The Athletic: Aaron Glenn just conducted the most physical Jets practice in years.

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/65...enn-jets-first-padded-training-camp-practice/

Aaron Glenn just conducted the most physical Jets practice in years. Here’s how — and why

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The night before the first padded practice — an Aaron Glenn padded practice to be precise — feels like the night before a game. It did for Braelon Allen, at least, a big-bodied running back built for drawing contact, with a propensity for trying to run through defenders. He wasn’t able to do that in training camp before Monday, and didn’t do it at all as a rookie in last year’s camp. The Jets haven’t practiced tackling to the ground for years at this point — most NFL teams haven’t, not since the league made a concerted effort to protect player health. Maybe that leaned too far in the direction of caution.

Monday morning, defensive back Kris Boyd noticed everyone was a little quieter, staring at their lockers, focused as they put on pads for the first time this summer. “The butterflies come in,” Boyd said, “until you get on the field.”

In most camps, teams practice “thud” tackling, which isn’t really tackling — it’s contact above the waist without tackling to the ground. Glenn made a promise in the spring: We won’t tackle every day, but we will tackle.

“He was telling us — we’ll thud but we’re going to have those live days, so when I say tackle, it’s tackle,” Boyd said.

The result: Monday was the most physical practice the Jets have had in years, likely since the Rex Ryan era. Glenn will not run away from contact for fear of injuries — and the team got out of Monday’s practice mostly unscathed, save an injury to undrafted offensive lineman Gus Hartwig late in practice.

“I think injuries are a part of this game and there is no way to hide from it,” Glenn said. “Usually, when you try to hide from it, that’s when they pop up. The principles of this game will never change. This game is about running, blocking, and tackling, and if you don’t practice that, me as a head coach, how am I giving our guys a chance to win?”

Allen said it was probably the first time he’s participated in a practice with tackling to the ground since his youth football days. Wide receivers Tyler Johnson and Xavier Gipson think they hadn’t done it since high school or college. Veteran defensive tackle Byron Cowart said he had to insist the offensive linemen hit him harder.

“I was looking for it, especially being an older guy. I’m telling (Armand) Membou and them: Hit me in the hip. Don’t worry about me. Let it go,” Cowart said. “I was excited to get in pads and just to establish the physicality.”

Here are some observations from the Jets’ most physical practice of camp so far. And pads will be on again on Tuesday…

Justin Fields, full-go

Before we get into the physical part of practice, the biggest takeaway: Fields is almost fully back already. He participated in all of the competitive periods, including seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills, as well as individuals. Glenn said Fields was “limited the way we wanted him to be limited” though wouldn’t specify what that meant.

For his first day back since a toe injury scare last week, Fields looked solid, though he didn’t appear to be running as much as at the start of camp — probably by design as he eases his way back.
His first pass of the day was batted down at the line of scrimmage by Cowart, then he hit wide receiver Josh Reynolds on a rollout and found a wide-open tight end Mason Taylor down the seam for a 20-yard gain. He closed out his first run of 11-on-11 with a completion to Garrett Wilson.

In seven-on-seven drills, Fields hit Wilson in a one-on-one matchup with Brandon Stephens. It wasn’t a perfect pass — but it doesn’t have to be with Wilson, who reeled it in. Stephens, who has had a very positive camp so far, might’ve batted it away if he turned his head sooner.

In the final run of 11-on-11, Fields connected on a quick snap-and-pass to Wilson, on a smart dump-off to Allen with linebacker Quincy Williams blitzing, and then on a short pass to Hall — who was promptly drilled by Williams. In total, Fields completed 6-of-7 passes during 11-on-11.

“He made some good throws out there, and, again, when Justin gets on the field, we are going to let him be who he is, and there are some things that he did today that I was very pleased with,” Glenn said. “But there’s also some things he needs to get better at too, he knows that. He was out there with us, and every day, I look forward to him just maturing and getting better.”

 

Open-field tackling drill

The Jets did a version of a modified Oklahoma drill on Saturday designed around open-field tackling — one-on-one with a defender versus a ballcarrier — just without actual tackling. They rectified that on Monday, with full contact permitted.

Some highlights from the drill:

• Cornerback Sauce Gardner wrapped up wide receiver Garrett Wilson on the first attempt. Gardner seems to be making strides as a tackler, a big issue for him last year. Wilson later juked around safety Jaylin Simpson.

• Linebacker Quincy Williams had a big hit on running back Breece Hall that stopped Hall in his tracks.

• Linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball tackled wide receiver Malachi Corley by grabbing and throwing him to the ground. He also had a big hit on Xavier Gipson, here and in team drills. Linebacker Aaron Smith also had a big hit on Corley.

