http://www.newyorkjets.com/blog/posts/snapshots-from-mini-camp-day-2 05/13 ? ● Darrelle Revis worked left corner during the media availability at the morning practice, but he said he played both sides under Dave Wannstedt at Pitt, has played both in this minicamp, and will wind up wherever he's told. "Coach Mangini's smart enough," Revis said. "I'll play wherever he wants me to play to help the team." ● This is a non-contact camp, but accidents do happen, such as when DB tryout Justin Rainey of Middle Tennessee State dropped tryout RB Pierre Rembert from Illinois State on 1-on-1 return/tackling drills overseen by coach Mike Westhoff. ● Revis and Chansi Stuckey actually fielded live punting from tryout punter Jeremy Kapinos of Penn State. No returns, just fielding. Revis brought in a few over his head like a center fielder reeling in a lazy fly ball. Stuckey put two punts on the ground. ● From a distance, Ole Miss OL Andrew Wicker, with long blond hair and beard, looks a lot like Nick Mangold. ● Free agent S Leonard Peters' position coach at Hawaii was Rich Miano. Sound familiar? Miano, a safety out of Hawaii, was a Jets sixth-round pick in 1985. ● There's extra spring in Jerome Henderson's already springy step. He is an NFL assistant coach in his first practices, working with new secondary coach Mike MacIntyre and the Jets' rookie DBs. Henderson, the Jets' assistant secondary coach, remains the director of player development. ● Three first-year players who were around last season, tackle Ed Blanton, TE Joe Kowalewski and DE Darrell Adams, were asked to come in and work with the rookies. Rush to judgment Another writer for a national media outlet has offered a misinformed critique of the Jets. This time Bucky Brooks, the former NFL wideout who became a pro scout, makes this statement about the Green & White in his most recent Scout's View piece on si.com: "By not addressing OLB or DE in the draft or free agency, the team is gambling that [Bryan] Thomas can duplicate that production [of 8.5 sacks last season]. The odds are against him, considering he only had 6.5 sacks in his four seasons prior to 2006." Brooks may have an issue with moves the Jets have made, but to state they didn't address either position in free agency is flat-out wrong. Let's put Andre Wadsworth and Michael Haynes aside, since they've been out of football. What about Kenyon Coleman at DE and David Bowens at OLB? And why would a scout automatically assume the odds are against a player producing 8.5 sacks again? Brooks may not like BT as a player, but it's also reasonable to conclude that Thomas is coming off his best season as a pro not because he got lucky but because he matured, got better and took to the 3-4. Brooks also states that "the Jets defense needs to improve its ability to get after the quarterback." Again, maybe so, but anyone who watched the Jets knew their defense picked up the pace in the second half of last season. In fact, their 22 sacks over the last eight games was sixth in the NFL among teams in Games 9-16.
The thing about Revis returning punts is: If he turns into the CB, the CS believes he can be...he wont be returning punts for long...
Deion Sanders returned punts for most of his career despite being a premier CB. Aaron Glenn returned kickoffs for the first 6 seasons of his career despite being a pro bowl CB. I'm guessing that Mangini is smart enough to make sure that all of his players do all of the things they're capable of to help the Jets win. For Revis that would probably mean returning punts as well as playing in the defensive backfield. A certain ex-GM of the Jets who shall remain nameless reveled in having people like Santana Moss not return punts once they had become starters. That's one of the reasons he's an ex-GM.
Lange is absiolutely right, that reporter's logic is flawed. Thomas had a good season, the Jets locked up him with a new contract, so they messed up by not drafting another OLB? Hell, while we're at it, why didn't we draft another WR early? I mean, Cotchery had a pretty good year too...
I was thinking the same thing also, in this day & age you dont wanna risk a pointless injury. Wait didnt santana moss return punts for us in the Steelers playoff game.... Didnt He actually score, or am I tripping ?
no, your correct tight, he did score the only other score for TD if I remember was Reggie "one play" Tongue on a 80 yard INT return
I might have been offbase there. It was a big issue after 2003 in the media that the Jets were thinking of having Moss just play as a receiver. Now that I think about it I think it was Herm's idea and it never got off the ground, for the simple reason that the Jets had nobody else to return punts after McCareins kept putting them on the ground in camp.
If Revis is all we hope he is, then he will have no problem simultaneously returning and starting at cornerback once he makes the transition from college speed. If he is easily injured or lacks heart, or just simply doesn't pick it up well enough, he'll end up being Justin Miller's buddy on STs anyway.
I don't think we have to worry about a lack of heart. The Jets are drafting guys who love to play the game especially guys on the first day of the draft.
Justin has some questionable hands for Punt Returns. If Revis continues to show that he can comfortably bring the punt in not be such a risk as Miller, I have no problem with him being our PR. I wish Miller could do it, since his Special Teams ability is phenomenal, but in the Punt Return game its all about securing the ball first and foremost.
Miller looked very comfortable fielding punts in the Pro Bowl last year... I know his rookie year he struggled, but that may have been simply because he was a rookie. If he is never going to be a starting CB (which it doesn't look like he will be) we may as well utilize him as often as possible on STs...
In the then staff's defense, they ruined Santana as a returner when they tried to overcoach him. Look at him at Miami/early in his Jet career vs later on and it's two different players out there. The staff knew the injury risk so they told him that if the situation looked at all shaky, back off; and from that moment on he lost his edge, what made him great at returning. I'm afraid that the same would happen to Revis, if he starts as a rookie no doubt Mangini tells him to be careful returning, and a careful returner is a poor one in most cases. Deion's case was different because I don't think he ever listened to his coaches anyway, plus despite all the criticisms for his lack of physicality at CB, he never lost his nerve as a returner. Same for Darrell Green.
