Jaguars training camp ‘21: Trevor Lawrence and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Stay calm! It is really not that bad. Monday was not a great day for Trevor Lawrence. Lawrence threw three interceptions during the team period of practice.

Monday was the first day the defense was encouraged to play tight coverage and attack the ball. The defense responded by giving Lawrence something to think about. Lawrence, working with the starters on offense for the second day in a row, did not appear to be on the same page with his receivers. Two of the three turnovers appeared to be miscommunications.

• 1st interception: DJ Chark looked to have a choice route, and based on the coverage, went inside. Trevor released the ball towards the boundary. Shaquill Griffin was able to come up with the easy interception. (There was an offside call on the play).
• 2nd interception: Lawrence was looking deep but there was no receiver in the area. Rudy Ford happily caught the ball for an interception.
• 3rd interception: Lawrence was rolling to his right. The play lasted forever and he tried to force the ball in a tight window. DJ Daniel jumped out front for the pick.

I know some Jaguars fans are having flashbacks to the year Blake Bortles threw five interceptions during one training camp, but let’s not panic yet. Lawrence still has a long way to go and these weren’t passes that were off-target, they were just miscommunications, things that will get fixed during camp.

Despite the high expectations Lawrence is still a rookie and will have bad days. If he is still having these problems in a few weeks, then we can start to sound some alarms. But right, now let’s just call it a learning experience and see if he can rebound this week.

Notebook

The energy at practice was the lowest I have seen since camp started.

• Urban Meyer and DJ Chark look to have a routine where they work together before each practice. This should just show how valuable Meyer believes Chark is to the team.

• K’Lavon Chaisson has a target on his back. Chaisson clearly did something to upset Cam Robinson and Walker Little. During 1 on 1′s, both guys slung him to the ground. Robinson even threw his own helmet on the ground after finishing a rep against Chaisson. There was a lot of trash-talking going on between them during the drill and even as they left the field after practice.

• Jihad Ward is about business. He had some very nice reps against the O-line during 1 on 1′s.

• I think I’m officially on the Travis Etienne hype train. This dude is going to be a playmaker. Every day it feels like he turns on the speed to make some sort of big play.

• Quiet day from Tim Tebow. The only notable play from him was an incomplete pass. Tebow was in a lot of traffic and attempted to catch the ball with his body and the linebacker jumped in front to break it up. Tebow will need to improve at coming back for the ball.

• Ben Ellefson got the first tight-end reps during the team period. Ellefson is the only tight end that has taken reps at fullback throughout camp. That may be his hook to help land him a roster spot.

• In the secondary it is starting to look like the big question is where to play Tyson Campbell. CJ Henderson is still on the Covid list and will have to have missed 10 days before they can activate him.

• Shaq Quarterman showed some nice coverage skills during 1 on 1′s. He had two reps and came up with a pass breakup and an interception.

• Carlos Hyde dropped two passes during 1 on 1′s. Not a great day for Hyde. Both passes hit him in the hands.