Training camp reports 27/7

And Away We Go!

By Tom Rock

On this first day of training camp, the Jets are enduring a two-a-day ? as in two headaches. Pete Kendall dropped another demand to be released and made it crystal clear he is unhappy to be at camp through both his words and his actions in practice (he was at the end of most lines during agility and skill drills and distanced himself from the pack of players during reps). Meanwhile, first-round draft pick Darrelle Revis was a no-show as the Jets were unable to ink one of their draft choices for the first time since 1997.

It?s not exactly the Strife of Strahan, but in the otherwise quiet world of the Jets this is what passes for controversy. Curtis Martin is gone for one day and the whole franchise goes up in smoke!

Of course neither situation is more than a passing distraction. Kendall will in all likelihood be released ? probably as soon as every other team in the NFL has stocked up on o-linemen ? and Revis will be here eventually. Mangini made a joke about kids liking to go to camp and this is camp for grown-ups minus the ghost stories. Just don?t expect all of the Jets to join in on the campfire songs each night.

The first practice went well in that no one was seriously injured. Otherwise, it was a pretty sloppy affair with bungled handoffs, botched snaps, dropped passes and lost breakfasts (yes, Leon Washington heaved up his Fruit Loops after running a penalty lap, but at least he had the decency to do it off to the side of the field and not at the hashmarks where the players were working).

A few notes: Tim Dwight and Matt Chatham, both placed on the PUP list with foot injuries, did not dress but were on the field for the morning workout. At one point Dwight looked very much like a coach with a rolled up sheet of paper in his hand giving instructions to Brad Smith and Wallace Wright during special teams work.

WR Jesse Pellot-Rosa, the basketball star from VCU who was signed by the Jets after a tryout, was dressed in full uniform but unable to participate with what looked like a cast on his left hand. Maybe he injured it while dunking. Or he took a hard foul in a pickup game. It can?t be comfortable for a player who really needs to prove his worth to be locked down on the sideline. The sooner Pellot-Rosa gets on the field, the sooner the Jets can make a fair assessment on him.

Interesting that the first real pass of training camp with the full offense was from Chad Pennington to ? Justin McCareins. If you?d have asked anyone at the end of last season (including probably McCareins) if they thought he?d still be here at the start of training camp, they would have laughed. Now he seems poised to be a big contributor. He even passed the running test yesterday!

Shaun Ellis jumped around like a rookie after he playfully stripped the ball from Thomas Jones in one drill. The big guy looks quicker and leaner. Some folks told me he usually shows up to camp with a little paunch around the middle. I?m not sure if that?s been his past M.O., but it?s certainly not the case this year.

When the Jets went starting offense against starting defense, it was Ellis, Dewayne Robertson and Kimo von Oelhoffen up front, Bryan Thomas, Jon Vilma, Eric Barton and Victor Hobson at linebacker, Andre Dyson and David Barrett at corner and Kerry Rhodes and Eric Coleman at safety. Basically the same as last year. Hank Poteat had the only interception of the morning, picking a pass from Kellen Clemens.

Brad Smith switched to a red jersey mid-practice and started taking snaps with the QBs. Mangini said later that Smith is now considered to be a QB who can play some WR, as opposed to last year when he was a WR who could play some QB (and even started one game at tailback if you recall). Mangini said Smith is in the mix for the backup and third-string QB positions. It?ll be interesting to watch how that plays during camp.

WR Laveranues Coles dropped a deep pass from Chad Pennington. TE Chris Baker made a nice grab along the sideline at the end of practice.

And Mangini said that RB Cedric Houston will likely not return to the team, or to football. He said he was moving on with his life after two NFL seasons in which he showed occasional glimpses of adequacy for the Jets but always struggled with badly-timed injuries and never found his niche. He probably wouldn?t have been much of a factor on this team this year with Thomas Jones and Leon Washington taking the bulk of the snaps, but he seemed like a good guy. Good luck, Cedric.

Oh, and Happy Birthday to my wife Amanda. Sorry camp had to start on your birthday. Next year I'll try to plan it a little better!

 

The Evening News

By Tom Rock

Three blogs in one day. I guess I?m feeling ambitious for the opening of camp. Anyway, just a few observations from the evening practice:

For what might be the first time in his tenure, Jets coach Eric Mangini was NOT wearing that black pullover but instead opted for a simple white T-shirt. The coach has slimmed down quite a bit during the offseason, allowing him to pull off his new couture.

Kellen Clemens has looked shaky so far, even on his shining moment when he threw a pass over the middle to Chansi Stuckey for a big gain. It seemed to me that Erik Coleman should have made the interception on the play. Shoulda coulda.

