A Few Observations From Today?s TC

Just A Few Observations From Today?s TC

The team practiced on the grass field in shorts and shells. It was my first time at tc this summer, so I was a bit rusty at spotting things, and also was not really focused on writing a report as much as I was just out there relaxing on a nice day.

The team started out with some punting/coverage reps. Leon, Cotch and Chansi were fielding most of the punts. Graham was a little erratic- a few boomers, a few line drives that needed more height, one botched snap/catch but overall he was okay. The focus from the CS was on the downfield coverage. Of course it was a major difference not seeing Coach Westhoff out there, and Coach O?Dea has his own style: he seemed to focus more on the carrot than the stick.

They then split up, and I stayed with the group on the grass field, who were doing one on ones, WRs vs DBs. Coles has nothing to prove and just goes out there and does his thing to get through TC. He will be fine. Cotch looks good, and so does Stuckey. Wallace Wright showed some nice hands on a few catches. Brad smith did not do anything outstanding. Clowney had a nice catch and run later in the session. The guy who impressed me was David Ball. He showed some VERY good moves and nice hands. When I first saw him at the beginning of practice without his helmet on, he reminded me of the shoe salesman at Dick?s Sporting Goods in Roosevelt Field. Very unassuming, and does not look like a football player. If you saw him in the store, you?d just ask him ?Hey, do you have these New Balance in size 12?" But once he straps in on and gets to work on the field, he makes a definite impression.

Keller had a false start and took a lap along with Montgomery, but later in the day he also made a nice catch and run. Elam got beat on a one on one and was frustrated so he PUSHED the WR (I think it was Wright or Clowney) so hard after the catch was over, that the guy had to jump over the fence near the roadway to avoid crashing into it. Elam is just a reckless bonehead- STILL.

Most of the time today the offense practiced the short passing game, a/k/a dink and dunk. Apparently this is the patented offense the Jets have, as evidenced by today?s reps which showcased the 5-7 yard pass. Honestly, it got a little boring to watch. Ainge has, imo, good mechanics, good footwork, clean hands on handoffs, and a good arm. He?s tall, but not awkward. Ratliff looks much more at ease now than he did last year at this time. Clemens and Pennington also worked at perfecting the short passing game, but the defense held its own on many plays and forced checkdowns to the third and fourth options.

It is hard to gauge arm strength based on the type of plays I saw today- I did leave about 10 minutes before it ended, so it is possible they aired it out at the very end, but it didn?t look like that was going to happen. Some of the thread the needle passes were completed, and some weren?t. That?s how it goes. But Wright and Ball looked good today.

Gohlston looked slow and tentative and didn?t see too much PT. His arms are massive, though- on the other hand, I thought Chatham looked smaller than he has in the past. Jenkins is a beast. He physically occupies so much space in the middle of the line, it is easy to imagine he will be a force there. Montgomery and Woody also are BIG guys, and should be an improvement over what we had last year. D-Brick looks steadier than he did last year, and maybe slightly bigger- hard to tell.

Leon looks great, as he has in every TC I have watched since he became a Jet. They looked to have some success running wide with Jones and Leon. Having decent tackles and guards should make a big difference. I didn?t really notice faneca today. It was mostly about the short passing game, so I was watching the QBs and the WRs. Baker caught a nice pass from CP in the seam of the zone.

I thought the practice was a little ragged today, and there was a sense of relaxation, and no urgency or tenseness like there was during the first two camps. Of course last year the Kendall thing created tension for everyone, and that doesn?t exist this year. I think this CS is going to be a little over their heads again, and I didn?t see much that makes me think they are ready to create adjustments on the fly in games. Everyone was pretty laid back except for O?Dea during the punting drills.

Revis looks a little bigger and more solid than he was last year, and in the final one on one, he shut down Wright after the assitant coaches said he had 20 bucks on the play. (I didn?t hear who he bet on, but I think he said Wright- to motivate Revis).

It was fun going, but it was not an overly impressive session. But I am looking forward to seeing the team play Thursday night. See ya!

 

You're welcome.

i forgot to mention that Pace made a very nice play- he was the only guy on defense who smelled out the screen pass to Leon, and was able to penetrate and grab a handful of jersey in the backfield for a loss. otherwise, Leon might have had a big gain on the play.

The defense was sitting back in zone coverage and not rushing a lot of guys...so the QBs had time, but were unable to find many openings. i guess credit goes to the D for good coverage.

 

Today was a low-contact session, as were most of the practices last year.

I agree that there was a certain ferocity missing at times during the regular season, and imo it trickles down from having a laid-back, low-key DC.

On the positive side, there does seem to be a good camaradarie between and among the millionaires---err---players.

 

Thanks. i have plenty of opinions and some biases, some of which came through. I dont know if my post was completely bias free, but i do think it was koolaid free.

As far as i'm concerned, this CS has to prove themselves all over again after the debacle last season. And I am open to seeing that happen.

Looking back on the success of 2006, i think it was mostly due to CP staying healthy and having a Comeback Player of The Year type of season, and not so much due to the "brilliance" of the CS.

I think back to being at the Giants-Jets game last year, and remember how the Jets were totally outcoached in the second half. They must do a better job of making in-game adjustments and utilizing the talent they have, and stop blaming everyone else.