Erik Boland: Inside the Jets

By Tom Rock

It wasn’t exactly football weather today, with temps feeling close to 90 if not actually touching that level. Still, it looked like football as the Jets opened up their OTA (thanks to a new NFL rule requiring them to do so). It was the first time the media had a chance to see new RB Thomas Jones along with all the other new faces, most of them on the defensive side of the ball.

Jones was stacked. He’s got crazy arms, inflated from all that time he spends in the weight room. Magellan would have a tough time circumnavigating his biceps. He played with his sleeves rolled up – if anyone deserves to, it’s him – but I suspect it would just be too difficult to find a jersey with sleeves that fit. He looked sharp slicing through the holes and it looks like the Jets may be itching to use him more as a receiving threat as well. He said the system the Jets use is similar to the one he ran in Arizona, so it’s just a matter of learning the new terminology. The Cards didn’t have a winning season in those three years going 3-13 in 2000, 7-9 in 2001, and 5-11 in 2002. Hopefully more than the terminology has changed.

There are only two Jets on the roster not participating in the OTAs: RB Curtis Martin and OG Pete Kendall. Martin is expected to announce his retirement imminently and hasn’t been on the field with the team since last summer. Kendall is reportedly not participating because he wants to restructure his contract after the ton of money teams threw at other offensive linemen this offseason. While the OTAs are voluntary, Mangini has made it clear that he believes they serve a valuable purpose. With Kendall not here, Adrien Clarke was playing left guard with the starters but tackle Adrian Jones was playing guard with the second-team. Wade Smith can also play guard, but he was playing center today (more on that in a moment). It seems the Jets are trying to come up with some Kendall Kontingencies.

C Nick Mangold did not participate in the practice today, but was on the sideline riding a stationary bike and doing other assorted exercises. At one instant when I looked over he was climbing on the bike and nearly lost his balance. We chuckled at the potential storylines of the Jets starting center suffering an injury after falling off an exercise bike. No word on why Mangold was relegated to off-the-field work, but Mangini is expected to address it tomorrow. Smith played in his place.

It’s very early, but here are the “starters” when the Jets played offense and defense:

QB: Pennington
RB: Jones
FB: Barnes
LT: D’Brick
LG: Adrien Clarke
C: Wade Smith
RG: Moore
RT: Clement
TE: Baker
WR: Coles
WR: Cotchery

DE: von Oelhoffen
NT: Robertson
DE: Ellis
OLB: Thomas
ILB: Barton
ILB: Vilma
OLB: Hobson
CB: Dyson
CB: Barrett
S: Rhodes
S: Coleman

This was Chad’s first OTA of the season – Mangini said he sat out the first two just to stagger the work among the quarterbacks – and he looked sharp. He threaded a nice TD pass to Cotchery and hit Coles in the corner for another TD in 11-on-11 drills. He’s definitely bigger in terms of physique, and being healthy at this time of the year is no doubt an odd sensation.

Justin Miller addressed the media about his run-in with the law a few weeks ago, careful not to say too much other than how unfortunate the situation is and that he has met with NFL officials regarding the incident. As a refresher, he’s been charged with third-degree assault, a misdemeanor, after allegedly punching a woman outside a bar. He seemed humbled by the situation – Miller’s usually a smiling loudmouth (a term used with affection here, every locker room needs a tension-cutter) but he was very business-like today. Maybe the incident will go a long way toward the maturation the Jets have been waiting for from Miller.

By Tom Rock

Well, the Jets are no longer spectators when it comes to the NFL’s new conduct policy. Thanks to the arrest of All-Pro kickoff returner Justin Miller early Sunday morning after a nightclub altercation– he’s been charged with third-degree assault according to police after swinging at a man and hitting a woman – the Jets must now hope they do not lose Miller to an NFL suspension. That is, assuming they WANT to keep him around. The Mangini and Tannenbaum policy for these actions may be even stiffer than the Commish’s. And less than a month after drafting Darrelle Revis to start at the position Miller plays on defense, the cornerback could become a casualty due as much to his conduct as his coverage.