The rookie RBs took a beating in more ways than one. First Danny Ware fumbled on a carry up the middle and moments later he dropped a pass. Then Alvin Banks suffered a flattening hit from Bobby Hamilton on a carry.

The Jets signed RB Tony Fisher (and gave him Cedric Houston?s old No. 32 jersey) as well as LB Mark Zalewski who was with the Jets for three days as an undrafted free agent in May following the rookie camp. Maybe this time he?ll stick around a little longer.

The Jets media guide came out today and it looks good. It?s also on time. Nice job by the staff to put it together. I?m sure it was much easier to do it this year since there were actually pictures of the coaching staff wearing Jets clothing. Last year the staff was probably scrounging for pictures of Mangini without that silver-headed logo on his shirt.

And as of 8 p.m., no update on Revis. Buckle yourself in, this could be a long one.

That?s all for tonight. Back out here tomorrow.

 

Late Practice: Pop Goes the Defense
Published: Fri, July 27, 8:19pm EST
By Randy Lange

07/27 ? The Jets got a little bit of relief for their second practice of their first day of training camp. The weather cooled off, with a South Shore breeze picking up and some storm clouds moving in. And head coach Eric Mangini had his players in shells rather than full pads.

Mangini sported a different look. Instead of his usual black practice shirt, which he had on in the morning, he wore a white top.

The hit of the first day was DE Bobby Hamilton's forceful pop of RB Alvin Banks on an edge run. Banks was running low to begin with and Hamilton's forearm laid him lower, just for a second, and brought a gasp from the smaller evening crowd. (Total attendance for both practices: a very nice 3,000.)

Safety Raymond Ventrone also put a nice lick on TE Jason Pociask to break up an out-route from Marques Tuiasosopo.

And add safety Eric Smith to the big-play list. Chad Pennington tried to get a deep ball to Laveranues Coles past three defenders. But the pass was underthrown and Smith made the leap, backward fall and interception, a la his first career pick at Cleveland as a rookie.

Several prominent defensive players ran penalty laps: Erik Coleman after a clear pass interference, fellow safety Kerry Rhodes and LB Victor Hobson.

Coleman did recover a fumble by RB Danny Ware on one series, and on the next series Ware had clear sailing ahead on a 5-yard slant from "Tui" ? but Ware dropped the pass.

Wallace Wright, listed as a WR although his specialty is certainly special teams, dropped a hard but catchable short slant from Kellen Clemens.

Tim Dwight, on the PUP list for the start of camp, is tutoring the punt returners. That didn't help Justin Miller, who let a Ben Graham fly ball go through his breadbasket. Miller also took a lap.

Among the notables at the late workout: Dan Radakovich, the Jets' O-line coach from 1985-88, guard Ted Banker, who played under "Bad Rad," and Jets owner Woody Johnson, who wasn't visible at the morning practice.

 

Running commentary: Jets sign Fisher

With Curtis Martin off to greener ($$$$) pastures, and with Cedric Houston off to who knows where, the Jets addressed some running-back concerns by signing a veteran. No, not Lee Suggs (oops, sore subject). They signed veteran free agent Tony Fisher, who has played with the Rams and Packers. His career numbers are pretty similar to those of Houston: 889 rushing yards and four touchdowns. He's not a bad receiver, with 139 catches in five seasons.

Fisher wasn't on the field for this evening's practice, but he should be out there for tomorrow's only session, which begins at 2 p.m. Speaking of backs, Leon Washington, he of the vomiting episode in the morning practice, sat out this season, presumably with some sort of stomach issue. Trust me, his "reversal of fortune" (a hot-dog eating term) was hard to watch.

Here are a couple of notes from tonight's session: S Eric Smith made a diving interception on a deep ball by Chad Pennington that hung up too long ? FB Stacy Tutt was a lot of plays in the passing game. Keep an eye on him ? Old DE Bobby Hamilton still plays with a ton of passion. He drilled rookie RB Alvin Banks with a head-turning hit ? WR Wallace Wright had two drops ? Justin Miller struggled while catching punts. This could be an issue, with WR/PR Tim Dwight (foot) on the physically-unable-to-perform list. No. 1 pick Darrelle Revis could win the punt-returning job _ that's what they're hoping _ but, as you know, he's still unsigned.

After a morning practice in full pads, Eric Mangini went easy in the evening session, as they worked in "shells" (helmets and shoulder pads). Is Mangini going soft in year two? Doubt it ? Funny moment near the end of practice. Spotting Pete Kendall alone on the sideline, away from his teammates, a fan yelled, "We still love you, Pete!" The disgruntled guard, who wants out in the worst way, smiled. It might have been his only smile all day.