was dealing with concussion like symptoms.  Other notes from the day: DT Terrance Knighton, along with John Chick, Uche Nwaneri, Cameron Bradfield, Zach Miller, and Session were all on the PUP list at that point.  Coach Mularkey spoke with the media afterwards.  Here are some of the highlights from Friday morning:

Mike Mularkey montage: Mularkey 07-27-12

I also had a chance to catch up with a few players in the locker room that day, inlcuding TE Marcedes Lewis:

JB with Marcedes Lewis: Marcedes Lewis Interview 07-27-12

Skipping ahead to Monday, the biggest thing that stood out was the offense, but not in a good way.  Recievers really struggled to find separation from defenders.  Mike Thomas dropped multiple passes in both individual and team drills.  Coach Mike Mularkey, as well as both Blaine Gabbert and Thomas himself, addressed this after practice:

Mike Mularkey on receivers: Mularkey 07-30-12

Blaine Gabbert on how long it takes to get on the same page with his recievers: Blaine Gabbert 07-30-12

Mike Thomas on how long it takes to get on the same page with his quarterback: Mike Thomas 07-30-12

Interesting.  I’m starting to see the problem.  I also had a chance to catch up with second round pick Andre Branch, the DE out of Clemson:

Andre Branch: JB with Andre Branch 07-30-12

Moving ahead to Wednesday, the good news from over the weekend was that DT Terrance Knighton passed his physical and was able to get back to work.  Despite limited reps at first, it was good to see Pot Roast back in action.  I had a chance to catch up with him yesterday and talk to him about getting back to it, the nightclub incident, and where he goes from here:

JB with Terrance Knighton: Terrance Knighton 08-01-12

Cecil Shorts and Laurent Robinson also talked with me:

Cecil Shorts: JB with Cecil Shorts 08-01-12

Laurent Robinson: JB ith Laurent Robinson 08-01-12

Which brings us to today…some quick notes, WR Laurent Robinson was held out of practice and also missed last night’s walk through after taking a hard fall and hitting his head.  He will be evaluated later today, Coach Mularkey does expect him to pass and be ready for the scrimmage.  DE Austen Lane suffered a sprained foot and had to behelped off the field.  He will most likely not play in the scrimmage.


Jaguars release Aaron Kampman

Jaguars DE Aaron Kampman has had several ups and downs during his time here in Jacksonville due to injuries.  Kampman has struggled with his knee, having torn his ACL for a second time in the middle of the 2010 season. 

The team has officially announced today that they will part ways with Kampman.  Here is the official release:

Aaron Kampman, a 10-year veteran defensive end who joined the Jaguars as an unrestricted free agent in 2010, was released today by the team. The 32-year-old Kampman, a two-time Pro Bowl selection, has played in 123 career games and made 58 sacks. Four times he started all 16 games in a season, and his 58 career sacks include 34 different quarterbacks and one wide receiver.

A respected team leader throughout his career, Kampman spent his first eight NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers after being drafted in the fifth round in 2002. He started all 112 games he played for the Packers, making 54 sacks. In 2006 Kampman led the NFC and ranked second in the NFL with a career-best 15.5 sacks along with a career-high 113 tackles.

In his last season in Green Bay Kampman suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in 2009, ending a streak of 73 consecutive games started. He rehabbed the knee and signed with the Jaguars on March 6, 2010.

Kampman was selected by his Jaguars teammates as the 2010 Ed Block Courage Award recipient after returning from his ACL injury. After starting the first eight games of that season for the Jaguars, Kampman suffered a torn ACL in his right knee and was once again forced to undergo rehabilitation.

Last season Kampman was inactive for the first five games while recovering from the knee injury before returning to the field on October 16 at Pittsburgh. After playing in three games he suffered a hamstring injury that caused him to be inactive for four more games before being placed on injured reserve on December 9.

 Kampman attended the University of Iowa, where he was a four-year letterman and played in 44 games with 37 starts. He was a two-time Academic All-America selection and three-time all-conference honoree, and he graduated with a degree in elementary education.

A native of Kesley, Iowa, Kampman was a high school teammate with Jaguars veteran center Brad Meester at Aplington-Parkersburg High School.


Meet Andre Branch

Former Clemson DE Andre Branch officially became a Jaguar yesterday thanks to signing a 4 year, $5.1 million dollar deal with Jacksonville.  Today, Branch spoke with the media about the signing, the relationships he’s developing with his team mates, and more:

DE Andre Branch: 

1. on how it feels to have a deal in place: Branch1

2. on whether the draft or signing his contract was bigger: Branch2

3. on the pace of the NFL vs college ball: Branch3

4. on his new coaches: Branch4

5. on whether he’s ever had a coach that yells as much as Joe Cullen: Branch5

6. on whether or not he’s able to gage where he isplaying with out pads as well as the other limitation of OTA’s: Branch6

7. on what he’s learned from his extensive talks so far with the veterans on the team: Branch7

I’ve heard nothing but great things so far about Branch–here’s to wishing him a wonderful rookie season with a big impact out on the field!


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