The Jacksonville Jaguars held a joint practice with the New Orleans Saints, and while there were certainly some ups and downs, the two teams also nearly came to blows in an on-field scuffle.
According to Brent Martineau of Action News Jax, running back Chris Rodriguez was shoved by a defender after a play. That led to Chuma Edoga jumping in to defend his teammate, and soon, all 22 on-field players had joined in the melee. Head coach Liam Coen personally held running back LeQuint Allen back, though he seemed to appreciate Allen's fire.
"He can go off into a different universe at times, but he protects his teammates," Coen said with a grin. "Which, we got two rules: protect the team and be on time. And he definitely, he usually takes care of that for us."
Liam Coen liked the scuffle with the #Saints at joint practice today.
“It wasn’t malicious, it wasn’t anything crazy. Chris was trying to truck the corner, and the corner tackled him a little bit. We haven’t had one in camp. It was done professionally.”
On having to separate… pic.twitter.com/P66Lxz1b5Y
One of the reporters noted that Allen "looked like your twin out there" in a comment for Coen, a callback to an on-field confrontation with 49ers coach Robert Saleh in which the two had to be restrained by their players. While they have since moved past the argument and reportedly laugh about it, it proved that Coen has an edge — and he appreciates seeing that fire in his players.
Coen has made it clear that he wants his players to be a tough, physical, aggressive team, but to also maintain their discipline. The Jaguars have turned into a feisty team that lets no slight go unanswered, and no disrespect go unpunished. Ultimately, the scuffle — and Coen's remarks about Allen — show that Coen has no interest in eliminating that mindset from his team's game, so long as it's channeled towards protecting their teammates and not hurting them.
This article originally appeared on Jaguars Wire: Liam Coen addresses scuffle between Jaguars, Saints in joint practice
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