I am so out on this guy as a player. Hopefully I'm wrong and going into an inside zone will be help him b/c he sure as hell is not quick enough to run the outside zone stuff.
Fully agree. It's why I wanted them to go for DHop. Signing Cook to a 2 year deal for ~10M (5M AAV) seems like a good idea to me. Maybe they're trying to save as much money as they can now for the Rodgers restructure.
I have one small criticism regarding the Jets press conferences. The quality of the audio varies all over the map. They need more volume and consistency. Some times you can’t hardly hear what they are saying, and most of the questions are not coming thru at all.
True, not to mention he is yet to get comfortable with his knee, so I suspect he is very tentative with his lateral moves.
From Jets Nation - Today's Practice Report: General Notes - Practice ran 2 hours - Players in full pads for the first time - Duane Brown appeared and was working out on a side field - Allen Lazard must have been knicked up because he didn't participate - The media was placed on the patio today which allowed a "vertical" view of practice. So interior line play was able to be analyzed - I would give the practice to the offense slightly but they had some issues which need to be tightened up - After an off day the energy was good, sometimes players are sluggish after time off Special Teams Notes - Thomas Morstead got reps today and was consistently punting balls 50+ yards with 4+ seconds of hang time. It will be a pleasure not to see anymore Braden Mann "shanks" - Greg Zuerlein was 4/6 in his FG attempts. They were simulating running onto the field with no timeouts to get off a kick Defense Notes - The defense got "gashed" multiple times on interior runs but they did generate the first(?) INT of camp - Will McDonald was back and combined with Solomon Thomas for a TFL on Israel Abanikanda - Quinnen Williams also generated a TFL as he sniffed out a screen and caught Zonovan Knight behind the line - Al Woods displayed interior pass rushing skills as he got a "sack" on Zach Wilson - DJ Reed and Jordan Whitehead continued to show good communication/coverage as they double teamed Corey Davis and knocked away a 30+ yarder from Aaron Rodgers - Sauce Gardner came up with the first(?) INT of camp as he picked off a 20+ yarder from Rodgers to Jeremy Ruckert. It was an overthrow, which plagued the offense multiple times today Offense Notes - The passing game had quite a few overthrows. Which led to the INT mentioned previously and quite a few misses on big gainers - Jeremy Ruckert's role expanded today in his reps. He wasn't just catching screens or an inline blocker, he was ruuning vertical routes. Some of his highlights: * He caught a 15+ yarder from Rodgers with no window visible * He caught a 10+ yarder from Zach Wilson * On the INT he was running a 20+ yard route * Finally he ran a 30+ yard route against Reed but Rodgers overthrew him - Nick Bawden continued to impress as he helped break a couple of interior runs with his blocking. Additionally he caught a 20+ yarder from Tim Boyle on a delayed screen and a 10+ yarder from Rodgers on a quick slant against Reed - The interior line was excellent as they opened holes on multipe "gash" runs. The combinations deserving credit are: * Laken Tomlinson, Connor McGovern, Alijah Vera-Tucker * Brett Laing, Joe Tippmann, Chris Glaser * Trystan Colon, Wes Schweizter, Adam Pankey The big runs those trios were responsible for were: * Michael Carter for runs of 10+ and 20+ * Zonovan Knight for runs of 10+ and 20+ * Israel Abanikanda for a 40+ yard TD - Garrett Wilson continues to display his developing chemistry with Rodgers as he caught a 20+ yarder down the sideline over Brandin Echols with no visible window. And finally he caught a 40+ yard TD over Michael Carter in the corner of the end zone - Xavier Gipson (who is trying out for the returner spot) flashed during 11 on 11. On back to back reps he caught a 20+ yard seam from Zach Wilson then followed it up with a "jet sweep" TD from 20+ yards out QB Notes - Aaron Rodgers wasn't as sharp as his previous practices (I'm getting spoiled). He had multiple overthrows which prevented big gainers and caused the Gardner INT. Maybe age caught up to him, time to find another QB - Zach Wilson continues to improve in little things. Today he was able to create an easy completion to Mecole Hardman. As Hardman was running a "jet sweep" Wilson faked a hand off to him then allowed Hardman to get into space for an easy pitch/catch. Also, he's improving scanning the field during his dropbacks. During one rep he was focused to the left but when he hit the top of his drop he flipped to the right and found Hardman. The pass was overthrown for an incompletion but Wilson process was correct Standouts - Interior OLine - Jeremy Ruckert - Nick Bawden - Garrett Wilson Concerns - Interior DLine needs to stiffen up against runs - Too many overthrows on offense
I'll just speak to the Concerns: - We've had issues stopping the run for years now. This had better be a "crisis level" concern that JD and the CS focus on. I love a great pass rush as much - or more - as anyone, but if you can't stop the other team from running the ball and eating up clock, you're HOF QB isn't going to have much time to do anything. - It's early, and timing won't be locked in yet so I'm not worried about overthrows at this point.
