JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) -Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio put four rookies in the starting lineup and expected them to make plays.
He anticipated mistakes, too.
He got a little of both in Sunday’s 14-12 loss at Indianapolis.
Left tackle Eugene Monroe, right tackle Eben Britton, cornerback Derek Cox and defensive tackle Terrance Knighton received mixed reviews following their first NFL starts.
Monroe and Britton, the first rookie tackle tandem to start on opening day since Luis Sharpe and Tootie Robbins did it for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1982, got beat several times. But it came against Dwight Freeney and Robert Mathis, two of the top pass-rushers in the league.
“For the most part, they held their own and played well,” Del Rio said.
ckly and essentially taking away Jacksonville’s ability to throw deep.
The Jaguars gave Britton, a second-round pick from Arizona, some help with tight ends and running backs. But Mathis still forced Garrard to throw sooner than he wanted several times.
It won’t get any much easier for the duo since the Jaguars (0-1) face Arizona, Houston, Tennessee and Seattle the next four weeks. But don’t expect any changes, either.
“When you get married, do you think it’s going to work out forever or you just go in there for six months?” running back Maurice Jones-Drew said. “You don’t think after five months, ‘Whatever, I’m going to go talk to the next girl.’ You’re in there for the long haul.
“They played tough. We went against two of the best pass-rushers in the game and those guys didn’t back down one bit. They fought hard, opened running holes and pass blocked. There were certain situations where they were caught off guard a little bit. That happens. You can’t win them all, but you have to try to, and that’s what they did.”
Cox won a few battles against Reggie Wayne.
Although Wayne caught 10 passes for 162 yards and a touchdown – most of them against Cox – the rookie intercepted one pass in the end zone and also recovered a fumble.
and try to improve. You take the good and improve on it.”
Cox just missed a second interception, when Peyton Manning floated a ball his way on a third-and-19 play. Wayne leaped over Cox for a 39-yard reception, which set up Joseph Addai’s 3-yard TD run in the second quarter.
“He’ll intercept nine out of 10 of those,” Del Rio said. “I look forward to the nine someone might throw up there for us.”
Knighton, a third-round pick from Temple, may have had the most even performance of the rookies. He finished with three tackles, stuffed the middle of the defense and helped Jacksonville hold the Colts to 71 yards rushing and 2.3 yards a carry.
“Terrance Knighton was really stout in the run game,” Del Rio said. “He and Big John (Henderson) helped us defend the run with a light box.”
The Jaguars expect all four rookies to improve as the season progresses, beginning this week against defending NFC champion Arizona.
“The rookies came out and showed what we knew they were about,” Jones-Drew said.
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