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Florham Park – Dan checks in from One Jets Drive with another does of Training Camp Whispers. Never a dull moment at Jets camp . . .
OLB Garrett McIntyre, a CFL and Fresno State product, continues to impress. He can definitely get to the quarterback, but needs a lot of work dropping into coverage, something he’s never done before . . .
Look-it, I think Rex is an outstanding coach, but you really need to double check a lot of the stuff he throws out in press conferences. Earlier this week, Rex said that Calvin Pace’s surgical foot was 20 percent at the end of the season. Pace said today, he was 100 percent by Week 10. I hate to nitpick, but that is a big difference . . .
Best throw in the afternoon practice might have been by Greg McElroy, a back shoulder touchdown toss on the left side of the end zone to WR Mike Campbell . . .
6-8 defensive end Ropati Pitotua continues to have a terrific camp. Practice ended with Ropati blocking a Mark Brunell pass. He gets his hands on a lot of passes. This guy is clearly ready to emerge . . .
Santonio Holmes thinks the key for Plaxico Burress learning the offense is not to focus on all three wideout positions at once, but learn one at a time . . .
With Brandon Moore still recovering from hip surgery, Vlad Ducasse has been starting at right guard during the first week of camp . . .
With Burress nursing an ankle injury, and Jerricho Cotchery no longer with the team, the starting three wide receiver set is currently Holmes, Jeremy Kerley and Logan Payne, who was on the Jets practice squad last year.
Don’t sleep on Payne. The former University of Minnesota-star is underrated. One Jets official rave to me this week about his athletic ability. He’s also a very good special teams player, which is important for the fourth and fifth wideout spots . . .
WR Patrick Turner scored two touchdowns on quick slants in the red zone today.
He continues to improve.
You know what would be nice for a change, if Mike Tannenbaum, instead of constantly looking for answers outside the building, would just say – “You know what, let’s give some of our young guys a chance to the be the third, fourth and fifth wide receivers.” . . .
On consecutive plays in a pass rush drill, backup guard/center Rob Turner easily locked up Kenrick Ellis. Rex keeps talking Kenrick up, but quite honestly, he’s light years away from being able to contribute. He’s got a huge upside, but he’s unbelievably raw. The 350-pound Ellis should be able to get the best of Turner, an undersized backup. He will in time. I don’t see him being active early in the year . . .
Nick Bellore looked good in run support today. The Central Michigan ILB has a nice feel for the game . . .
Once again, off-sides penalties galore in this practice, another by-product of no off-season work . . .