I'm not worried about the run, but I hope that you're right that they have made it a priority in TC. With Rodgers at QB, hopefully, we're likely to have the lead a lot of the time and opposing teams won't have the luxury of running the ball much. Woods, Q, Clemons and Johnson on the DL are all very good vs the run. I think McDonald is supposed to be good vs the run as well. We have Mosely, and Q's brother. Part of the problem last year was that the DBs were not very good vs the run. Adrian Amos should help. Whitehead almost has to have a better year. The CBs need to improve their play against the run. Hopefully, they're working on tackling fundamentals in TC and there will be a lot fewer missed tackles this year.
What is it with us Jet fans and training camp. If the running game flourishes, we worry about the Inside DL instead. If the outside pass rush is spectacular, we worry about the OTs, Strong red zone passing, the safeties are not closing the gap. May be, just maybe, is not weakness on one side of the ball but strength on the opposite side. The truth might be some where in the middle, but seems clear there is plenty of talent at many positions.
I think the problem is that we Jets fans have been conditioned over the years to have a fear, negative knee-jerk reaction to any bad practice report on a player or the team. I think hopes may be at an all-time high, yet we all have been disappointed, let down, made a fool of by the Jets too many times. Precisely because the potential is so great for this season, it has us panicking at the first hint of struggle or bad news. If the team was picked to finish last and there was no hope, it would be business as usual. There would be criticism of JD or Saleh or whatever, but it would take on a different tone. I find myself having to fight mentally not to give in to that. We don't want to have our hopes crushed again, so we begin looking for potential trouble to soften the blow once the other shoe falls. Even though I believe that Rodgers could very well lead us to a SB victory, my heart doubts it will happen. He'll suffer a major injury or someone else will I think that's why so many fans have given up on Becton, Zach, and any other draft pick player who has struggled with their play or injuries. Of course some fans never wanted those players to begin with, so they're all too ready to pounce and criticize so they can say they were the first to spot it, but others who did want them or liked the pick, bail immediately. Yes, the odds are long on players succeeding who have struggled initially, but it happens every year in the NFL and in every other walk of life. Because the pervading culture is overwhelmingly negative and pessimistic, it leads us to immediately go to the negative and think that it isn't possible for someone to overcome the odds. While it isn't probable, it doesn't mean that it's impossible and can't happen, yet fans go there so they aren't anxious about it. It's easier for them psychologically to just dismiss the player and move on. In that way they aren't disappointed and are affirmed in their "knowledge" of the game and of how life works. It's truly sad to me. Sports are supposed to be about positivity, about overcoming huge odds, about reaching potential, and are supposed to be inspirational and not depressing. Yet, anyone who has been a Jets fan for more than a hot minute is depressed to some extent and lost hope. Without hope, life can be harsh, unrelenting, and depressing. I'm really hoping that the Jets ball out this season, win the Super Bowl, and that both Becton and Zach overcome their struggles and become great players over the next year. Maybe that will restore some faith in man's ability to overcome, in the Jets, and that the odds can be overcome.
I was listening to the Badlands pod with Joe Caparoso and Connor Rogers and they made a good point the other day. This isn't a normal camp for us anymore. We don't need to look at what the QBs stats are. It doesn't matter. Although the team is young, they are somewhat a veteran team at the moment and can work and fine tune small things in practice to get better. Mosley also said something similar when being interviewed last Friday. The continuity with the defensive staff will allow them to be more aggressive and trust their scheme + teammates more rather than in year 1 or 2 of a new scheme where you need to learn certain nuances. A few examples he used were how far corners are playing off, how far the drops are of certain players, and where the safeties are lining up etc.
Costello: I don’t see Mekhi Becton as the Jets start stretching. Rosenblatt: I don’t see Mekhi Becton at the start of practice. #Jets
Andy Vasquez: Don’t see Mekhi Becton as the Jets warm up for today’s practice. Also no sign of Allen Lazard. I do see C.J. Uzomah in warmups for the first time this camp. #jets
Antwan Staley: Second Day in pads for the Jets. They Will practice again on Thursday before a two day break Friday and Saturday
Rosenblatt: Mekhi Becton is working off to the side with the other injured players. Doesn’t look like he’ll be practicing today. #Jets