June 2, 2008 Random thoughts and observations ... Some RTOs (random thoughts and observations) on the OTAs: ? Kellen Clemens has looked sharper than Chad Pennington over the first nine practices, but the news value of that development is akin to dog-bites-man. Clemens is supposed to look better because he has a stronger arm, and because these non-contact drills amount to little more than throwing contests. Let?s start the grading in August, when the real football begins. ? Pennington never will admit it publicly, but that high-ankle sprain last season was a bigger factor than people thought at the time. That should provide some hope to the Pennington Fan Club. ? I must say, Thomas Jones has displayed some nice giddy-up. A little competition (see Jesse Chatman and Musa Smith) never hurts, right? Remember, Jones? best year in Chicago occurred the year they drafted Cedric Benson. ? I applaud Bryan Thomas for being brutally honest about ?slacking off? last season. I bet other players feel the same way, but don?t have the guts to admit it. I?m sure this wasn?t a revelation to the coaching staff. But if I?m owner Woody Johnson, I?d want to have a nice sit-down with Mr. Thomas, whose slacking occurred shortly after he pocketed a $9 million signing bonus. ? Third-year S Eric Smith is Mr. May: Looks great on OTA, fades (or gets hurt) in training camp. He has been working with the starters, meaning they?re practically begging him to win the starting job opposite Kerry Rhodes. ? Ben Graham vs. Jeremy Kapinos isn?t exactly Clemens vs. Pennington, but it should be a hotly contested battle throughout the summer. Early leader: Kapinos. ? If I?m the Jets, I?m in the market for a veteran receiver. Unfortunately, there?s not much out there. The biggest names among the UFAs are Troy Brown and Eric Moulds. Slim pickings. ? You can tell by watching Alan Faneca interact with the other offensive linemen that he already has emerged as a leader. ? I have to laugh whenever Eric Mangini says he?s planning to call or text disgruntled TE Chris Baker. Eric, he doesn?t want to exchange pleasantries; he wants to exchange contract offers, which apparently isn?t going to happen. Look, I realize this isn?t a major story (it?s not like Jeremy Shockey staying away from camp), but why not just give Baker a good-faith raise? They took care of a 30-year-old receiver (Laveranues Coles), so why not a 28-year-old tight end who always has been a good soldier? ? Massive NT Kris Jenkins is giving off an ?I?m-hungry? kind of vibe, and I?m not referring to his eating habits. I think he?s really motivated to bounce back and have a strong year after a lackluster end to his run in Carolina. ? Gee, I really miss Dewayne Robertson?s bright and bubbly personality. Ha! ? I?m not sure how the QB competition will play out (I go back and forth), but I know one thing: It won?t get ugly between Pennington and Clemens. Unless they?re the greatest actors around, they seem to be pretty good friends. In between drills, I spied them exchanging a hand slap as they ran past each other. ? Some unheralded players that have stood out: WR David Clowney, LB Marques Murrell, WR Chansi Stuckey, C/G Robert Turner, S Nate Lyles and RB Jehuu Caulcrick. ? My U-12 travel baseball team, the Long Island Mariners, suffered two significant injuries over the weekend. Sorry, I?m not at liberty to disclose the nature of the injuries or the prognosis. They?re both working hard to get back as quickly as they can. The doctors and trainers have set up plans to help them. We?ll monitor them closely. (How?s my Mangini-speak?) *** Since we?re between OTAs and the mandatory minicamp (Thursday to Saturday), this is a good time for a ?mailbag.? Please send along questions and I?ll have a mega-post before Thursday, answering as many as I can. By Rich Cimini on June 2, 2008 2:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (20)
His style almost makes it seem like he's rubbing it in that he gets paid to do what we do here on TGG.com on a regular basis for free.
I enjoyed this and the writing style didn't concern me for the type of article this was - but I wish he would have trusted his readers to have got the joke about the Mangini-speak without spelling it out for us.