• Safety Malachi Moore perfectly wrapped up wide receiver Arian Smith before he could get anywhere.

• Wide receiver Tyler Johnson juked out defensive end Ja’Markis Weston.

• Wide receiver Allen Lazard surprisingly managed to get by cornerback Brandon Stephens.

• Tight end Mason Taylor barreled through safety Isaiah Oliver.

• Safety Jarius Monroe had multiple big hits to make stops — most impressively on Allen, a big running back built for that sort of drill. Safety Andre Cisco also had a nice stop against Allen.

• Two fumbles were forced: Safety Tanner McCalister against running back Isaiah Davis, and cornerback Qwan’Tez Stiggers against Arian Smith.
Glenn shouted out Monroe for his performance in this drill after practice.

“Man, you saw him today in the tackling drill making these open-field tackles,” Glenn said. “That’s what we are trying to do.”

O-Line versus D-Line

Another fun drill to watch that became infrequent in the latter days of Saleh’s tenure: defensive linemen going one on one with offensive linemen.
Defensive tackle Quinnen Williams was the star of this drill, which shouldn’t come as a surprise. He first bulldozed through guard Kohl Levao and then used an explosion to get up and around guard John Simpson for what would’ve been a quick pressure — there’s a reason most teams don’t let Williams attack them one-on-one.

Left tackle Olu Fashanu acquitted himself well against Micheal Clemons, who tried to bull rush him to no avail. Backup right tackle Chukwuma Okorafor also held up well, stifling defensive end Eric Watts. Some other standouts: Guard Xavier Newman won a very physical rep against Cowart, and center Josh Myers did the same against defensive end Rashad Weaver. Defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III had a nice win getting by Levao, while defensive tackle Derrick Nnadi successfully bull-rushed Hartwig.

Defensive end Will McDonald and rookie tackle Armand Membou have been battling throughout camp and McDonald got the better of the rookie on this rep — though Membou held his own in team drills, especially in the run game.
“There’s not a lot of guys with the agility and the speed that Will has that (Membou) is going to see in this league,” Glenn said on Saturday. “So, for him to get the chance to see that on a daily basis — now he knows that Will will (also) rush with power. So, now, between both of those guys, the chess match is going to be interesting to see as we move on.”

Two rookies standing out

A couple of rookies have been standing out recently, particularly in Monday’s practice. That starts with safety Malachi Moore, who is pushing Tony Adams for the starting spot next to Cisco. Moore should be considered the early favorite based on how he’s played — especially because of the way Glenn lit up when he was asked about Moore on Monday.

“He’s going to be a hell of a player in this league, and I’m not going to tell you who I compare him to, but he’s going to do some really good things for us,” Glenn said. “I’m not saying it’s going to be at a starting level, and it can be. He’s out there competing, and we’re seeing if he can get the job.”
Moore had a nice tackle in the one-on-one drill, then followed it up with a booming hit on Gipson for a loss during 11-on-11 drills, followed up by a pass breakup on a throw intended for Malachi Corley.

Another rookie that’s made some noise recently: undrafted defensive tackle Payton Page. He had some pressures in team drills on Saturday. In a two-on-two drill (defensive line versus offensive line) on Monday, Page had a couple of nice reps. There are spots to be won on the Jets defensive line.

Quick hits

• Glenn said it’s expected on the first day of hitting/pads for there to be some operational issues, and there were on Monday. Tight end Jeremy Ruckert was called for a false start at one point and was promptly taken out of the lineup for the next play.

• There is an early winner in the punting competition: The Jets cut Kai Kroger on Sunday, leaving Austin McNamara as the lone punter on the roster. McNamara had a good day on Monday, too, during punting drills.

• The kicking competition is less certain. Harrison Mevis has out-kicked Caden Davis the last couple of days, though. He went 3 for 3 on Monday while Davis went 2 for 3, missing from about 38 yards. Mevis went 7 for 7 on Saturday, including a couple from 50-plus. Davis went 6 for 7, missing one from 50. Preseason kicking in games will be the key evaluation point.

• Sticking with special teams: Both Gipson and Cisco had some trouble fielding punts on Monday. It appears to be that pair and undrafted rookie Jamaal Pritchett as the top competitors for the punt return job.

• McCrary-Ball had a big hit and tackle for loss on Isaiah Davis during team drills. McCary-Ball has made more plays than the other linebackers fighting for depth spots in camp.

• Rashad Weaver and Zaire Barnes combined for a sack of Tyrod Taylor.

 

Not at all my friend. Not at all. I love the intensity. We ran a Vacation Club style camps in previous years and look where that brought us. Hit the ground running in the camp. If somebody gets injured, next man up. Not concerned one bit.