Content available exclusively for subscribers
Florham Park – A heaping helping of Whispers from the first day of Jets camp . . .
Le’Veon Bell’s running patience is rare, and I had a chance to see it up close today. He had a run off right tackle right in front of where I was standing. He ran in back of a great Chris Herndon block, and ran to the tight end’s right for a nice gain. He has this innate ability to delay putting his foot on the gas until just the right time . . .
Veteran guard Tom Compton took Steve McLendon to the ground, and the veteran nose tackle was very slow to get up and came to the sideline after getting up. Not sure what happened to him here.
Another defensive lineman who got a little dinged was rookie defensive end Kyle Phillips, who was getting his upper right leg wrapped by a trainer, before returning to action, which makes you think it was some kind of muscle pull . . .
People need to be talking about Frankie Luvu more in the outside linebacker conversation. He had two standout plays in today’s practice.
First, on a very deep drop for an outside linebacker of about 20 yards, he picked of a Davis Webb pass down the right hash.
Then later in practice, he shed the block of tight end Trevon Wesco, and stopped running back Eli McGuire for a loss.
Luvu seems poised to be have a big second year for Gang Green. He flashed at times last year, but was a little consistent, especially setting the edge against the run. After working with Jets strength coach Justus Galac this off-season, he is stronger and more explosive, and is going to be hard to keep off the field . . .
It was kind of a nondescript practice for the Jets’ wide receivers with a bunch of flashy plays, but two completions caught my attention.
Sam Darnold hit Jamison Crowder on a crossing route, and the former Washington Redskin and Duke standout made a nice extension catch.
Another play of note was a deep out on the left side from Trevor Siemian to Deonte Thompson. Watching Thompson in the spring and today, I’m surprised he’s been such a journeyman with stops in Baltimore, Chicago (where he worked with Adam Gase), Buffalo (three different times) and Dallas.
But there is another way of looking at it. Yes, he’s had a hard time staying in one place, but he keeps getting picked up, so he clearly has talent.
He has tremendous speed, runs good routes and solid hands, and comes from one of the great football towns in Florida – Belle Glade, FL, which has pumped out a ton of players over the years.
Keep an eye on this guy . . .
Speaking of a guy to keep an eye on – the new coaching staff seems to love OLB Bronson Kaufusi, who continues to get some first team reps.
He came into the league as a third-round pick of Baltimore in 2016, but never seemed to be able to get a groove going there. He’s got great size (6-6, 275), is very athletic for his size, and plays with a terrific technique and motor. His great technique makes sense since he grew up with a father who is a defensive line/linebacker coach – Steve Kaufusi – who coached at BYU from 2002-17. His father also had a cup of coffee in the NFL as a defensive lineman with the Philadelphia Eagles. The family is of Tongan descent.
Gregg Williams is giving Bronson a lot of quality reps and he seems to be a big part of the Jets’ defensive plan . . .
July 25, 2019
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Friday.