What you need to know Thursday NFLX

Jacksonville Jaguars at Green Bay Packers (+3, 39)

The air up there?

Much of the Jags' success this season hinges on whether a dink-and-dunk passing attack can improve this season. The club brought in former Arizona State coach Dirk Koetter in hopes of improving a predictable offense.

Koetter and starting quarterback Byron Leftwich are said to have a good relationship since first meeting earlier this year, but that hasn’t translated into results. Leftwich completed two of his six pass attempts for a total of 12 yards last week against the first-string defense of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jacksonville proved it can still run (154 yards on 37 carries) but what of the aerial assault?
“I would not call it concern,” head coach Jack Del Rio told the Florida Times-Union. “Clearly we have a lot of work to before we open (the regular season) and I’m sure we’ll be met with adversity at some point during the year. We’ll have tremendous success during the year. We want to be steady with our approach.”

Expect Koetter to call more passing plays designed to get the running backs involved. Maurice Jones-Drew and Fred Taylor are both explosive in the open field and small dump offs should get Leftwich into a groove.

Sending out an S.O.S.
Brett Favre was vocally upset with the Packers front office for failing to get him any help in the off-season. Green Bay didn't trade for wide receiver Randy Moss and they used their first-round pick on defensive tackle Justin Harrell.

The word from camp says Harrell may not even dress on opening day because of mediocre play.
“It’s his conditioning,” co-defensive line coach Carl Hairston said of the former Tennessee Volunteer, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. “I’m hoping by September he will be where he needs to as far as conditioning. Once he gets the stamina where he wants it then he can do what he did at Tennessee.”

Harrell played only three games for Tennessee in his final year because of a torn bicep but he made the SEC All-Conference team after posting 39 tackles and 7 ½ sacks in 2005.
Tuesday was another disappointing day in practice for Harrell. He was manhandled by three different offensive linemen in one-on-one pass rush drills Tuesday.

Starting running back Vernand Morency will continue to sit out because of a knee injury, but coach Mike McCarthy is confident Morency will be ready for the regular season. Rookie tailback Brandon Jackson should continue to receive the bulk of time with the first unit.
Don’t get too excited by the 48 points the Packers put up against the Seattle Seahawks. Green Bay took advantage of six Seahawks turnovers including two fumble recoveries that were returned for touchdowns.

New Orleans Saints at Kansas City Chiefs (-1, 37)

Training day

The Brady Croyle era is upon us. As Ryan Stetson noted in today’s starter reporter, Croyle will start and play into the second half. The second-year quarterback hasn’t won the No. 1 job outright, but with top competitor Damon Huard likely unable to play Thursday due to injury, the announcement isn't far away.

Pro Bowl running back Larry Johnson is signed and in camp, but he won’t play today. It’ll be up to Michael Bennett and rookie Kolby Smith to run the football. Both have been unimpressive in the preseason so far.

Smith – who’s looked great in practice – has rushed for zero yards on 10 carries while the speedy Bennett had only seven yards on eight carries against the Fish. Croyle will need better production from the backfield to be successful.

Thank goodness it’s Thursday

The irregularities of training camp and preseason no longer seem to be an issue for New Orleans. The Saints closed shop at Millsaps College in Jackson, Miss., and returned home to their training facility to prepare for the upcoming campaign.

Head coach Sean Payton feels blessed by the scheduling gods.

“We all look forward to getting into a routine, and one positive is that we play a Thursday game, and then we play another Thursday game, and then we open the season on Thursday," Payton told reporters.

Receivers Marques Colston (knee) and Devery Henderson (hamstring) will not play against the Chiefs. This gives rookie wideout Robert Meachem a chance to strut his stuff. The first-round pick has gotten limited touches in the Saints' first three preseason matches but there’s no questioning his talent.

Hollis Thomas has lost his starting defensive tackle job to Kendrick Clancy. Thomas struggled keeping his weight down throughout training camp and was the only Saints player on the heavy side at the last team weigh-in.