Latest news with #JacksonvilleJaguars'
USA Today
17 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Josh Hines-Allen shares early impressions of Anthony Campanile and new Jaguars' defense
Josh Hines-Allen shares early impressions of Anthony Campanile and new Jaguars' defense After Monday's OTA practice, DE Josh Hines-Allen shared his early impressions of Anthony Campanile and the Jaguars' new defense. When Emmanuel Ogbah described what it is like playing for new Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile, a few of the traits he mentioned were his "energy" and "toughness." For Josh Hines-Allen, it's Campanile's love and passion for the game and his players that stick out. "Coach Camp has been awesome," Hines-Allen said after Monday's practice. "You step in that meeting room, you're going to expect one thing, it's the passion, it's the love. It's the love of the game he has. Calais (Campbell) always told me, if you want to be great at something, you gotta love it, you gotta respect it. And so for me, he respects the game, he loves it, he loves the team, he loves the players that are playing for him." Under Campanile, this is going to be a more malleable defensive scheme, meaning that it will be quick to adjust on a week-to-week basis, and in-game, depending on what the opponent is doing. Like any play-caller, Campanile has his core principles that his system is built around, but he will mold the scheme to what his players do well and the skill sets he has on the roster to work with. In the secondary, Campanile discussed recently the importance of versatility, which can help disguise coverages and keep quarterbacks guessing. While up front, Maason Smith highlighted the attacking play style that the defense line is asked to play with in this system. Of course, the scheme, the implementation of it, and the execution on the field all matters immensely. But also at the top of the priority list for Campanile is making sure this Jaguars' defense has a "tough, fast, physical, and violent at the point of attack" play style. With Campanile leading the way, the defenders that were already on the roster, and the additions made this offseason, the Jaguars are a team that appears to be on the right path. However, as Campanile says, and as Hines-Allen reiterated, "talk is cheap." Improved play on defense begins with what the Jaguars are doing right now in practice and the foundation they are laying. "It starts right now," said Hines-Allen. "Coach Camp has a saying, talk is cheap. We can talk about how good we're going to be or how legendary our defense or individual players can be, it's all about the work we put in every day. The communication that we have in the red zone, backed up situations, playing good situational football. Knowing what everybody has to do, being in the right place, and it starts out here. "If we can stack great days out here, if we can keep doing it, and then we put the pads on, and we can continue to be physical up front, linebackers flying downhill, DBs staying in the backfield because we don't kneed them because we're stopping the run up front, and we got pass rushers up front. It's all about that trust."
USA Today
21 hours ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jacksonville Jaguars' DE Josh Hines-Allen on changes made after 2024 season
Jacksonville Jaguars' DE Josh Hines-Allen on changes made after 2024 season Following Monday's OTA practice, Jaguars' DE Josh Hines-Allen discussed some of the changes made after the 2024 season. Along with implementing a new defensive scheme, another change for Jacksonville Jaguars' defensive end Josh Hines-Allen this season is that he will be playing at a lighter weight. Following Monday's practice, Hines-Allen didn't get into specifics about what his current weight is, but the 285 pounds he played at in 2024 was too big. "I was 285," Hines-Allen said of his playing weight last season. "I was much bigger. My mindset was always to be as dominant but it was, obviously, holding a little bit more weight puts a little more wear and tear on the body. "It was a lot. Too much. Again, learned to adapt, have know what works best for you, something I tried, and something I'm like, alright, probably don't want to do that again. So we're working on maintaining a good goal for me this year and put some good tape out there." It's not only Hines-Allen who has dropped weight this offseason, but several other Jaguars' defenders have as well, after that side of the ball put on weight last season under former defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen. 'Just kind of getting some of those guys back to their natural playing weight. Just kind of where they've maybe been in years past of having success and kind of getting back to that is really what it came down to," Liam Coen said this week, via Jaguars on SI. Last season, Hines-Allen was still among the NFL's more productive defensive ends. His 63 quarterback pressures were the 10th-most in football among his position group, and he ranked 16th in PFF's pass rush win rate as well. But compared to his 2023 season, Hines-Allen's production took a big dip last season. By PFF's metrics, Hines-Allen totaled 90 pressures and 19 sacks in 2023, ranking in the top five in both categories. Allen would play 821 snaps last season and make 16 starts. However, throughout the year, his body felt more "banged up," and while he doesn't know if that was directly attributed to his playing weight, it is something he took into consideration as he planned out this offseason. "I was also getting banged up a lot more," Hines-Allen added. "My body was not cooperating as much as I wanted it to. But I take care of my body to the utmost, but it was a little bit different. I don't know if that had something to do with the weight, so that's something I took into consideration coming into this year." Feeling good and now in a defensive scheme under Anthony Campanile, where as Maason Smith described, the defensive front can play "a lot more free," Hines-Allen is chasing big goals in 2025. "To break the sack record," said Hines-Allen when asked what his goals were. "Be an All-Pro and win Defensive Player of the Year."
