Jaguars secondary focused on INT's

Jaguars were tied for league low 6 INT's last season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Interceptions were hard to come by for the Jaguars secondary in 2014. Their six interceptions were tied for a league low and they ranked second to last in passes defended. Picking off passes and making big plays in general has been a huge emphasis during training camp.

"Obviously practice makes perfect and we talked to the guys about the urgency to get a strip, the urgency to cause a fumble, not just going to show up on Sundays, practice it throughout the week and throughout the preseason," said defensive coordinator Bob Babich. "The interceptions, we need to make sure when they have the opportunities, they take advantage of it."

In the Jaguars defensive system the number one job of the cornerbacks is to not get beat deep. Jaguars coach Gus Bradley says while that is a staple of his defense he wants his corners to also have the confidence to trust their instincts.

"The challenge for us is that we tell our corners to stay on top which means take away the deep throw but it's more of a consciousness to stay on top," said Bradley. "We still want them to compete with all of the other routes and the challenges and that's what some of these guys are figuring out. Usually when they're young they say I did my job by staying on top, I stayed on top, but you still compete on all of the other routes so they're developing more of a consciousness of what we want."

The secondary is a mixture of holdovers and new faces. This is year No. 3 in the same defensive system for the Jaguars. Defensive backs coach DeWayne Walker says the holdovers are playing more instinctively and the new faces are picking up the system easily.

"I think the guys that have been here for the whole three years, you can see they know more about the defense and they're playing faster," said Walker. "With Sergio Brown and Davon House they're continuing to learn a little bit more about the system. That's why training camp and preseason are so important."

The transition from college to the NFL is difficult for any rookie. After playing quarterback at Auburn, Nick Marshall is trying to make the Jaguars roster as a cornerback. He hasn't played the position since 2011 while still at Georgia, but so far he's impressed Babich.

"Very, very athletic, very, very instinctive; just young, said Babich. "When I say young, just at the position. He played quarterback I don't know how many years. I know he was a cornerback at Georgia, but then he made the transition to quarterback, but very athletic and has playmaking skills. We've been very pleased with him. A great young man, he's just got to continue to get better and consistency, you come in, there's a lot of things going on, but one thing he can do is he lets his instinct at the point of attack take over and I think that really helps. He's not as analytical as some guys, but he's really instinctive."

Playing college ball in the SEC is great preparation for the NFL. Even though he's still learning a new position, Marshall feels like he has the tools and drive to succeed.

"I'm a competitive guy and I like going against the best," said Marshall. "You have to go against the best in order to get better so that's what I'm going for."