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Some more stuff from the OTA practice . . .
Oklahoma FB Dimitri Flowers was perhaps the Jets’ top undrafted free agent signing, and he’s no disappointing.
In Tuesday’s Jets practice, he caught a wheel route out of the backfield from Josh McCown for a nice gain down the right sideline. He has superb hands and once he gets the ball in his hands, at 248 pounds, he’s like a runaway locomotive. He has a very good chance of making the team . . .
Speaking of running backs with great hands, Eli McGuire had a really nice extension catch on a short pass from Teddy Bridgewater. For a running back, McGuire catches the ball like a top-shelf wide receiver. I’m very impressed with his skillset as a receiving back . . .
Chad Hansen looked really good the last two open OTA’s and looks like a guy ready to take a big leap in Year Two. He runs good routes and has confident hands. It looks like his knee is finally healthy. He never seemed to be 100 percent last season following a teammate falling on the back of his leg in a training camp practice . . .
I think rookie DT Nathan Shepherd is going to be very good in time with his natural ability, size and will, but he’s very raw and needs a lot of work. Last week, he was off-sides, and this week, I saw him on the ground on a running play – he lost his balance. It’s a no-no to be on the ground as a lineman. You gotta hold your ground and stay on your feet . . .
Sam Darnold’s windy throwing motion can be an issue at times. The last couple of weeks have seen defenders jump routes. Remember, a windy motion gives defenders a little more time to jump route – because you are pointing your arm where the pass is going, and it’s not coming out immediately.
But he also did some good things in Tuesday’s practice, like a nice completion to WR ArDarius Stewart on a quick slant and a nice deep pass to WR Tre McBride . . .
When making personnel and coaching decisions, it’s important to deal 100 percent with reality at all times.
Honestly, sometimes the current Jets’ regime struggles in this area.
Darron Lee struggled in coverage at Tuesday’s practice. For some reason, he is a too often a tick late getting over to his coverage assignments. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again, he’s a much better player in the box, playing downhill. Like in Tuesday’s practice, he had a QB pressure beating the left tackle off the edge. Looking, I’m not being a hater, just going by what I see. Look, he had just a total of six PD’s and no picks in two seasons – wake up and smell the coffee, Mr. Coffee and Todd.
Look, Lee should definitely have a big role (blitzing and playing run in box), but his coverage responsibilities should be cut back. The Jets added a pretty good coverage inside linebackers this off-season – Kevin Pierre-Louis and Neville Hewitt. Playing pretend in the NFL doesn’t help you win games . . .
Robby Anderson is now a very consistent producer. He’s looking really good on the practice field. He runs great routes, consistently gets open, and rarely drops passes. Now in his third year, he’s looking more and more like a true #1 receiver.
May 30, 2018
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