Here’s the Jets’ statement on the incident: “"We expect our players to adhere to the highest standards of conduct off the field and take any allegation of personal misconduct very seriously. We are in the process of gathering information, and have notified the commissioner - in light of the NFL's new conduct policy. Until we’ve had an opportunity to review all the facts we will refrain from further comment."

And here’s Miller’s statement, issued through the Jets: “I want to apologize to everyone for this situation, including my family, my teammates, the Jets organization, our fans and the entire NFL. I understand that serving in the NFL is an honor and that I have an obligation to behave in a manner that reflects the privilege I have been given.”

Of course, the Jets aren’t trigger-happy when it comes to cutting their losses in these situations. Adrian Jones was busted for DUI during the season and he received a harsh, harsh fine. I figured he’d be let go once the season ended, but he’s still around. This may a little different, especially considering the spotlight the league has put on behavior recently. The players are routinely briefed on what they are and are not allowed to talk about with the media (ichts-nay on Andy-ray Oss-may), so they must also be drilled about what behaviors fall within Core Jets Values. Clubbing at 4 in the morning is probably borderline. Getting into a fight at 4 in the morning probably crosses the line.

What do I think will happen? If the early storyline is in any way true – and judging from Miller’s statement of apology that appears to be the case – I suspect the Jets will fine Miller and suspend him for one or two games. That will allow them to stay in the good graces of the NFL offices and also maintain their own adherence to internal standards. It’s also not so drastic a penalty that if something similar happens to a key player down the road the team is not painted into a corner where they’d have to suspend a starter for four games, or worse. Only the NBA can get away with assigning penalties on a case-by-case basis like that.

As for the jokes about an All-Pro kickoff returner being caught by the cops after fleeing the scene (as per the espn.com report) or Miller’s misguided punch after all the work the Jets do with boxing trainer Teddy Atlas, well, like the Jets, I’ll refrain from further comment until I have an opportunity to review all the facts.

So, Jets fans: What would be a suitable punishment for Justin Miller?

By Tom Rock

First question from my wife this morning: “Why does Eric Mangini hate mothers?”

“Not all mothers,” I told her on my way out the door. “I’m sure he likes his own.”

So we’re here on Mother’s Day morning for the second day of rookie minicamp. Just got back from the last of the workout sessions we’ll be able to watch, and other than a chilly wind that forced Samoan safety and Hawaii product Leonard Peters to bundle up with long sleeves, it was pretty much the same as Saturday’s practice. The stretched. They drilled. They stumbled over bags. And Darrelle Revis blew past David Harris in an open field tackling drill.

A few new faces on the second day, all of them tryouts from colleges such as Williams, Bloomsburg and West Liberty State. They also brought in QB Marvin Burroughs from Villanova. Word is they were counting on Oklahoma QB/WR Paul Thompson until late in the week, but as Mangini noted on Saturday, it just didn’t work out contractually.

A few observations, many of which will be deep afterthoughts by the time training camp begins:

Fire-dancing safety Leonard Peters didn’t look as sharp as he did on Day 1 (maybe the cold did get to him), and was yelled at by Mike Westhoff during one of the “tackling” drills (which is really a sizing-up and breaking-down drill since there is NO CONTACT!). “Why are you gonna stop, Leonard? Keep going, dammit!” Westhoff yelled. (I’ll have to check in with the Entourage blog to see if that D-word eliminates the sentence from BPL contention.)

No contact? Don’t tell Illinois State RB Pierre Rembert, who put his head down and tried to run over DB Justin Rainey from Middle Tennessee State. Both players wound up on the ground and Rainey seemed miffed. NON CONTACT, Pierre!!!

Chansi Stuckey made a few sweet cuts in the open-field drill. They were against tryout linebackers, but it seems that his foot is feeling much better. His hands, though could be a concern. He didn’t look as solid fielding punts, certainly not as smooth as Revis, who appears to be a natural.

Interestingly, Revis was always a ball-carrier in the open-field drills so we never got to see him make any tackles or defensive plays. His first move on Harris was his best of a handful of tries; after that he appeared the throttle down a bit and not make sharp cuts. He was still fast enough to elude most of the would-be tacklers, though.

