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Rex Ryan is thrilled with Vernon Gholston at defensive end so far
“In our first team thing he split two guys and would have had a sack,” the coach said. “That’s three practices in a row where he would have had a sack. I don’t want to say anything because last year I kept saying, “You guys just wait. He’s going to prove it to you.” I’m not going to say anything to you about Vernon because I don’t want to (jinx) him, but he’s really doing well.”
If he wasn’t doing well, would Rex say? No, so these answers are rhetorical. But clearly it’s smart for Rex to praise Gholston. I’m getting tired of it personally, but it’s not unexpected.
That doesn’t mean reporters have to take the bait.
Gholston is a great kid. I wish all the best at his new spot, but the propaganda from Rex is getting tough to take. Whatever happened to his motto – “blunt force trauma?”
My take on Gholston is simple. Let him go out and win a job this summer. There are some good candidates for the backup end spots like Roe-pot-tee Pi-toe-ee-two-ah (I figured it would be good for everyone to see how to pronounce this tough Somoan name), Rodrique Wright, Ty Steinkuhler and some of the rookie free agents, and I will mention one later. May the best man (or men) win. Gholston needs to earn a defensive end spot. Nothing should be handed to him. Woody and Mike T. can’t let the money get in the way of sound football decisions . . .
People are making a joke out of Kris Jenkins getting close to 400 pounds during his knee rehab. His weight loss competition has become a big story. I don’t think there is anything funny about this. First of all, when you have two reconstructed knees, carrying that kind of weight is terrible for them. Any doctor will tell you that. Secondly, with the recent death of 37-year-old Norman Hand, a former NFL defensive tackle, who was a very large man, Jenkins weight is scary. Hand died way before his time of heart disease. This unfortunately happens too often with former NFL linemen.
There is nothing funny about Kris’ weight ballooning during his time on the sideline. This shouldn’t have happened. Kris needs to have more discipline and/or his PT needed to get on his ass more about his weight during his workout sessions.
Kris is a hell of a guy. We are sure his friends, family and fans would like to see him on this planet for a long time. Be careful dude . . .
Kenwin Cummings is a very underrated prospect. He clearly should have made the team last year, but got a raw deal in his battle with Larry Izzo for a roster spot at inside linebacker. And then for the team to sign Ryan Fowler, who had a steroid past, to an active roster spot, ahead of Cummings, was unfair. But Cumming kept his mouth shut, worked his butt off, did a great job on the practice squad, and looks like he’s ready to emerge this year. He has a nice combination of size (6-3, 250), speed and toughness. He’s a big-time hitter. He should be a boon to the Jets special teams.
And I think it’s really cool that Cummings is 100 percent American Indian. I’m not aware of another player in recent NFL history who is 100 percent native American. He’s part of the Lumbee tribe in North Carolina. And he told me last year they still have powwows. It’s impressive how they keep their tradition going . . .
I was speaking to a former Pitt Panther recently and he had great things to say about underrated free agent defensive lineman Mick Williams.
“He’s a beast,” said the former Panther.
Williams is going to have a hard time making the team. I talked earlier about the competition between Gholston and company for the backup defensive line jobs, but keep an eye on this kid . . .