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Morris Plains – Time for some more Whispers and observations from Jets practice. Here is some of what I saw from the action today in Florham Park, New Jersey . . .
Dee Milliner had some rough plays in practice today.
He got beat by Charone Peake on a post down the deep middle.
He was also beat deep by Robbie Anderson down the left sideline, but the receiver only got one foot in bounds.
I just wonder if all the injuries he’s suffered, including a torn Achilles and a high ankle sprain, have taken away a step.
It stands to reason that any player who has had as many injuries as Milliner, you’ve got to lose a little something.
He can still be a good player in this league, and if the Jets released him, he definitely will be claimed, but his training camp has been average . . .
With Nick Mangold being held out the last two days, the Jets gave Dakota Dozier snaps at center, and from a snapping standpoint, it didn’t go great.
A few shotgun snaps today went awry.
It’s time to move on from his experiment. The guy is a guard, not a center. Plus, the Jets coaches already made it clear last year, that if Mangold got hurt, it’s not a great idea to go to a lefty center (Dozier), with a different snapping angle. It can throw off the quarterback.
I think Wesley Johnson makes the team again at the backup center . . .
Today was Mo Wilkerson’s first full real football practice, and you saw his domination on display very quickly.
He tossed Brian Winters to the side and stopped Bilal Powell on the line. Winter is a very strong cat, so this isn’t easy to do.
I haven’t seen Mo in so long, kind of forgot how explosive he can be. This play was illustrative of what a powerhouse #96 is . . .
I didn’t mention this before, but the Jets have a player from SUNY-Cortland in camp, defensive end Jake Ceresna.
And he got a reminder today that NFL offensive tackles are much tougher to deal with than Division III offensive tackles.
He was pancaked by right tackle Brent Qvale.
But you know what, he’s not the only one suffering the wrath of Qvale. The 6-7, 315-pound Nebraska product has been mauling people throughout camp. Just ask the Jets starting outside linebackers.
There is no doubt in my mind Qvale is a starting quality right tackle. He’s powerful, tough, smart and plays with very good technique . . .
With Brandon Marshall away dealing with a personal matter, Kenbrell Thompkins got a lot of reps the last couple of days as the Jets’ third receiver, and made a bunch of plays.
What can I say? The guy is just a professional receiver. He knows what he’s doing out there, and Fitz trusts him a great deal.
The Jets are loaded at receiver in this camp – seventh-round pick Charone Peake looks like a keeper, undrafted free agents Jamil Marshall and Anderson have both had strong camps, veteran Jeremy Ross has looked very good, so have street free agents Chandler Worthy and Kyle Williams.
The Jets will have so tough decisions here. Another reason why keeping four quarterbacks is a luxury they might not be able to afford . . .
Let me reiterate what I wrote yesterday – Bryce Petty’s improvement from Year One to Year Two has been awfully impressive. The guy works his tail off and the results are obvious.
“Bryce has taken a huge jump from last year to this year,” said Ryan Fitzpatrick today.
This isn’t just player-speak. It’s true.
Petty once again looked really good on the practice field today.
He’s like a different guy this year.
August 17, 2016
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