Barlow got only one rep in 11 on 11's, and it was with the first team. Just a simple handoff and run up the middle. They were in shells, so it wasn't full contact. Blaylock continues to get most of the snaps with the 1's, with Washington and Houston sprinkled in. At the beginning of practice Mangini was one on one with Barlow doing pretty vanilla basic running plays, taking handoffs. In this drill, Barlow got every other rep, with Mangini tutoring him after every play. This drill ran about 20 minutes, and Mangini never left Barlow's side. Later, they had some execution drills that included QB's, RB's and WR's, while the linemen played tackle dummies. Barlow looked pretty good, his hands look a little better than I expected. Made all his catches, had some decent speed turning up field after the catch. I seriously doubt Barlow will play Friday night, but might get a little garbage time late with some basic running plays. Pennington's arm is fine. WR's: Cotchery is still running with the 1's over McCariens, and Dwight wasn't on the field, so McCariens later got the 3rd WR snaps in 11 on 11's. Brad Smith is getting a lot of time with the 1's, and is going to be a fairly significant part of the offense, albiet in spot duty, but the big play/trick play potential is there. This was the first solid practice (out of the 7 I've seen) where McCariens had a good one. He was running with the 2's, but beat Strait down the sidelines, and Pennington made a nice 40-45 yard throw. Last week, I saw McCariens give up on a ball that was about as catchable. Maybe he has gotten the wake up call. In any case, I'm starting to wonder if McCariens has a depth perception vision problem. On this play, he made one step that looked like he had given up on the ball just before it arrived. Maybe he did that to keep Strait away from the ball, but that one step almost caused this to be an "overthrow". He had to fully extend, but made the catch, and took it 80 yards to the house. He otherwise looked very good for the entire practice. If he had given up on this one, the way he did last week.... I really think they would have cut him. That grab may have been the most important in McCariens Jet career. Pennington's arm is fine. Leon Washington is explosive. had a nice 70 yard run and got tackled inside the five by Smith who had an angle. He is the KO returner at this point, over Justin Miller. Dwight wasnt out there, but unless he's hurt, he's the starting slot WR and the punt return man. Pennington's arm is fine. On defense, Coleman and E Smith shared snaps with the 1's at SS. Miller was with the 2's, and has for now lost his starting CB job to Barrett, with Dyson entrenched at the other spot, snagging a couple of INT's today including one that would have been good for a 90 yard TD. Dyson might be a nice slepper at CB. Bryan Thomas has won the starting WOLB/rush specialist job over Trevor Johnson. Chatham and Hobson continue to battle it out sharing snaps with the 1's. Oh, did I mention pennington's arm is fine?
I was interested to see who went to the "how did Chad look?" joke in their reply, I'm surprised that you BOTH used it.
Thanks for another nice report t-bird. You rock. Any changes in the offensive or defensive lines? How's our 350lb NT looking?
So do I understand you correctly that Penny's arm looks okay? (I guess it isn't nearly as amuzing when 2 people already made the joke.) Seriously though, thanks for the report. Now here's a question for you. You've been attending camp, and paying very close attention all TC so far. How do you feel about this team? I am not asking for a finishing record, since it could fluctuate any which way. All I am really concerned with is watching an interesting and dynamic team play this year. Do you think we have that to look forward to?
That's good news. One of the most disgusting aspects of last season (and there were alot to choose from) was J-Mac's tendency to give up on manageable plays. I still don't like him because of that, but if he can show he's turned a corner and is ready to give it his all, then maybe there's still time for him to redeem himself.
First... I should have mentioned that Clement has won the RT spot. Maybe he can rebound into the O lineman he was five years ago. He certainly didn't play well at SF. When they are in shells, it's really not possible to say how any linemen looked, on O or D. Even when they are in pads, it's very difficult to see interior line play. Our best look actually comes in the preseason games. Now, Alio.... man, tough one. On defense, I see two problem areas, and they are related. Robertson and Vilma. First, robertson isn't ever going to command double teams, and Vilma will continue to get lost in traffic, negating all or most of his strengths, speed and ability to make early reads, primarilly. I know this sounds nuts, but... I'd like to see Vilma taken out of this "traditional" ILB role on the 3-4, and move him around. Think about how the Giants used LT. He could line up anywhere, and do just about anything. I'm not saying Vilma is another LT, but he has the tools to be a dominant playmaker, and that ability is being very diluted in his present role. Other than that, this defense looks pretty good to me. With Miller's recent struggles, a bit weak at CB, but a better than average NFL defense, I think, with really good depth at the safety spots and at LB. The DE's look good, and are a bit light on depth, but Trevor Johnson can fill in... after that, it's light. The offense is the big question. The O line should be average to good. We're still shy at TE, and unless Brad Smith can do it, Leon Washington may be the only big play guy on this team. Can Barlow keep his head out of his ass and his foot out of his mouth long enough to be a good stop gap RB? Penniington remains one hit away, and will be on hit away from going down all season. Clemens is NOT ready, but he has the tools. Ramsey scares the crap out of me. Other than Coles, I think the players are behind Mangini (Coles was screaming about having a play called back on a penalty today, and Mangini ignored him). In TC, they DO try to hit some home runs.... I want to see some of that this Friday against the Giants, and their pass rush. Shotty's dink and dunk may be efficient, and consumes clock, but if the deep threat isn't there, teams will learn to shut the Jets O down. Where have we heard THAT before? We have at least seen some creativity from this new OC, but trick plays aren't enough. Pennigton's pass to McCareins was a thing of beauty today. PERFECT throw. Perfect. Not too much air, some zip, and right where it had to be. 40 to 45 yards in the air. I had been thinking 5 or 6 wins. It's a stretch, but I don't think 8 wins is impossible anymore. This defense will keep us in games. Mangini uses the SS up in the box a lot, and that should help the up the middle run D, but puts more pressure on the corners and Rhodes. Can the O get it done?
