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A few different things to get into today . . .
I will get into the Christopher Johnson anthem stuff tomorrow . . .
Here are some notes/observations . . .
Watching rookie Trenton Cannon return punts on Tuesday, he looked uncomfortable. Which is understandable. He doesn’t have a lot of experience doing it. Kick returns, he has plenty of experience, punt returns very little.
Let me make this clear, there is no way Cannon is returning punts for the Jets this year. There is no way the Jets are going to put a Division II rookie, with very little experience returning punts, and let him handle the punt return job under the bright lights of the NFL as a rookie. No way. Kick returning, no doubt he should be considered, but punt returns no way – way too risky.
Watching Andre Roberts on Tuesday, he has to be the odds-on favorite to be the Jets’ punt return. The 30-year-old journeyman who played with Arizona (where he was a third round pick), Atlanta, Washington and Detroit, is a very good punt returner, very confident catching punts, knows what he is doing back there. In 2016, he returned a punt 85 yards for a TD for Detroit against Chicago . . .
I’m not going to get too much into longshots because I think most of the roster spots, barring injuries, are already set as we sit here in May. This stuff is very political.
But to me, the best play by a cornerback in Tuesday’s open OTA was by CB Terrell Sinkfield, who was on the Jets’ practice squad last year. Robby Anderson ran a 4.34 forty when he came out of Temple. He might be the fastest Jets’ player. But a player who would give him a run for his money, or beat him is Sinkfield. The former CFL player, reportedly ran a 4.19 forty before the 2013 draft. I can’t verify that, but that is what a scout at his workout claimed.
And he certainly showed his great speed staying in Robby Anderson’s hip pocket on a deep incompletion down the left sideline. Anderson could not get any separation from Sinkfield. I’m not sure Sinkfield has much of a shot since most of the spots have been decided already (NFL politics are off-the-charts), but man can the University of Northern Iowa product can run . . .
There were two Sam Darnold passes that were nowhere near a receiver. One was a deep out to Charles Johnson on the right side. It wasn’t even close. The other was a pass to the left sideline. On this play, Chad Hansen was running a deep out, and ArDarius Stewart, running a shallow out. The pass landed between them – too short for Hansen, and too long for Stewart.
But I have no issue with these plays. He’s learning the offense and has never played with these players. If this is going on in late August, that is a problem, but not in May.
By the way, this incompletion between Hanson and Stewart bounced and hit a reporter. This is what happened last year with Christian Hackenberg a couple of times, and a reporter took a shot at the QB for click-bait. Passes bounce toward the sideline all the time. Just pointing out that this play is what happened last year with Hackenberg, and it led to a national smear.
Not a big deal on either occasion.
May 24, 2018
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