Some notes/observations from the Jets 1 hour 30 minute OTA practice that recently concluded. Keep in mind Vernon Gholston has not yet reported because Ohio State is still in session and a league rule prohibits draft picks from participating in more than one camp before classes are officially over. With San Jose State finals having ended Wednesday, fourth-round pick Dwight Lowery was on the field Thursday morning. Chris Baker, because of his contract issues, also was not here. As for some of what we saw:
1. Tight end Dustin Keller lined up all over the field, including in the slot, and even went in motion a couple of times. He showed good speed in getting down the middle and caught every pass thrown his way. He worked a decent amount with both quarterbacks.
2. As for the quarterbacks: It was Kellen Clemens day to work with the first team and he looked good. He threw a handful of very precise deep passes, including one that covered just over 40 yards in the air and came down over the outside shoulder of Laveranues Coles. The pass had to be perfect because top corner Darrelle Revis had tight coverage. Pennington did not connect on the couple of deep passes he attempted, though Pennington threw some nice balls over the middle and to the sideline.
3. Nothing different from last week with the front seven. Shaun Ellis and Kenyon Coleman sandwiched Kris Jenkins as the down linemen, the linebackers were Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas on the outside, with David Harris and Eric Barton on the inside.
4. Lowery worked as a cornerback mostly with the third team and a little bit with the second. On one seven-on-seven drill play, Lowery made a nice deflection on a pass intended for David Ball. The first-team defensive back alignment was the same as last week – Darrelle Revis and David Barrett at the corners, and Eric Smith and Kerry Rhodes at the safeties. Safety Abram Elam just returned from Florida where he had been tending to family members after the death of his older brother.
5. Bubba Franks’ practice wasn’t nearly as electric as the one we saw last week when he caught touchdown passes from Pennington, Clemens and Brett Ratliff. Franks did make a sliding 12-yard reception today on an underthrown Clemens pass but he also flinched several plays later and had to run a penalty lap.
6. Danny Woodhead, the NCAA’s all-time leading rusher from Division II Chadron State, had a tough day. He had to run three laps after muffing two punts and mishandling a kickoff. In his defense, the miscues occurred as a very strange – and brief – rainstorm, that included hail, moved through Hempstead. As Woodhead finished the third lap, the sun was back out. Thomas Jones had to run a penalty lap for fumbling on the first play of an 11-on-11 drill.
7. James Dearth, Brad Smith, Artrell Hawkins and Andre Woolfolk were all limited, with each spending a portion of the practice on the exercise bicycles on the sideline. Will Montgomery (this is for Gridderbob) was the long-snapper for most of the practice. Erik Ainge is still recovering from the surgery he had two weeks ago on the broken pinky he sustained before his senior season at Tennessee and did not throw. Justin Miller was also limited but Eric Mangini said he expects the cornerback to be 100 percent by training camp, if not sooner. Translation: there’s no reason to push Miller, coming off surgery, for the sixth OTA practice.
8. As for Smith, the Jets don’t give out injury information but Chansi Stuckey at this point is clearly the third receiver on the depth chart and keeps making catch after catch. At least in the two OTA practices the media has been able to watch.
9. I asked Alan Faneca, a member of some of the best offensive lines in football while in Pittsburgh, if he saw that kind of potential with the Jets’ line. “There’s potential,” Faneca said. “If we put the work in, we’ll see the results.”
10. The Mangini good-humor-moment of the day: The Daily News’ Rich Cimini asked Mangini how he would feel if one of his players missed team activities to engage in a dancing contest (yes, a reference to the Bill Parcells vs. Jason Taylor rapidly developing circus in Miami).
“Having such a passion for ballroom dancing like I do…” Mangini said. “I’ve watched some of that, He (Taylor) is pretty good. He’s impressive. I didn’t vote but I thought he did a great job, and the longer he wants to stay out of Miami’s camp, I think he should.”
All right, I’m turning my attention to my newspaper story for tomorrow. But I’m still available for questions/comments/punch lines.
Comments (32)
You mentioned that they were practicing deeper routes with Coles and I'm guessing Stuckey. Clearly Pennington can't do those throws, is this a sign of Mangini tailoring his offense to more than just Pennington so that he can have flexibility for a change if it needs to happen?
Also, did Barret look decent at least? I know there's not much focus on him and he's expected to be a 3rd or 4th option at corner. But it'd be interesting to see if he's at least showing up with a little fight in him...you never know.
