So I attended both practices today, and let me say, for those of you who have never gone to view TC, you definitely should. Maybe It's because I haven't seen the Jets live in a home environment in years, but It was just nice to see the Green and White on the Field. A few notes/observations/quotes from the day: -It was nice seeing Justin Miller returning kicks, looked like he had a slight limp when walking, but was fast on returns. -Chansi Stuckey is the man. If he stays healthy, he could be another great target for our QB. -Paul Raymond had a fantastic day in both practices. -Alan Faneca and Nick Mangold could pass as brothers... Huge Brothers. -D'brick looks like he got bigger, which is definitely a good thing. -Bubba Franks and Kerry Rhodes are hysterical. After the PM practice, they came over to sign autographs, and their interaction with the crowd was great. One fan yelled to Franks "You miss Green Bay Bubba?" and he didn't hesitate to give an emphatic "NO." -Chris Baker was on the field, not in uniform, but was signing autographs.. but didn't really appreciate me telling him it would be nice to see him doing some drills. -Brad Smith looks like his route running is getting better, but I think we're all tired of seeing him run the ball from the QB spot. -During AM practice, a few kids from a camp were walking by the OLine drills, and kid, no older then 10 years yelled the quote of the day" "You guys gonna have a winning record this year?" and that got a lot of laughter from the crowd. -As I was grabbing autographs, I asked everyone about the workouts, and they all commented with similar answers...Barton had the best "well.. its work. But its good work. We're ready." I mean, I'm not kidding when I say that was the response the players all gave.. Maybe because it was only day 1. But I spoke to Barton when the weather was still crap... Same with Pace. -Nugent ended the PM practice with a 58 yard bomb. missed a few high 40/low 50 FGs, but the distance was there. I snapped well over 100 photo's from simple excitement, I felt like i was 10 years old again.
My own notes from PM practice: I made the trek out from New Jersey to Hempstead, Long Island to watch the Jets afternoon practice. On the way there, I was listening to the Michael Kay show on 1050 ESPN radio and they happened to interview Jets HC Eric Mangini. They discussed various topics like the team's inability to get Vernon Gholston signed on time and the QB situation. The one thing Mangini emphasized was that the QB battle would not be won because of draft position or contract. The word he used was "meritorious" when describing the competition and how it would be won. Kellen Clemens : If this afternoon session was any indicator, it looks like Clemens has this job all to himself. I'd say he took 85% of the reps with the first team. The 15% he wasn't throwing to the starting WRs, he was working on snaps and protections with the 1st string o-line. The few long thows he attempted looked good but his comeback routes hit the ground on two occasions. He either wasn't throwing them to the right spots or was letting them go too early. He also was interceepted by CB Darrelle Revis on an out route to Brad Smith. It was a poor play on Kellen's part who stared down his guy, pump faked and let it go to the same guy. It seemed like the Jets were concentrating on short passes today. A lot of playaction fakes and then dumps to Thomas Jones as well as designed screen plays. I asked a couple of the PR people why Kellen was getting all the reps and they replied that it was Kellen's afternoon with the starters and Chad had gotten the majority of the morning snaps. At first I thought they were just towing the company line but the morning report on the Jets' site confirmed it. Chad Pennington : Today's other big story on the radio regarding Chad was that he changed his mechanics this offseason to gain velocity. I'm not buying it. He might have the 3rd weakest arm on the team behind Kellen and Erik Ainge. He did complete a bunch of short passes over the middle to old pal Laveranues. In one drill where both QBs were throwing fades at the same time (they looked like mirror images of one another), Chad overthrew his guy out of bounds but Kellen hit his. He also got heckled by the crowd for throwing one into the dirt after getting chased by a blitzing LB in 11-on-11s. Thomas Jones : Had a great day running the ball up the gut and catching screen passes. They emphasized the screen and TJ must have caught 7-8 balls for the session. During the 11-on-11s, Chad timed a screen pass vs a blitz and TJ caught the ball, picked up some blockers and took it to the house for 70 yards. He also did well in pass protection drills blocking and neutralizing LB David Bowens for 4-5 seconds on one attempt. TJ came over to the fans after practice and autographed some items. I asked if 1600 yards was doable and he said "lets get it, lets get it!" Very fan friendly. Leon Washington : Leon motioned