Content available exclusively for subscribers
A truckload of Jets notes today coming out of their first practice in preparation for their season-opener against the Cleveland Browns, owned by Jimmy Haslam, who owns Pilot-Flying J Truck Stops . . .
Leonard Williams practiced today with no knee brace at all.
He seems good to go . . .
Lorenzo Mauldin had a sleeve on his left leg to help with his injured knee.
He seemed fine running around on the practice field.
Remember in the Giants’ preseason game he kept hobbling off the field with a leg injury?
I thought that maybe when he got hurt a few days later in practice, it the same issue.
But it wasn’t.
The injury in the Giants’ game was a ankle that got rolled. And obviously the practice injury was a knee.
But this could be a long season for the kid, already dealing with ankle and knee issues entering his rookie campaign.
The wall could come sooner than normal.
But you know what, he’s overcome so much in his life (both parents in jail and he was in 16 fosters), it’s hard to keep this guy down . . .
The Jets were working on-side kick recovery today, and Brandon Marshall was the main guy fielding them. Makes sense, he has the best hands on the team.
Another guy who got a shot at fielding one was Tommy Bohanon. Probably not a great idea. He muffed it.
“You gotta handle it – we need guys with good hands,” Bobby April said.
Bohanon is a good fullback, and does catch the ball well out of the backfield, but he has short arms and a very muscular upper body – not ideal characteristics to deal with an on-side kick . . .
Getting back to Marshall. I was watching him closely in a receivers drill today. Wow, does he run good routes. He’s a maestro . . .
Jaiquawn Jarrett is Brooklyn-tough. There is clearly an issue with his right shoulder, and he soldiers through it. And this has been going on all summer.
Today, before practice, he took his jersey and pads off, and a trainer was working on a strap keeping his right shoulder in place.
The son of a Riker’s Island guard, this guy is as tough as they come. Think about how hard it must be to play safety in the NFL with a messed up shoulder, will all the high-speed collisions at the position . . .
Speaking of safeties, Todd Bowles was asked today about why the Jets claimed safety Ronald Martin, and released Rontez Miles (who was signed to the practice squad).
And he said, “There are some things has to learn.”
Totally understandable, but how does claiming a rookie safety, who doesn’t know the Jets’ system, improve the situation?
Hey, this might all be a moot point if the Jets’ top three safeties, Marcus Gilchrist, Calvin Pryor and Jarrett, can all stay on the field.
After all we are talking about the fourth safety spot.
But I don’t totally understand the logic . . .
The Jets ran a drill today where they had one receiver go out for a route at a time. They were all in one line waiting their turn. It seemed to be based on their place in the pecking order – it was Brandon Marshall, then Eric Decker, then Chris Owusu, than Jeremy Kerley.
This has been the case for a while, even before Kerley’s concussion. Kerley will play a lot, but he seems to be behind Owusu.
September 7, 2015
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Wednesday.