Erik, great stuff as usual. Nice to hear that Stuckey is coming on and moving up the depth chart. I thought he was pretty solid at Clemson and I really think he'll turn out to be a 7th round steal. It's also good to hear that Keller is doing well so far. The offensive line should be much improved and so should the running game. Somehow I get the feeling that rumors of the Jets offense's demise have been greatly exagrerated.
Cliff, Pennington has no trouble throwing deep - his lack of arm strength shows when he gets no zip on the intermediate passes and the out patterns.
Erik,
Are the Jets interested in linebacker Odell Thurman who was cut by the Cincinnati Bengals, one month after he was reinstated by the NFL from a two-year suspension to replace Eric Barton?
The jets do have a habit of signing guys who have been out of football for a couple of years.
Cliff, one of the things Mangini talked about before we went out to practice was some of the "tinkering" going on with the offense, specifically the influence of Bill Callahan, whose background is mostly with the West Coast offense. Regardless of who wins the QB battle, there will be probably be some modest changes but don't misunderstand -- there's no complete offensive overhaul going on.
As for Barrett, we'll stick with your word: "decent." And he does show fight. That's never been questioned.
EB - Any indication of Coles running "clear out routes" for Cotchery at this point? Maybe you should ask him about that during the next presser. As much as I love the guy for pure toughness and heart, his contract gripe was horrid after what he did to us by leaving for Washington, then coming back and we restructured his already redonculous contract!
What about Marcus Henry - I'm assuming he still has to take his Advances Theories of Physical Education final? Chapman vs. Leon? Oh, and if Barrett is decent - you can consider me Miles Davis. The fact that he gives so much effort and is that bad is pathetic.
awsome article.....i really wonder if miller can actually be a good corner in this league.....i def see potential....hes fast and can certantly hit but i think he has bad technique and plays way to aggressive at times. hey what doi noanywayss
Steve, the short answer is no. He's talented but missing offseason activities after getting reinstated was a last straw even for the Bengals. To this point, there haven't been those rumblings with the Jets. As always, remember the "core values," they talk about. Constantly.
DK, wow on the Miles Davis line. Good stuff. Trust me, Barrett won't be starting the opener opposite Revis. As for the running backs, there's just no way to judge guys yet as everything is non-contact. Nothing of significance today regarding Henry. Keller was really the only rookie who was worked a lot. As for Coles, I know you're referring to in his "clear-out routes" comments from February and he addressed those things last week, after the first OTA. With the final two years of his contract guaranteed, he's content for now. After this season will bear watching in terms of if there are discussions about an extension. If he has a big year, there will be. If not...
Erik--great work as always. Thanks for the updates on the rookies and the QB situation, we'll all be on the edge of our seats all summer on those two issues.
Good to hear that Clemens was working the deep ball well...any sense of how he did overall? Was his accuracy better? Was his footwork more refined? Thanks in advance and keep up the good work.
EB, thanks for the updates. Great info...
When is this OTA over? What's up next? Mini's in June? Or is there something in between?
Erik. How's the battle for punter shaping up? Just in case the offense doesn't improve much, this could be our weapon!
DB, Clemens was very accurate Thursday afternoon, more accurate, especially on deeper throws, than when we saw him last week. Footwork is tough to judge during these non-contact practices; the rush is token at best. I can say his footwork looks better but realistically, until there's the threat of getting hit, it doesn't have much meaning.
Big A, another round of OTA's start next Monday. We get to watch two sessions - Wednesday and Thursday - next week.
Capt. Rich, I was wondering when someone would ask about the punters! And today, uh, I got nothing. Jeremy Kapinos missed today personal reasons. I can tell you Kapinos was booming the ball last week when we saw him and Ben Graham, after an early shank today, looked good otherwise.
are-tee, let's be honest here, Pennington's are strength is suspect on almost every throw he makes. If he can't get zip on over the middle passes or out routes, how the heck can you say he gets anything on deep routes? The best deep ball QBs in the game usually have cannons for arms or can get a little extra on the ball when needed. Pennington just doesn't have that anymore. Pennington's brain is whats kept him this long...
Isn't Graham something like 35? It could be the wear and tear are catching up to him after his long career playing Australian rules football. Kapinos has good size (6-1, 235), so he could give us an option at that position. I wonder if can throw a pass?
As far as Chad, if he isn't showing some velocity on his throws, then he's pretty much done. It'll be the KC show...