Let's just give Baker whatever he wants- based soley on the fact that we've taken care of other players before the expiration of their contract.
Nope. Chad is supposed to look better because he's the more accurate QB. If his arm strength has declined to the point that his completions aren't making a positive impression then the Jets really need to consider cutting him and bringing in some real competition for Clemens in camp. ...Who if this is the case now only have to defend their man's durability, yet again, instead of defending his play ability and durability. This is kind of like a pyrrhic plus for the fan club. Nothing like admitting you've only ever been good in your contract year. Maybe Thomas and Pace can compare notes in training camp. Is Erik Coleman really gone? There's always a trade of a 4th round pick in the 2009 draft for some guy we'll cut in a year. That seems to be the MO recently. Even bad teams make good moves now and then. If Faneca's signing means D'Brick works out and Mangold decides to stick around when his rookie deal is up then the signing is golden even if the Jets only win 6 games this season. Stop making sense. The right tactic here is to ratchet up the stakes higher and higher until it becomes a fold or cut situation in camp. It'd be nice to think the Jets are planning to trade him if they get backed into a corner however I doubt they are thinking that far ahead. This kind of brinksmanship may work for Super Bowl teams but it doesn't work for teams like the Jets. If Faneca and Jenkins both have topflight seasons the Jets might even win 8 or 9 games. That would be a coup. As the handslap occurred both were thinking "Thank god they didn't bring in a real QB to compete with me!" Clemens was probably also thinking "If I slap his hand just hard enough his arm might fall off." I'l lay odds on Clowney being the only one that has a real shot at making the roster. Stuckey will break his foot for the thrid year in a row during camp.
Give me a break with that notion of giving Baker a good faith raise????? Doesnt Cimini know that once you do that, then the entire dam breaks & here comes the floodwater of requests for extra cash from those not thrilled about their signed contracts????? Cant we find a decent safety in the draft or FA?? I hope the FO has their eyes wide open for a veteran safety after these June cuts because Eric Smith is just not the answer. Hopefully, as the PATS found Rodney Harrison, the JETS will find someone in the early summer.
Every JET fan has dual membership in the Pennington Fan club. The guy is loyal & a class act. He is to be admired for his intense focus on the team itself & the ultimate goal of winning games. His desire + effort is not to be questioned. It just seems like 2 shoulder surgeries on the throwing arm would have caught up to anyone.
You weren't the sunny kid in school, were you? I hope you're not negative about everything in your life like you are about football.
I don't mind reading articles that break down the points the way Cimini does here. A little theatrical in spots though.. like the DeWayne Robertson comment. Keep it more on football, which is why we're reading it in the first place, and less on nonsense like Robertson's off-field personality. I agree with Bradway's evaluation of the Pennington-Clemens competition. Pennington is the one who should be looking sharper. "Throwing" competition aside (I do see Cimini's point on this), Penny is the veteran whose timing and accuracy should be blowing Clemens away right now. And I say this because Penny has always looked good in practice. For him to not look as good as Clemens this early in practice either tells me Pennington is rusty as hell or Clemens has really stepped up and all this "accuracy" bullshit that he was supposedly working on in the offseason has paid off somewhat. I disagree with Bradway on Stuckey though. No one can predict that Stuckey will break anything and I see him and Clowney both making the team. Stuckey had an excellent camp last summer, so I just hope he stays healthy this year because he and Clemens had some good chemistry going into August.
Too bad about Stuckey Hope he stays healthy. He was a warrior at Clemson and if he can stay healthy he can make an impact at this level.
What could you possibly hold against Pennington?? We're not talking d--k sucking admiration here. Granted, its frustrating that he is injury prone, but he's certainly not a quitter. Guys is a loyal consumate team player. He should be given all the credit & appreciation for that.
I don't think Stuckey was as hurt last year as it may seem. I think they just shut him down as a precaution because he wasn't 100% healed. I don't think he reinjured the foot.
