I just got back from TC...spent part of my vacation in LI and had a good a time. Met up w/ Bob(section 227) and had some good conversation as always. Saw a grand total of 3 practices and feel like I have a good idea of what we're looking at for an overall roster. I'm not gonna go into any specific examples due to the fact that i attended 3 seperate practices and cant really seperate one from another..so I'll just reference some generalizations. - I watched Gholston extremely carefully as I thought there had been a lack of material on him from the media and campgoers thus far. I've determined that the reason for his "up and down" performances are b/c he's afraid to make a mistake. His technique is there, and the physical talent is obvious..but right now, he looks very tentative..and is really concentrating on "Staying at home" and not overpursuing. He had a total of 3 sacks in the 3 practices I saw, one of which was against the first team via Damien Woody. I was impressed w/ his run defense. He's very strong at the point of attack and his "stay at home" mentality rewarded him w/ acouple nice tackles at or behind the LOS. Expect a quiet start to the season for him. He still has alot to learn. But I think he's gonna be a major asset to this team second half of the season and beyond. Although I'm sure we'll see some "Bust talk" by the end of the second preseason game. - As Bob mentioned, the pass coverage from the linebackers back has been outstanding. They have bee playing alot of zone..and frankly there just isn't alot of places to throw the football. That might explain some of the uneventful practices from the passing game. I didnt see any mental lapses from Miller and his coverage was spot on. If he performs well in the preseason games, he has the job wrapped up. - Significant difference between the first team OL and the 2/3's. Chad was w/ the 1's yesterday and had all the time in the world to throw downfield. KC was running for his life behind the 2's. Brick looks a bit bigger and it looks like his biggest offseason improvements have come in the running game. He is really extending his arms and exploding off the snap..i was very impressed. Woody is a real thumper in the running game as well and is gonna be a big upgrade over Clement. Faneca has looked good, but is a false start penalty waiting to happen. -Finally, what everyone is waiting for...the QB battle observations. And honestly...aside from overall depth...the only real concern I have about this football team..is the QB. I think starter wise..we are very close to being a contender...and the exciting part is, this team is extremely young w/ alot of years ahead of the them. The QB play seems to bounce back and fourth everyday. As I mentioned above, whoever plays w/ the first team has a big tim advantage w/ the first team ol in front of them. I will say the first 2 practices I saw..Penny looked better than Clemens. He handled pressure better and had a good grasp on the offense. However, the 3rd practice(yesterday) Clemens had the upper hand BY FAR. He was w/ the second OL and still outperformed CP considerably. He took the checkdown when it was there..but wast afraid to throw downfield and make some nice connections. CP got scolded at one point by Mangini for being his usual "check down chad". So overall...I like the direction the overal roster is headed. This team has a very bright future. The depth needs to improve, specifically w/ the OL and Linebackers...but we are likely one more good draft, FA class and year of development from our young core players away from being SB...yes..i said SB contenders.
Thanks for the input Kurt. Glad to hear good things about the reworked O-line and our linebackers. Got any thoughts on Jenkins?
All right...our resident big ugly buff is back...thanks Kurt. Sounds like Clemmy is right where we need him. Also great to hear about VG and Brick. I agree that a lot of people aren't going to be patient with VG as they need to be. Even if he only contributes regularly his first year, he's right where he needs to be.
Good one, Kurt, as always. It was a pleasure meeting up with you again. Good luck to you both and I look forward to seeing you next year in Florham Park. It might be fun to get others to join us and meet for breakfast or lunch or whatever. Hopefully, the new facility will have a restaurant on the premises within walking distance... that would be a pretty cool way for a lot of us to get together and have a live converstion!
as for the QBs... its what we all know, and its kinda depressing. Chads safer and will look better most often in practices... and Kellen has a higher ceiling and will make more mistakes, hence the flashes of talent. Sigh... Neither option is any reason to be excited or optimistic... but they'll be better this year than last with better protection and a sound running game... but the QB spot is holding us back right now. And NO Favre is not the answer.
Great report Kurt. I'm was glad to hear about Justin Miller. I really do hope he has taken the #2 CB position by the horns. If he can step up and be that solid corner, it would give the likes of Pace and Gholston a chance to wreck havoc in rushing the QB and stuffing the run. I also like hearing that Gholston is being very cautious so as not to get burnt too often. As the reps and the year progresses, he'll get more and more confident and relaxed playing coverage by learning offenses. Can't wait til tomorrow to see it all put together on the field even if it's for a couple of snaps.
