Team news: Chicago Bears | Page 53

Blake Bortles has looked good throughout camp, but appeared to reach a different level on Wednesday. Bortles completed 10 of 15 passes in 11-on-11 work and was 7 of 8 in seven-on-seven while being more aggressive with the ball downfield than usual.

Jaguars coach Gus Bradley praised Bortles’ work ethic in learning Greg Olson’s offense in the summer. Bortles says he can tell he’s playing faster in his decision making. He’s also making the right decisions more than last season.

“It’s more educated now,” Bortles said. “I’m knowing the matchup and situation better. Last year, it was like, let’s chunk it. It’s definitely more of an educated guess now.”

The Jaguars could become an efficient red-zone team with Julius Thomas, Allen Robinson and tight end Marcedes Lewis in the fold. The 6-foot-5 Bortles will have multiple reliable jump-ball targets.

“We have three guys that can go catch a fade at any moment. It’s awesome to have weapons like that. They can get up and jump and make plays. It’s definitely going to be fun to do that.”

Bortles averaged 12.0 fantasy points per game, which led to a #24 finish at his position. He's a passer who could make a leap in his second season if the Jaguars can give him time to throw and he can clean up his fundamentals. The receiving corps is young but talented, with Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee all capable of producing when given the opportunity. The team signed Julius Thomas to provide a dangerous weapon at tight end. Bortles averaged nearly 30 yards rushing, so he offers some baseline production as a runner. If Bortles can make a leap, the Jacksonville offense will be a lot better than expected.

In the race for the U-T's highly coveted Chargers Training Camp MVP award, several candidates have emerged. Keenan Allen, who has lost weight and is moving well, is the early leader. He has made a wide variety of plays, such as a touchdown catch Wednesday, off a fade against Jason Verrett. Several others are having a strong camp, incuding Stevie Johnson, Verrett, Branden Oliver and Melvin Ingram.

Allen was a victim of the “sophomore slump,” finishing #46 in standard formats after a #17 finish as a rookie in 2013. He has lost some weight in order to increase his speed and quickness, so that he can better deal with the attention he’s going to receive as his team’s top receiver. He’s also taking his preparation more seriously, per reports. We’re expecting Allen to bounce back in his third year, but it may be a stretch to expect a return to the heights of his rookie season.

The Buccaneers’ tight ends, as a group, were highly productive during practice. But Austin Seferian-Jenkins may have been the most active. He worked with several different groups and came on strong for 11-on-11 drills during the final 30 minutes of practice.

New OC Dirk Koetter has a history of featuring the tight end, coaxing a 58-700-10 season out of Marcedes Lewis in 2010 to go along with the 176 catches for 1,965 yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons with Tony Gonzalez in 2012-2013. Seferian-Jenkins had an injury-riddled rookie season, but is a breakout candidate in his second season with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator.

Chargers beat writer Eric D. Williams feels WR Keenan Allen will benefit from the loss of Eddie Royal and see more time out of the slot.

Williams feels Allen has short-area quickness and will be able to move around more to create miss-matches. The Chargers also signed Stevie Johnson who can play the slot, but Williams thinks Allen benefit the most. Allen started off his sophomore season slowly after being a second-tier fantasy WR last summer, but did show signs of his successful 2013 rookie year later in the 2014 season.

After finishing 2-14 with one of the league’s worst offenses, the Buccaneers replaced interim OC Marcus Arroyo with a proven NFL offensive coordinator in Dirk Koetter, and the one player who could benefit the most is Austin Seferian-Jenkins, who is expected to be featured in Tampa Bay’s new offense.

The Bucs are so high on Seferian-Jenkins that he’s expected to be the starter in 2015 and the team did not go out in free agency and add a new tight end. The Bucs re-structured Myers’ contract to reflect the role of a backup tight end, and also re-signed blocking tight end Luke Stocker, but that’s it. The Bucs aren’t expected to address the tight end position in the draft, either, which means it’s up to Seferian-Jenkins to produce in 2015 and live up to his potential after an injury-riddled rookie campaign that ended with him on injured reserve due to an ailing back.

Seferian-Jenkins will be a featured weapon in Koetter’s offense and he should return to the form he showed in Washington when he hauled in 146 catches for 1,840 yards and 21 touchdowns in three seasons for the Huskies. While Koetter has the reputation for developing pocket passers everywhere he’s gone, he has also made stars out of tight ends.

Koetter has a history of featuring the tight end, coaxing a 58-700-10 season out of Marcedes Lewis in 2010 to go along with the 176 catches for 1,965 yards and 16 touchdowns in two seasons with Tony Gonzalez in 2012-2013. Seferian-Jenkins had an injury-riddled rookie season, but is a breakout candidate in his second season with a new quarterback and offensive coordinator.