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Florham Park – Dan checks in from Florham Park with a bunch of Whispers from One Jets Drive. Here we go . . . .
Detroit tailback Jahvid Best has not one, but two different turf toes, and it’s impacted his effectiveness in recent weeks.
“He’s not 100 percent,” said Vikings defensive coordinator Scott Linehan.
That is probably an understatement. One turf toe is debilitating, can you imagine having one on both feet? . . .
Looks for the Jets to target rookie safety Amari Spievey. He will start for the injured C.C. Brown. Not only would they be targeting a rookie, but college corner playing only his second game of safety. He’s also undersized for a safety (195), so could be exploited in the running game, especially by his former Iowa teammate, 225-pound Shonn Greene . . .
It’s very bizarre watching wide receiver Logan Payne and cornerback Will Billingsley hobble around the practice field. They were both signed injured, Payne has issues with his feet and Billingsley is still rehabbing a knee. The Jets like the potential of both players and are helping them finish up their respective rehabs while on the practice squad. They are both at about 90 percent.
The signing of Payne was partly an espionage move, and it worked big-time. He was signed a few days before the Jets-Vikings game, and spilled the beans about his former team, and it was very helpful.
But he wasn’t just signed for spying purposes. They like him as a wide receiver/core special team’s player . . .
Joe McKnight played some cornerback in Friday’s practice . . .
Rex Ryan was raving about Vernon Gholston on Friday . . .
Ontario-native Jamaal Westerman will have a number of family members at the game (including his brother who is a defensive tackle at Eastern Michigan), but there is a good chance he will be inactive. The Trevor Pryce-signing hurts his chances of being up on game day . . .
I’m not going to give down or distance or the route because that violates the rules about watching practice, but Mark Sanchez was way off-target to Braylon Edwards early in practice on a routine pass. Sanchez has come a long way, but his accuracy is still a work-in-progress . . .
It’s hard to make a strong argument that Drew Coleman has been a upgrade over Kyle Wilson at the nickel back spot. Last week Coleman had that bizarre play where he stopped covering Greg Jennings, and the receiver cut away from him for a big gain over the middle.
Today in practice, Coleman was beat deep by a player on the scout team simulating Calvin Johnson.
This is a clearly a matchup the Jets want to avoid . . .
Aside from Brown, another player out for the Lions is Isaiah Ekejiuba. You might said that it’s not a big deal that a backup linebacker is on the sideline, but he’s a core special teams player for Detroit, and this could benefit the Jets return units . . .
The Jets have a bunch of players from Michigan (and the Midwest), and that is a good thing. It really is.
“I had an old football coach tell me that he really believed in the hometown hero,” Rex Ryan said. “We had a running back who didn’t play for eight games and all of sudden he’s rotating him in there with the starters for this week. I was like, ‘Why are you playing this guy?’ “Oh, he’s from this town.” The guy goes out and rushes for 120 yards. I was like, ‘Whoa.’”
This game is a really big deal to Braylon Edwards, Bart Scott and David Harris. Really big. And let’s not forget Michigan State’s Eric Smith and Calvin Pace (born in Detroit). All these guys will be extra-motivated in this game . . .