Sports 11
Ponte Vedra Recorder · September 10, 2015
Jaguars prepare for season opener against Carolina
Jacksonville
finishes
preseason 2-2
Mike Bonts
Special to the Recorder
The NFL regular season for the
Jacksonville Jaguars begins Sunday
after going 2-2 in the preseason.
Jacksonville opens Week 1 against
Carolina. Jacksonville will try to improve on last season’s 3-13 record in
head coach Gus Bradley’s third season
in which the club has only recorded
seven total wins.
Offense has been the big concern.
The Jaguars have averaged only 88.8
rushing yards a game in Bradley’s tenure. Production from rookie running
back T.J. Yeldon and running mates
Denard Robinson and Toby Gerhart
will hopefully bolster a lackluster
ground threat.
The offense ranked 31st in the
league last season. The offensive line
is buoyed by free-agent signings – Jermey Parnell at right tackle and center
Stefen Wisniewski.
Focus will be on the marked improvement of QB Blake Bortles. In the
preseason he completed 65 percent
of his passes for 461 yards, with a TD
and no turnovers. The second-year
signal caller out of UCF also ran for 42
yards and a TD.
THOMAS TO MISS OPENER —
Tight end and two-time Pro Bowler
Julius Thomas is expected to miss the
first three games of the regular season following hand surgery. Thomas
underwent surgery to repair ligament
damage in his right hand. Thomas
broke a bone in the back of his hand
in the preseason opener against Pittsburgh.
INJURY UPDATE — Defensive
tackle Sen’Derrick Marks, defensive
end Andre Branch (knee) and wide
receiver Marqise Lee (hamstring) continue to heal. Branch and Marks are
not expected to play Sunday. Lee who
has been out since the first week of
training camp and is considered dayto-day as of Monday. Safety Johnathan
Cyprien (finger) is expected to play
against Carolina wearing a protective
device. Rookie defensive end Dante
Fowler Jr. (knee) and veteran Ziggy
Hood (foot) are on injured reserve.
GOODBYE, SCOBEE — Jacksonville traded 12th-year kicker Josh
Scobee to the Steelers for Pittsburgh’s
2016 sixth-round draft pick. Scobee,
the club’s all-time leading scorer with
1,022 career points, appeared in 168
regular season games.
HELLO, MYERS — Jason Myers,
24-year-old Marist graduate and for-
Photos by Nancy Beecher / Special to the Recorder
The Jacksonville Jaguars held the lead for much of the third preseason game against the Detriot Lions before falling 22-17 at EverBank Field.
mer Arena Football League kicker, is
Jacksonville’s new place-kicker. Myers
made four of five field-goal tries in the
preseason. His longest was a 55-yarder. His only miss was from 58 yards.
Myers’ seven of eight kickoffs were in
the end zone.
AUBURN DUO — Two free agent
rookies from Auburn are on the roster. Former QB Nick Marshall, now
at cornerback, and running Corey
Grant have impressed enough in the
preseason to earn a chance to play.
Grant ran 10 times for 82 yards, including a 40-yard TD run at Washington. He averaged 28.8 yards on five
kickoff returns. Marshall averaged 24
yards on four kickoff returns. Marshall
would be as the Jaguars fifth cornerback behind Aaron Colvin and Davon
House, Dwayne Gratz and Demetrius
McCray.
ROSTER NOTES — Wide receiver Bryan Walters, who led the team in
the preseason with 15 receptions for
144 yards and a touchdown, earned
the fifth receiver spot. Linebacker
Thurston Armbrister from the University of Miami also earned a position
as a free agent.
PRACTICE SQUAD SIGNEES
— The Jaguars signed eight players
to the practice squad. Receivers Neal
Sterling and Tony Washington, tight
end Ben Koyack, defensive lineman
Richard Ash, safety Craig Loston, of-
fensive lineman Chris Reed, linebacker
Todd Thomas and cornerback Peyton
Thompson.
CAPTAINS ANNOUNCED — QB )