It was packed again today (not Packered- packed, though there were some Cheeseheads and GB jerseys in attendance, too. One diplomatic fan wore his Jets #4 jersey and a cheesehead- a new look). You may ask, "how crowded was it?". I'm glad you asked. It was so crowded I had to park WAY, WAY in the back of the campus- so far back, I was able to see the window of Pete kendall's old dorm room. It was so crowded that cars were parked along the roadway bordering the end zone of the grass field- usually a no-no, but apparently they let things slide as the carnivale atmosphere rocks on. Hofstra TC is going out with a nice bang, and years of good memories will end on a high note for us Lawn Gilanders. Today was another busy day, with a LOT of individual unit work, special teams, red zone offense, short yardage offense (4th and goal situations), scout team work, and finally some 11 on 11 stuff. For my Aussie friends, Graham was booming them today- i thought it was the best he's looked all camp that i have been there. Leon showed great hands fielding the punts, which varied from true spirals to end over end balls- all very high and far. They quickly moved to kickoffs, and a bunch of different guys took turns returning them. Stuckey showed some very nice moves following the wedge until a lane opened. Miller didnt show too much today. I had a spot closest to the OL, so I watched them for a long time today when they were doing unit work. Callahan was doing a lot of instruction, a lot of emphasis on technique, a lot of reps, and it was avery disciplined workout. Funny thing is, he speaks so softly, you cant even hear what he is saying even though i was only 20-30 feet away. But the OL seemed to respond to what he was saying, and I'll venture to say that this may end up being the most improved unit on the team this year. Fancea and Mangold are buddies (on the field anyway) and spent a lot of down time talking with each other. Woody looks good out there, Moore looks improved at the RG spot, and I think Wayne Hunter is showing some good things, too. I have some serious doubts about Bender though. He does not look as well-conditioned as the other OL are, and I noticed that his first step off the snap is not as quick as the other guys. He doesnt seem to have that explosion off the ball (and that is really based on just today, when I had the chance to watch them all close up). There was a lot of red zone offense today, and Clemens got the bulk of the work. Ratliff got some work in with the second unit. Ratty and Ainge took turns running the scout team, which played a lot against the second team defense today. I figure the second teams will see a lot of action Saturday night, so they got a good look at the Skins' formations today. When the first team offense ran plays from the one yardline, Jones was getting a lot of carries. he has been getting a lot of work this week. The good news is he was making it into the EZ consistently. I checked the board to see if any of the "pros" blogs were posted, but they werent, so i went ahead and started this post for you. But i have a deadline, and lost time driving home in a TORRENTIAL downpour along the Northern State, so I will have to finish this later. Ciao.
Curious you watched the OL but no mention of Brick. Various reports I have read have been pretty glowing......do you have a sense there? That was a mediocre report, what gives you a little tired/fatigued all these practices wearing you down.............hahaha just a gratuitous Favre reference. LOL (joking) Your report was excellent as usual. I wish the beat writers were as good.
LOL no problem You're a funny guy, puck. :smile: Brick has looked good in camp. I mentioned in an earlier report that i thought he looked a little bigger, and he does. The entire OL looks much better as a unit, and bringing in faneca and callahan is going to be looked back on as a great move, imo. Faneca seems to make Brick, and the whole OL look better- they have done very well running over the left side in camp. pace, 56, and the guys on the right side of the D have had their hands full, imo. What is also a pleasant surprise is that i have seen some good runs over the right side of the line, too. I believe Garner is still on the team- kind of on the periphery. He hasnt stood out to me or else I think I might have noticed him more, but I look at different things each practice- sometimes I use the binocs more (I did today) and sometimes i just scan things out for the big picture. I have also mentioned that i thought Montgomery looked good and also was a good pickup. BTW Jenkins is a beast, and you can see it in the pictures. Turner has done well too, and i noticed him and Monte on STs today too, which should help their stock. I dont think I'm going to be able to do a lot of play description tonite, but the one play I thought was really well executed today was when favre playfaked, rolled out some, and found Keller coming across the field for about a 12-15 yard gain. The D was playing very aggressively that play, and it was well contested on both sides, but Favre found the open man and got it to him for a nice gain. faneca, favre, franks, these guys may have only recently become Jets, but they add a lot of veteran leadership and bring new chemistry to the team. There seems to be a maturity out there I havent seen since mangini took over- maybe not since Parcells was the HC. And of course there is a good amount of youth on the team, so it looks like a good balance, and possibly a high ceiling if things break right along the way.
I got mauled by that storm, or A storm, too, coming in from upstate. I'm glad to ehar about the OL, it's an area that interests me. Really loved the bit about Bender. That will give me something to look at if I ever see him out there. And Callahan, very intriguing. I have to say, I was pretty leery about that hire. I have NEVER been impressed with him. But I like that his unit looks disciplined and repped to death, I think those things are key. What kind of blocking were they doing, if it was obvious: zone or man? And were they doing individual drills or group drills? What kind of drills? And overeall, you';d say he has their attention, even old vet Faneca? I don't know if anyone else cares about this shit or if you noticed, but I'd love to hear more about the OL in general. Well, wonderful report, for me it's the best part about this site
sucks that its a circus out there these days. that will probably keep me from going to tc this year, i dont care for the big crowds of "new" people i also find it funny that even the red practice jerseys have the nfl logo on them. these guys are gonna have to have an nfl insignia stiched into their jock straps so if they get their shorts pulled down people can see it.
Thanks. They said it was really bad in Rockland before it hit LI. I'll try to give a longer answer later, but the short answer is a lot of zone blocking stuff, drilling them as a unit, moving in tandem. Many times they'd line up with six or seven OL at a time to give everyone increased reps. They were moving well as a unit. i think callahan has found his niche here with the OL. He didnt fare well as HC at NU, did alright at Oakland but ran into power/personality problems, but I think he'll do fine here in this role.
"It was so crowded I had to park WAY, WAY in the back of the campus- so far back, I was able to see the window of Pete kendall's old dorm room." Man ya went and made me spit beer all over my screen. Funny line man. Great report. Don't worry about what the pro's are doing. Your reports are the best on the net. Thanks
Is Clowney back practicing yet? Last I remember hearing was he went down with an undisclosed injury a day or two ago.
I had to park beyond the buses yesterday when I went. I was a half hr late, but it was a madhouse. I want to go back later next week and do a report, see if i can do it nearly as good as JC. I just need to get there early and get a seat. Got Rhodes' autograph, it was kind of stroke of luck. I'm not big on autographs, but there was a open spot on the fence and I walked up to it, 2 mins later Rhodes signs my jersey, and gives me a pound (modern handshake). Good times.