On a non-football note, Jay Cross was on the sideline of the workout wearing a spiffy vintage Titans hat (NY Titans, not Tennessee for all those youngsters who don’t remember). Dark blue with a gold “T” on the front. Very nice. It also sparked some speculation that the Jets might wear throwback Titans jerseys for a game this season.

We get Mangini in a few minutes and the locker room after that. Then, that’s it. Rookie minicamp will be over from a media point of view. The players will be around tomorrow and then most will go back to their regular lives: Waiting for the next police test, interviewing for jobs in marketing or whatever college football players major in these days, or, in some cases, training for the 2008 Olympics as a wrestler. Good luck to all of them.

Oh, and Happy Mother’s Day to all whom it applies to. Unlike some people, I don’t hate mothers.

By Tom Rock

End of Day 1 at rookie mini-camp, so I figured I’d throw out a few observations from the 45 minutes of practice and 30 minutes of locker room time we were allowed to share with the players.

First, it was strange to see the locker room the way it was, with black sheets hung over veteran lockers (almost as if in mourning) and chairs placed in front of them. Basically the guys who were in town for the tryout got some floor space instead of a locker while the FAs and draft picks were about half a wrung up the ladder in the auxiliary locker room which looks more like a storage space. The tryouts had their belongings spread out on the floor in front of them. Jeez, even Les Nessman from WKRP had some tape on the floor to give the impression of some personal space!

On the field, there wasn’t much. We all joked about how well this year’s crop of potential Jets can stretch. I’ve never been one to base a prediction solely on calisthenics and flexibility, but judging by the toe-touching and midsection rotating I saw today, I’d have to guess the Jets will at least get to the AFC Championship Game. I hear the Colts do some mean jumping jacks.

Truth be told and snarky sportswriter comments aside, there was a little more than just warm-ups to be seen. Darrelle Revis looked pretty comfortable fielding punts. Sad part is that he might not get the chance to participate in that area much after word gets back to special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff that Revis said he’s “a great coach for his age.” Westhoff is 59, but compared to young coaches like Mangini and Schottenheimer he’s a definite elderstatesman on the staff. Revis also looked good in one-on-one tackling drills and some staged 3-on-3 punt return drills. In other words, he’s not Aaron Ross. Yet.

Safety Leonard Peters, who has the Troy Palomalu hair hanging down his back, made a dramatic clothesline tackle on tryout Rayshaun Kizer during one-on-ones. Wait, not a tackle. Mangini reminded us all that this is a non-contact mini-camp. Maybe it was just a very aggressive hug for good luck. Second-round draft pick David Harris let Revis blow past him in one drill, but he was able to make a one-handed takedown on free agent RB Alvin Banks on a later rep. Mangini said Harris looked “fluid” in pass protection. The big question is, how will be look when he’s covering actual receivers rather than walk-on LBs who are posing as receivers.

And our wrestling friends, Tommy Rowlands and Cole Konrad, looked very lost on the field, though it was pretty clear that the coaches are pulling for them. Particularly Rowlands, who was being “encouraged” by name by LB coach Jim Herrmann. Not sure if that’s a good sign or a bad sign, but certainly they have a different criteria when it comes to making an impression on the staff.

“You measure things a little bit differently when guys haven’t been exposed,” Mangini said. “The way you measure progress is going to be in smaller increments. You’re looking for potential and progress. But it’s such a radically different experience when it’s the first time getting into a stance or having a helmet on or any of those things. It’s all new. But they have their helmet on right, that’s a plus.”

*

Mangini confirmed that G Pete Kendall has not been around for the voluntary offseason program the Jets are running, at least not recently. “His situation is unchanged,” Mangini said. “He participated early, he hasn’t been of late.” Kendall is reportedly looking for a new contract from the Jets and is staying away from the workouts. That likely strikes at the heart of Core Jet Values, and more than likely irks Mangini, even if he didn’t admit so. “Organizationally and personally, we really believe in the offseason program,” Mangini said. “It’s something that we believe in fundamentally and something that we believe helps with progress. I learned that with Coach Parcells and with Bill (Belichick). I’ve seen it work.” Mangini said participation in the offseason program is calculated on a complex scale with make-up days and guidelines. He said most of the other Jet veterans and returning players have been participating, though there are “some guys who are not as far along as the group.” The real tension will come in June when the players are scheduled to show up for a full-squad mini-camp. Whether or not Kendall participates in that decidedly non-voluntary function remains to be seen.