Oh, did I mention pennington's arm is fine?hmy: :breakdance: :lol: __________________ it's a non-contact drill. you could throw a ball that far with no pressure. and rainbows are not passes. there's a huge difference between lobbing a rainbow hope'in the wr will run under it and passing the ball on a rope to a guy whose 'covered'. don't kid yourself, the egg can't pass over 10 yards.:shit: :rofl:
T-Bird, I have also been grudgingly considering how Vilma would do outside, after watching both preseason games, it is startlingly obvious that without a double-team-worthy NT, Vilma does not stand a prayer in the middle. His pursuit speed and nose for the ball are fascinating, and I think he might do well if he can get used to rushing from down on his knuckles occasionally. But to do such a thing would waste a lot of the values that make him solid player in the middle in a 4-3.
This bothers me more and more the closer we get to the start of the regular season without a solution. This FO really seems to have their isht together with very detailed organization and planning for everything. So why can we as fans see this major issue with the defense, and the CS hasn't addressed it? Surely they know it exists ... do they have a plan other than hope Robertson can do it? I really hope they're holding something back here, but the closer we get the more it seems like their is no plan.
T why is this your last TC report?? Anyway, thank you so much for the reports. They absolutely rocked!
All they can really do is just hope Robertson can handle it. What other solution is there? I think Oelhoffen played NT before, but not anytime recently. Ellis failed his inside role earlier in his career. That guy with the really long name probably isn't any good. Pouha is injured. So, unless the Jets go out and sign a big body, they're stuck with D-Rob. Not much else they can do. Maybe they'll be playing more 4-3 than we think.
I believe this is the inevitable. Maybe they will be disguising the front a little - but playing the 3-4 for more than 40% of the time is asking for trouble IMO.
LB's are the most crucial players in the 3-4 and we're planning on going into the season knowing our best LB is going to be neutralized for a good portion of the game? I'm sorry but that seems stupid. Anything is a better plan than that. I can't really suggest anything other than what you've already said. edit: Please don't give me the whole rebuilding year run-down. I'm well aware of all that. It's just that this team is really starting to give me some hope and they seem to have taken care of most of the major holes. At least try something to fix this one.
Great breakdown TBird. I have to say, Vilma is my biggest question mark. I'm all for going with the 3-4 if Mangini feels it is the way to win, but you are spot on, the way the situation is panning out, his greatest strengths are being taken away from him. I think your comparison to LT is very good. Why not have Vilma be an all-over kind of guy? Hell, that's really what he was in the 4-3 last year. Let him roam. He has shown he has the smarts to get into position, and he has also shown the athlecticism to finish off the plays. I'm really not comfortable with DRob. He was going to have trouble in the 3-4 to begin with, with this whole knee thing showing itself, it's going to be hard to stop OLines from pushing around our guys. If we don't have a NT who can hold up a double-team, or at least command one, that does not bode well. That Penny pass sounds very interesting. At least 40 yards without too much glide is very important. He wouldn't even need to throw it often. Once a game would be enough for teams to have to respect it. Most people know I have been saying a 4 win season this year. I am actually starting to buy into the hype that we can win a few more though. I still think 8 is pushing it, but 6-7 might be in the realm of possiblity. Like I said, I'm not so interested in wins this year. Of course, I would love to shock the world and win 12, and go on to take the Super Bowl, but realistically, I will be content to lose most of the games, as long as 1) they are interesting to watch, and 2) they show improvement every week. I don't like hearing that about Coles though. We need him to be a playmaker for us, not just now, but in the next couple years as well.
First of all, I'd prefer more 4-3 and less 3-4 myself, but I can see why Mangini would favor 3-4. While Vilma may not be as effective (he's been getting manhandled during preseason games), players like Bryan Thomas and Eric Barton have been excelling. BT looks as if he's primed to revive his career while Barton is proving to be a force disrupting pass plays and devouring RBs.