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jacksonville Jaguars' Liam Coen on what he's seen from Travis Hunter at cornerback
Jacksonville Jaguars' Liam Coen on what he's seen from Travis Hunter at cornerback Throughout OTAs, what has Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach Liam Coen seen from Travis Hunter at the cornerback position? Throughout OTAs, what has Jacksonville Jaguars' head coach Liam Coen seen from Travis Hunter at the cornerback position? The Jaguars held their seventh OTA practice on Monday, and based on what Coen has said previously, along with some practice highlights, we know that Hunter has spent at least two of those practices at cornerback. This was to be expected with Coen and James Gladstone mentioning after the draft that, early on, Hunter would see more snaps at wide receiver. "Milo (secondary coach Ron Milus) came up to me after practice and said, 'Can we have him more?'" Coen said after Monday's practice. "That's a good thing. We were in the red area last Friday, and he didn't end up making any plays on the ball, but just the movement skills in some of the man coverages, the feel in zone, you can definitely see how natural it is for him." With his abilities at wide receiver as well, Hunter brings impressive ball skills to the cornerback position, and also a unique perspective with playing on offense as well. During his Heisman season in 2024, he was stingy in coverage, allowing a completion rate of only 56% and while only being targeted 41 times on the year, he still managed to come away with four interceptions and seven pass breakups, according to PFF. While Hunter has spent more time at wide receiver on the practice field, he's been in the defensive meeting rooms and learning the playbook and terminology since he arrived in Jacksonville. "Still learning, still growing, still trying to learn the calls as much as possible," Coen added, "but when you see him on the actual 7-on and team setting, he doesn't look out of place by any means." Coen also mentioned last week that for the time being, Hunter will spend the entirety of practices on either the offensive or defensive side of the ball, depending on the day, but in-season, there will be practices where he plays both sides.
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Updates and highlights from Jacksonville Jaguars' latest OTA practice
Updates and highlights from Jacksonville Jaguars' latest OTA practice Stay up to date with highlights and insights from the Jacksonville Jaguars' latest OTA practice. The Jacksonville Jaguars are back on the practice field on Monday for their seventh OTA practice of Phase III. Below we have highlights and updates from the media members who are in attendance. As the Jaguars implement a new system on offense, as Liam Coen said following the first practice, Jacksonville is still in the "learning phase" as they build towards September. Right now, the emphasis is on fundamentals, technique, and communication as the playbook gets installed. From Week 1 to Week 2 of practices--the Jaguars are currently in Week 3--Coen saw noticeable progress. 'I thought (the day went) better than probably expected, that way in terms of bodies on the ground and practicing cleaner," Coen said after last Tuesday's practice, via Big Cat Country. "It was much cleaner than day one, let's just say. When you're just trying to come in and get it going again after a few days off, I thought it was definitely cleaner. Was it perfect? No, but I thought it was better than the previous Monday, if you will.' The defense is undergoing its own change under new coordinator Anthony Campanile. Like any play caller, Campanile has his core principles that he will build this defense around, but this is also going to be a malleable scheme that adjusts quickly to what the opponent is doing and is built to maximize the skill sets on the roster. Of course, scheme matters, but equally as important to Campanile is that his players have the right play style as well. "The most important thing when you talk about defense is your play-style," said Campanile earlier this offseason. "My vision for us defensively, we want to be a tough, fast, physical, violent at the point of attack team. "What does that mean? That means that you got guys who take pride in not getting blocked. Everybody talks about running to the ball, I don't think there's another person in the world who believes in running to the ball more than I do. But you can't run to the ball if you don't get off blocks, and that is something that's going to be celebrated in our room." Please note that this article will be updated as practice unfolds. Jacksonville Jaguars' OTA updates and highlights
USA Today
2 days ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Jaguars' Arik Armstead discusses moving back to defensive tackle for 2025 season
Jaguars' Arik Armstead discusses moving back to defensive tackle for 2025 season Appearing on the O-Zone Podcast, Jaguars' Arik Armstead discussed moving back to defensive tackle for the 2025 season. Jacksonville Jaguars' veteran defensive lineman Arik Armstead will be moving back to defensive tackle this season, a position where he has experience and is quite comfortable. "I think that's where I'm best," Armstead said of the tackle position while appearing on the O-Zone Podcast. "I've played both in my career and had success at both, but I can have the biggest effect on the quarterback playing and rushing against guards and centers. That's what I do best." The 2024 season was Armstead's first with the Jaguars after signing with the team as a free agent, and he was asked to make the switch from defensive tackle to defensive end. During his tenure with San Francisco, which spanned from 2015 through 2023, Armstead played defensive end early on in his career, but since the 2021 season, the majority of his snaps had come at tackle. So, along with joining a new team and navigating a new defensive scheme last season, Armstead was also back at a relatively new position as well. Amrstead went from producing 58 pressures and eight sacks in 2023, to only 36 pressures and two sacks in 2024, per PFF. He went from ranking ninth among defensive tackles in pass rush win rate in 2023 to ranking 32nd among edge defenders in 2024. "When I'm playing defensive tackle full-time, now I have more opportunities to affect the game on first, second and third down," he said. "I'll have more opportunities to have a big impact on the game." The defensive tackle position was thought to be one of the Jaguars' biggest needs this offseason, but GM James Gladstone didn't address this unit during free agency or in the NFL draft. This showcases the confidence he has in the players on the roster and Anthony Campanile's scheme to elevate that unit, but also a likely part of that equation is Armstead being back inside. "We certainly look forward to seeing guys being in different positions than they've been in the past and that being an element that activates different sides of them," Gladstone said after the NFL draft. "Their whole approach has been great so far, so we're looking forward to it." There may still be instances where we see Armstead at defensive end. Movement along the defensive front is an element that's a part of Campanile's defense. But for the most part, Armstead is going to be back at defensive tackle, where he's had some of his most productive seasons in his career. "I think we're on the forefront of a promising season," Armstead said. "There's a lot of newness, which I think is great. There are a lot of first-timers – a first-time head coach, a first-time general manager, a first-time defensive coordinator. With the first-timers, they bring a refreshed energy. You know they want to get it right. "They're doing everything they can to make sure we're heading in the direction we need to be."