By Tom Rock

Welcome to rookie camp, where the questions fly fast and furious (and not only from us reporters). Almost all of the players in the locker room – over 40 of them – spoke about the mental rigors that the coaching staff is putting them through, complete with pop quizzes and out-of-the-blue observations. It’s part of finding out who has the mental makeup for the NFL. Sort of like the first day of military boot camp, or at least what I’ve seen of that in the movies.

Anyway, spoke with the Jets four draft picks and they were well-coached on not divulging too much information. That’s fine. The real interesting conversations occurred with guys you’ll probably never hear from again, at least not in terms of the NFL. For this mini-camp, the Jets brought in two championship wrestlers, a Polynesian fire dancer and a college basketball player.

The two fascinating figures were wrestlers Tommy Rowlands and Cole Conrad, neither of which has played any organized football since ninth grade. They are currently ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively, in the heavyweight division and are both training for the 2008 Olympics. Rowlands said his phone rang three days ago with an invite to the Jets’ camp, and he was convinced it was a prank. Conrad said his knowledge of football is so limited, he had to be shown how to get into a three-point stance. The Jets knew the level of football intuition they were getting with these guys, they are just seeing if there is any football potential. Rowlands said he wasn’t even sure how to put on football pads, an obstacle he won’t have to hurdle for a while the team goes shorts and helmets for this event. By the way, the Jets have Konrad working at offensive line and Rowlands at outside linebacker.

Maybe instead of showing boxing fights on Saturday nights before games this year, Mangini will show some wrestling take-downs.

Then there’s Leonard Peters, the safety from Hawaii who has made the YouTube rounds with his “fire-knife” dance. He actually has a chance to make the team – or at least make the cut and get an invite to the full mini-camp in June – and seems to be a fascinating character. He had the Troy Polamalu hair hanging from his helmet and said he got to know the Steelers’ safety because the U. of Hawaii football players are used for security during the Pro Bowl and Peters spent a few days with Troy and his wife.

And of course, Jesse Pellot-Rosa, a guard on the VCU basketball team that beat Duke in this year’s NCAA Tournament (he was giving some of the guys in the room who had Duke on their bracket a hard time). He hasn’t played football since prep school, even though he figured he would be a football player in college rather than a hoops star. He’s a receiver this weekend.

Besides the four draft picks and the tryouts, the Jets signed 14 players as rookie free agents: Jesse Allen (FB/6-0, 247/Va. Tech); Alvin Banks (RB/5-10, 225/James Madison); Mike DeVito (DT/6-3, 298/Maine); Caleb Hendrix (DB/5-10, 185/Southern Miss.); Matt King (DE/6-3, 242/Maine); Dominic Moran (OL/6-5, 303/Western Michigan); Dustin Osborn (WR/6-0, 194/Colorado State); Leonard Peters (S/6-1, 199/Hawai’i); Brett Ratliff (QB/6-4, 224/Utah); Nick Smith (OL/6-6, 320/San Diego St.); Kyle Steffes (RB/5-11, 2-9/North Dakota State); Jason Trusnik (DE/6-5, 250/Ohio Northern); Andrew Wicker (OL/6-5, 295/Mississippi); Mark Zalewski (LB/6-2, 234/Wisconsin).

A few weeks ago, GM Mike Tannebaum looked into the camera and told all of the undrafted and available players that they should be expecting a call from the Jets. He wasn’t kidding. A fascinating mix of personalities and backgrounds are here for this weekend – and we haven’t even seen any of them play yet!!! The sad part is that most will likely be long gone when training camp starts.

Or, quite possibly, Olympic wrestlers.