out to split end on one play and caught a 30 yard pass. He also caught another 30 yarder on a wheel route out of the backfield. On another play, Kellen faked a throw off a 3 step drop and gave it Leon for a draw play that he took for 40 yards up the gut of the defense. I didn't see Leon on punt returns but it's possible I missed him as I was concentrating on the offense. Jehuu Caulcirc : I called out his name after practice and he was more surprised somebody knew him than I was to see him there. I wasn't aware he signed with the Jets till I saw him today. The Michigan State fans will know him. He scored 21 TDs for them last year as their goalline back. Danny Woodhead : Division II free agent RB who got some snaps on punt returns and with the starters. Woodhead and Caulcric were there because Jesse Chatman and Musa Smith are on the non-football injury list. Laveranues Coles : Was the only guy not wearing shorts, he had on sweats instead. Caught a bunch of slants and drag routes over the middle. They concentrated on getting Lavs a bunch of reverses. Jericho Cotchery : Had 2 drops right off his hands. Had a couple bubble screens off of playaction thrown his way which he did catch. Chansi Stuckey : Did punt returns. Looks to be the starting slot WR David Clowney : Probably had the best day of the WRs. He spun and contorted to one hand a ball that was thrown way behind him. Also caught Chad's best throw of the day on a 40 yard fade route diving between James Ihedigbo and Dwight Lowery. He did fumble the ball into the endzone on that play from 3 yards out. Lowery recovered it and the refs ruled it a touchback. Dustin Keller : Was in a lot of formations: 2 TE sets, 3 WR 1 TE, and some 2 WR 1 TE 1 FB. In almost every one of them he was put in motion. Mangini calls him the "YAC" because he lines up at the "Y" (Coles, Cotchery play the "X" and "Z") and "AC" because he often moves across the formation. Sometimes he'll motion towards the QB and then stay in the backfield as an offset FB. Other times he would end up on the same side as 2 of their WRs in a bunch formation. In pass protection drills he did let up a sack when he gave up the inside edge. Bubba Franks : He saw a lot of snaps but only caught 5 yard passes. I highly doubt he'll get any yardage this year making him undraftable. Check out my FF site when you guys get the chance - DynastyRogues.com
Funny story about Bubba Franks. I asked him "Hey, Bubba, what's your real name?" He goes "it's Ricky. Ricky Bobby." That got laughs.
some Running Backs and Tight Ends. Namely: Thomas Jones, Jehuu Calcrick, Danny Woodhead, AJ Schable (really nice guy, actually gave his gloves to a fan), Ricky Bobby, and Kerry Rhodes
Thanks guys, great Job. During TC, TGG.com shines the most. Some questions: Who is Paul Raymond? Did Lowery take all the snaps at CB, or did he do some S, too? Who started opposite Rhodes? Did Elam and Smith share the work? Does Jenkins look like he?s in good shape? Quickness? What about Pace? Did he drop alot into Coverage, or did he blitz more?
The only answer i have for you, is about Raymond. He is a UDFA from Brown university, and apparently he is a guy that we should keep our eyes on, he has good hands and solid speed. at least according to a few articles ive read on TC so far over the past day or so.
Guys I got, and I didn't stay for everyone: Eric Barton Matt Chatham Kenwin Cummings David Harris Jason Pociask Cody Spencer Calvin Pace David Bowens Marques Murrell Chris Baker Kerry Rhodes GJF, I honestly never heard of Raymond before TC, but he turned a lot of heads Thursday. Definitely someone should be keeping an eye on. I found an article about him from May rookie camps, here is a highlight: And Calvin Pace.. He was making guys look like kids in the AM practice. Just overpowering. Kris Jenkins is not a man...he's an effing monster. I only saw him in the AM drills, I didn't look for him in the PM workout.
I went to Brown, so I keep a close eye on Ivy League and, specifically, Brown football. Brown has always played a very pass-friendly offense emphasizing and producing great WR's. I've seen Raymond play and he is definitely someone to keep an eye on. I was really excited when I heard the Jets signed him and am looking forward to seeing him at TC tomorrow!
When he gets up in the morning, he pi$$e$ excellence (overheard between Keller and RB....) You are fast Ricky Boobby....but I am faster....
Here we go, forgot to put these in: Kris Jenkins: Kris Jenkins and David Harris: Sione Pouha, Kenyon Coleman, Shaun Ellis: Chad @ QB, Ainge, Ratliff, Clemens on Defense:
Awesome. I was getting excited for the season just reading your post. Damn, I really can't wait. The best thing you wrote was that D'brick got bigger. That is a great thing. If he can play up to his potential on a fairly consistent basis, the jets can have one of the most dominant offensive lines in the NFL. (Faneca and Mangold will be studs, and I think Woody is going to be very solid)