I'm assumimng he didn't actually speak the term 'check down Chad'. But it's nice to see the CS is getting sick of it too. Thanks for the report, Kurt, I look forward to your stuff as well as 227 and now Jetcane as well. You guys make it easy on people living across the country from the team.
Appreciate your observations, KurtTheJetsFan. Chad has got to stick his nose in there if he's going to compete. Kellen seems not so afraid to get his nose skinned a little. Did you notice the Big Ugly in the middle? I was surprised you didn't have more to say about Jenkins.
It's really hard to judge the interior linemen...even for someone like me who pays alot of attention to the lines. I can tell you that the days of our front seven being swallowed whole at the snap of the ball are over. I guess you can credit that to Jenkins as well as Pace who added alot of size and strength to the D. W/ that said...the OL has looked so good and there is such an emphasis on a power running game for the O...it's difficult hard to gauge the run D. I can tell you that they do miss the thumper in the middle Harris(he's been nursing a knee injury). Brad Kassell(Harris' replacement) got beat up acouple times on running plays by Faneca which led to some big runs by T Jones. We'll likely know more as the preseason goes on and harris comes back. you don't see Jenkins getting pushed backwards and he constantly requires a double team. And thats def. a good thing.
Iwas watching jenkins and he was the biggest man i have ever seen. Mangold will be a stud from working against jenkins in the scrimage his moving people into the backfield. He is going to make barton and harris pro bowlers. Keller will be a beast he was open down the middle all day. The best addition to the jets are the 14 new flag girls,very nice additions. The D looks great. We need favre we need some one to stretch the field and clemens isnt it he workd against or second tring d and was having passes batted down and defensed all over the field.He's still to raw and is nervous in the pocket.
Couple questions Kurt. 1. This is what Im having a hard time understanding. Jets Big three L Coles, Cotchery and Baker haven'[t seen much action in training camp. Wouldn't you say thats there key weapons and a big dropoff to that next group. NOw your saying Jets LBs have been fabulous in coverage. YEt all camp reports I seen Keller is making catches all over the place. who is that rookie victimizing in coverage? How can yhou draw a fair assesment of the Lbs in coverage , when your not talking about Jets best players on offense. D woody no dpubt is an excellent run b locker. The book on Damien Woody is no matter what position he has played, he is a horrible pass blocker. IS it true that Gholston(who struggling some) did most of his damage going against Woody. How can really draw an accurate assessment OF Justin Miller without Jets weapons and the fact that Jets Qb have been struggling mightly. I think we will have a more accurate assessment of Jets LB in coverage and Justin Miller from the prerseason game .
Coles and Cotchery have gotten plenty of reps from what I have seen. Coles is having a very quiet camp, and that maybe b/c Revis has been lined up against him most of the time(Revis is having a helluva camp). Cotchery has shown plenty of speed downfield but it's been hard to find many openings in the coverage for QB's to find him. Baker...he obviously hasnt been around much, and truthfully hasnt gotten many reps. But he did make acouple nice plays yesterday that stood out to me, and he didnt look to be tentative or behind physically. As for the next group... Bubba Franks has been a real dud.. I wouldnt be suprised to see him get cut. Posciak is a better blocker and Keller is a far better recieving threat. W/ that said...Brad Smith seems to be alot more polished and obviously is always a threat after the catch, Stuckey is carrying on from his strong rookie camp...and Keller...the reports on him say it all. I'm not sure i'd call it "The big 3 and everybody else". The team still lacks a big time # 1 WR...but there is some versatile talent w/ alot of upside. I watched Woody very closely after I was comfortable w/ where Brick was. He has alot better feet than advertised but can take some poor angles in pass protection. That maybe a fatal flaw or perhaps just an adjustment he needs to make for the new position he's playing. The one sack he gave up to Gholston was the only major mishap I saw out of him. I was generally impressed w/ his feet and overall strength. Gholston did the rest of his damage against Jacob Bender and Wayne Hunter. The pass coverage has primarily been zone. Alot of bump and run type stuff on the outside, and mixing up the responsibilities deep and over the middle. I saw Kassel get beat by Keller acouple times against the first team, and otherwise alot of his plays have come against the second and third team...whose coverage hasnt been quite as good. The times I have seen offensive plays made downfield(w/ the first team)...it appears to be more of the offensive player finding a seam(or weakness) in the given zone(all zones have a weakness) than it is any specific person getting beat. The zones have been very tight and very disciplined. It'll be interesting to see how the pass coverage looks against the opposition...but so far so good.
