The Sports Xchange

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — For the first two offensive series by the Jacksonville Jaguars’ No. 1 unit, the 25,000 fans in the stands at EverBank Field Saturday night might have wondered if the team was any different than a year ago.

Last season Jacksonville ranked near the bottom in most of the key offensive categories, including total offense and points per game.

It did look like 2014 revisited when quarterback Blake Bortles completed just one of his first three pass attempts for 13 yards and the Jaguars’ offense accumulated one net yard on six snaps to start the scrimmage. But after that, Bortles warmed up, much to the delight of the coaching staff and fans. He completed eight of his next 11 passes, including two picturesque touchdown throws.

The first was a 25-yard completion to Allen Robinson, who made a diving catch in the end zone to complete the scoring play. But it came against the Jaguars’ first-team defense and it happened because Robinson used a burst of speed to get by his man. Bortles’ pass was just long enough that it was either going to be a touchdown or an incompletion, unlike a year ago when some of his throws were 50-50 on touchdown catch or interception.

Bortles’ second touchdown pass wasn’t as long and wasn’t as dramatic as Robinson’s lay-out catch for six points. But what the second touchdown pass showed Jaguars fans was a positive sign for the future. Bortles got a mismatch when tight end Julius Thomas was lined up against Jaguars linebacker Dan Skuta in one-on-one coverage. The Jaguars’ quarterback lofted the ball just over the head of Thomas, who completed the 14-yard scoring play by grabbing it over his shoulder. It’s that type of play in the red zone that the Jaguars woefully lacked a year ago and made them aggressive in their pursuit of Thomas to help shore up a mediocre passing attack.

It was a play that brought a smile to head coach Gus Bradley.

“The offense started slow right away but came back once they got in a rhythm of things,” Bradley said. “I saw some execution things. One (was) Julius didn’t look back on a hot route.

“We’ll get those things cleaned up, but going into a preseason game, we’re on schedule where we need to be.”

The pass to Thomas showed how the Jaguars plan to take advantage of his size and speed once they get inside the red zone. His strength inside the 20 helped produce 24 touchdowns the last two seasons in Denver and make him a threat that may require opponents to consider double covering him. His size and ability to get open blend with his physicality to out-fight defenders for the ball.

“You don’t want to put too much on a catch in a scrimmage, but we’re starting to get a little more chemistry and starting to understand what he’s looking to do and what I’m looking to do,” Thomas said in talking about his relationship with Bortles.

Bortles is pleased to have the offensive weapons available to him that he was lacking a year ago. Thomas, of course, wasn’t with the team, Robinson missed the final six games after catching 48 passes in the first 10 games, and Marqise Lee missed three games with a hamstring injury and then caught just five passes in his first five games once he returned.

In talking about Robinson and Thomas, Bortles said, “Those are two of the three guys who can jump and are definitely red-zone threats.”

Bortles finished the scrimmage by completing 9 of 15 passes for 96 yards and three touchdowns. The third score came on a 2-yard toss to tight end Clay Harbor when the Jaguars were working on their goal-line offense. It was more than just the numbers that Bradley liked in Bortles’ performance.

“You can just see his confidence,” Bradley said. “Accuracy, decision-(making), timing those things are key factors for a quarterback, and I thought he showed some of those components.”

On Monday, after Bradley had a chance to look at the tape of the scrimmage, he was still pleased with the effort on both sides of the ball.

“I thought it was a really good scrimmage as far as situations for us,” the Jaguars’ coach added. “We started off a little slow offensively but I liked the mindset to come out and try to run the ball. Defense, I thought, started out playing with a lot of energy. It was exactly what we hoped to see from them. A lot of energy throughout first situation and the backed-up situation and then I think what was impressive was how the offense came back. They just kept their poise, resilient, marched the ball, got the touchdown, came back and got another touchdown so really good signs.”

Notes: Defensive end Chris Clemons has yet to begin practice and is on the non-football injury list. The issue reportedly is that his marriage is ending. He is expected back soon. … Running back T.J. Yeldon came up holding an injured hand after scoring on a short touchdown run in Saturday night’s scrimmage. X-rays showed no broken bones in the hand and Yeldon isn’t expected to miss much time. … Wide receiver Marqise Lee missed Saturday’s scrimmage with a lingering hamstring issue and isn’t likely to play in Friday’s preseason opener against Pittsburgh. … Defensive end Ryan Davis continues to come up with big plays when given the opportunity. In Saturday’s scrimmage Davis dropped back in pass coverage and made a diving interception. … Safety James Sample, who had such a strong showing in the team’s OTAs before suffering a broken forearm the first week of June, is on track to begin practicing next week. … Defensive end Camaron Beard was signed on Monday while the team waived/injured undrafted rookie linebacker Matt Robinson. Beard was brought in to help with the depth at the end spot with starter Clemons still on the non-injury list.