Sports BlogBlogs Home News July 24, 2008 Camp notes: Time to end Favre-to-Jets rumors Day 1 of training camp is half over and here?s a quick summation of the news events: Vernon is on his way. Brett isn?t. Baker isn?t whining anymore. The quarterback competition isn?t much of a competition - so far. Let?s get to the news: ? The Jets have agreed in principle with Vernon Gholston, their top draft pick. No surprise there, as the two sides worked through the night in an effort to hammer out the deal. The NFL must approve the deal, but that should happen by the end of the day. The next practice doesn?t start until 5:45, so there?s a chance Gholston (No. 6 overall pick) could be on the field. ? I asked Eric Mangini if the team has any interest in Brett Favre. Predictably, he dodged the question (no doubt, because of tampering rules). But when I followed up with a generic QB question - Are you interested in adding any veteran quarterbacks to the roster? - his answer confirmed the Jets, as reported several times by the Daily News, have no interest in Favre. ?I?m really happy with the quarterbacks we have on our roster,? he said. Let that be an end to the Favre/Jets rumors. Frankly, I think they should pursue Favre, but the organization isn?t going there. ? Then again, maybe they?ll reconsider after today?s practice. Let?s be kind and say that neither quarterback, Chad Pennington or Kellen Clemens, shined in the morning practice. Pennington worked with the first team and threw a whole lot of incompletions. In 11-on-11 drills, he completed three of eight, his best throw a 15-yarder to Laveranues Coles on an ?out? route. At least he didn?t commit any turnovers. Clemens, on his first throw of camp, was picked off by LB Eric Barton. It hit him right in the chest. Later, Clemens went up to Barton on the sideline to discuss the play, trying to find out what went wrong for him. I asked Clemens about the play. He explained that the defense dropped eight into coverage, and that he tried to look off Barton. He threw to an area where Barton wasn?t supposed to be, but the cagey linebacker was there. Evidently, he read the play and/or Clemens. Clemens finished 1-for-4 in the 11-on-11 drills. All told, the performances of the two QBs resembled the weather - gloomy. But, hey, there?s always the afternoon session. ? Oh, one more thing. I have written a lot about the severity of Pennington?s ankle injury last season. Well, today, he revealed that he had two torn ligaments in his right ankle. ? Forget about Baker pulling a Pete Kendall. Baker, who ripped the organization in minicamp for reneging on a promise to renegotiate, has turned into a Stepford Jet. He has toned down the rhetoric, spit out the company line and vowed to be a good soldier. Huh? He said his agent is having discussions with the Jets and that he expects a peaceful resolution. I can?t imagine the Jets sweetening his contract (that would be a total cave), but they might be able to placate him by tweaking it in some fashion. As for his back injury, it?s not serious and Baker (on the PUP list) should be on the field in a day or two. ? Mangini wasn?t kidding when he said he?s shortening practices. The first practice was 1 hour, 55 minutes. A year ago, the average practice was 2:23. Needless to say, the players are loving the new Eric. By Rich Cimini on July 24, 2008 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)
Great. I hope Gholston's there at 5:45, it would be huge to have him in on the first day (not that it makes too much of a difference compared to coming in tomorrow). After Revis last season, I wasn't expecting this at all. Great news.
Cimni is a dolt. No way that confirms that the Jets have no interest in Farve. That's a Mangini answer for not answering your question.
