The Jaguars continued to prepare for their AFC Championship duel against the New England Patriots on Thursday.
Below you'll find notable news, notes and more from the day that was:
- Jaguars starting free safety Tashaun Gipson (foot) missed his second-straight practice. Gipson suffered a foot injury during last week's divisional-round win over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jaguars head coach Doug Marrone told reporters prior to practice that Gipson is making progress.
"He's trending in the right way," Marrone said. "We'll see how he does when he gets out there [in practice]."
- Left guard Patrick Omameh returned to practice after missing Wednesday's session due to an illness.
- Quarterback Tom Brady (right hand) and right tackle LaAdrian Waddle (knee) both failed to practice Thursday. Brady injured his hand during practice Wednesday.
- Marrone coached Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore when both were in Buffalo. The Jaguars head coach was very complimentary of his former cornerback when asked about Gilmore's attributes.
"[During] my time with Stephon, he was a big part of what we did, defensively, when we were in Buffalo," Marrone said.
"Excellent man coverage. He can get his hands on you, can stop you at the line, can run with you, really good speed, can tackle ... That's the one thing about this [Patriots] defense, all the players on that field are very good tacklers."
- Patriots slot receiver Danny Amendola produced 11 catches for 112 receiving yards on 13 targets against the Tennessee Titans last week.
Amendola may be an issue for the Jaguars on third down.
"[He is] quick in-and-out of breaks, excellent route runner," Marrone said. "He has trust with the quarterback, knows where [Tom Brady is] going to put the ball [and] obviously, his competitiveness [sticks out]."
Jaguars nickel cornerback Aaron Colvin also discussed Amendola's traits this week.
- Jaguars cornerback A.J. Bouye played against the Patriots in the playoffs last season. The former Houston Texans defensive back produced five tackles, an interception and a forced fumble against New England.
The Texans still lost 34-16 to the Patriots in the divisional round.
"The ball was coming out quick but even then, [Brady] picked up on the [Texans' physicality]," Bouye said about last year's playoff game.
"It wasn't really much of an impact because they still came out with the win and they were still putting up points. They did what they needed to do. Like I said, they have a lot of weapons, so we have to be aware of where [Rob Gronkowski] is at, where [Brandin] Cooks is at, where everybody is at."
- Jaguars defensive coordinator Todd Wash still has heavy depth along the defensive line at this point in the postseason. He believes that will be a huge asset this weekend and beyond.
"It's important," Wash said. "I think you need to stay fresh. At this point in time, a lot of these games - just like last week - they come down to the fourth quarter and you've got to be able to pressure the quarterback in the fourth quarter ... It's important that we dress seven [defensive linemen] and all seven have played. When it gets into that fourth quarter, you've got to ride your horses and hopefully they're fresh for the stretch."
- Patriots punter Ryan Allen is left-footed. The Jaguars worked out free agent punter Brock Miller on Wednesday to duplicate Allen's spin on the ball.
"That's pretty standard," special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis said. "I've done that in most of the places I've been. When we're playing a lefty, bring [the left-footed punter] in and try to get as much out that as you can and try to get as many catches with [the returners] as you can. I think it's good to see the spin. It helps you going into the game."
- Offensive coordinator Nathaniel Hackett learned about running back Leonard Fournette's minor car accident around the same time everyone else did.
"I hadn't even heard about it, so I [heard] after the fact that it was all minor stuff," Hackett said. "I haven't even really talked to him about it."
- Linebacker Telvin Smith said he was fined $10,000 for pointing at a Steelers player as he returned a fumble recovery for a touchdown last weekend. The Jaguars beat the Steelers, 45-42, in the divisional round of the playoffs.
Follow Mike Kaye on Twitter at @Mike_E_Kaye.