By Tom Rock

Ducked into NYC yesterday for the Chad Pennington taping of “Centerstage”, but before that I spent some time with Jets center Nick Mangold, who was taking part in a promotion for Reebok’s “Run Easy” campaign. The pairing originally made little sense to me … if you are going to pick a pro athlete to be a spokesman for running easy, who better than a 300-pound offensive lineman??? That, it turns out, was exactly the point the Reebok people wanted to convey, that running doesn’t have to be grueling and anyone can run and adopt a healthy lifestyle at their own pace. Even comedian Jim Breuer of SNL fame was on hand to lend his support. Goat Boy in ‘Boks. Fun stuff.

Mangold looks great, even bigger than during his rookie season. Maybe he’s been swiping some of the food from D’Brickashaw’s plate this offseason. Anyway, he seemed a little upset with the Jets about drafting another player from Michigan. I kid, of course, but the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is nothing to joke about for the Buckeyes and Wolverines. Mangold, one of the funniest Jets, laughed it off.

We spoke about him watching this year’s draft as a fan. He said last year he was anxious with his obvious personal stake in the process, but even the two or three years prior to that he said the draft weekend was an intense time because he was trying to learn as much about what happens and why it happens as possible. I guess I never thought about it that way, in terms of guys watching to learn what will eventually (hopefully) happen to them. Goes to show why Mangold fits the Jets mold for preparedness and studying.

Anyway, he said it was nice to just have it on the TV in the background. Now that he’s a Jet, he said, the draft isn’t the center of his life. “Oh yeah, the draft, that’s this weekend,” he said, relaying his thoughts from last week. Of course, eight or 10 years from now, when the Jets or whatever team Mangold is playing for drafts two offensive linemen in the first round, he’ll be paying attention. That’s the circle of life in the NFL.

A few other notes from my visit with Nick:

He and his wife bought a place on Long Island and spent the off-season here.

He said the acquisition of Thomas Jones is exciting, and that a lot of players have already cozied up to the new RB to ask about his Super Bowl experiences from last year. He said that the players didn’t swarm Jones, but pretty much each of them has gone up and introduced themselves. I guess only sportswriters attack in packs.

He didn’t recall Michigan LB and Jets second-rounder David Harris much from their meetings in the annual Blue and Red grudge match. But, he said, he doesn’t remember much about his college days, which seem like a lifetime ago. “People were asking me questions about people coming out this year, Tony Gonzalez (the TE from Ohio State, not the future HofF TE for the Chiefs), and I couldn’t remember much about them,” he said. “We spent every day together in college a year ago, and now it seems like it was 10 years ago.”

He said he’s been working on his “explosiveness” this off-season. He said watching film of the top centers in the league showed him that they all have a lightning-quick first step, and he’s been focused on improving his.

And, he said he is excited about mini-camp and training camp, but at this time last year he was “terrified” at the prospect of showing up as a rookie. Now, of course, it’s someone else’s turn to be terrified.

As for the Pennington taping, I won’t be a spoiler. But I will say that Chad was very engaging and entertaining. It’ll be worth watching for the moments when he jokes about wanting to put on boxing gloves and punch out Mangini (at least I think he was joking), about him growing up in Tennessee and Marshall, and some interesting advice that Broadway Joe once gave him regarding, of all things, penmanship. He also spoke kindly of Randy Moss, now a Patriot, and shed some light on Moss’ behavior and actions. But during a word-association game at the end, there was hardly a sliver of hesitation when Michael Kaye asked what teams he dislikes the most. Just happens to be Randy’s new team.

After the interview, Chad stayed for about 15 minutes and took questions from the audience (a Q&A portion fo the show was scratched for time). Then, after that, Cimini and I were able to grab him for a few quick questions. I reported most of what he said about Randy Moss in today’s paper. Sounds like Chad really wanted his Marshall buddy to come to the Jets. He was asked about the possibility of Keyshawn, and he was a little less committed to the idea. “Whatever Coach Mangini and Mike want to do,” he said. Penning was drafted by the Jets in 2000, the year after Keyshawn’s final season with the Jets, so they were never teammates. Or, have not yet been teammates. One never knows.

By Tom Rock

So, what do you think? Is it worth giving him a shot with the Jets? What would a pickup like that do to counter the Randy Moss acquisition? Do the Jets need a player like Keyshawn? Would they want a player like Keyshawn?

I'll let you folks handle this one. Discuss.