Just think about the opportunities on the field when a receiver comes open in tight coverage. Two QBs with the same accumen but with different arm strengths, will both see the play develop. One will gun it it there and give his receiver a shot to catch it. The other one with a weaker arm will either check down or try to force it in, which will result in higher INTs and incompletions.
Now Chad has historically had a great completion rate, but his INTs have certainly increased since his injuries. He is relying on ball placement to keep the ball away from defenders when possible, but when he has no room to operate, that's when the mistakes come in.
Thanks, Erik. I'm looking forward to more OTA coverage next week.
Sorry, but a sudden hail storm is no excuse. If Woodhead wants to make the team, he *can't* put the ball on the ground. An NFL coach is not going to give a Division II kid a shot if he thinks there's a chance he can hurt the team. They're not economists but they can do risk-benefit analysis....
Erik,
Great post, very comprehensive. Just one quick question...how did Bryan Thomas look? Obviously it's way too early to tell, but if he can play like he did in 2006, even somewhat, the Jets should have a formidable pass-rush with Thomas, Calvin Pace and Vernon Gholston. Thanks
Bryan, at the end of last season B. Thomas said he was committed to playing in 2008 the way he did in 2006, which earned him the big contract. No one was pleased with Thomas' performance in 2007. He appears motivated but, not to beat the dead horse here, the information that can be garnered from the non-contact drills in OTAs is limited.
Erik, does Calvin Pace show any signs he's worth the big dollars he scored?
The left side of the O-Line looks awesome, but I'm not so sure of the right. How does Woody look?
Matt in Va., In the two practices we've seen, Pace has shown the quickness that allowed him to get the quarterback last season. I don't think he has "bust" written all over him for the money spent. Woody is known more for his technique and flexibility, but the bottom line is the number of sacks allowed from the right side of the line should go down considerably this year. Woody looks solid and that makes him an upgrade.
There are so many new faces on this team, it's great to get all the insight. Thanks very much for all the details and answering questions.
Eric: Kudos on this forum/column/whatver it's called..good stuff indeedy.
On Woodhead, any opportunity to judge his 'football speed'? If he makes the team, a big part would be his versatility which in turn is driven by his speed..shifty runner, optional receiver, kick returner, etc.. Just wondering if you got a chance to see his speed displayed? Thanks.
Boland:
You never updated me on the long snapper competition.
DHarvey, in the early-May rookie minicamp Woodhead showed some good cutting ability, as well as some speed, in the open field. His opportunities along those lines were more limited when we saw him last Thursday in the full-team OTAs as he mostly returned kicks, and didn't hold on to the ball very well. No one gets cut - other than for conditioning reasons - based on one bad OTA practice but Woodhead can't have too many more miscues like the ones he had Thursday.
Gridderbob, see No. 7 above for an update on the long-snappers. Who do you have in your pool?
Erik,
I love this blog, and thanks for taking the time to answer mine all the others questions.
I was just wondering how fast is Chansi Stuckey? What is his time like since the surgery? Can he stretch a defense? or is he more of a possession type of receiver.
thanks again
Steve, you're welcome. Stuckey had been quoted before the 2007 draft saying that he expected to run a 4.3 40, which he didn't come close to running either at the 2007 NFL Combine - where he ran a 4.56 - or his Pro Day - where he ran a 4.49. That, and the chronic foot problems that plagued him in college and cost him his rookie season with the Jets, is why he fell to the seventh round. Bottom line: his separation skills, along with his exceptional route-running abilities, were enough to allow him to lead the ACC - a good conference - in receiving his senior season. The Jets, in the two practices we've seen, have lined Stuckey up at a couple of different spots.
I think Chansi has the potential to fill the role that Chrebet provided to the Jets over his career as a third down clutch receiver, but in a slightly different way. He could be that guy getting open and catching the ball in space and then getting nice yards after the catch because of his style of running.
I see Cotchery as a Chrebet...a good possession guy, etc.
Cliff, I agree with you about JC being a good possession guy, but I was talking about 3+ receiver sets where CS would line up as the slot receiver in 3rd down situations. In general, I think JC will probably get most of the possesion throws in the 10-15 yd range while LC gets featured as a deep guy.
Thanks for long snapper update, EBo. My bad for not catching the reference.
Ah, I get what youre saying now A, I thought you were strictly comparing someone to Chrebet on the team now.
erik, this is a great article but i said this about 2 weeks ago.