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Q)How would you sum up mini-camp?
Todd Bowles: We got a lot of things accomplished mentally. Again, the chemistry is growing. I can’t wait to get to training camp. We finished the last two days on good notes and the guys are upbeat as they should be.
Dan Leberfeld: I did notice this spring how upbeat the Jets were in OTA’s and minicamp. It was a very positive vibe. Jamal Adams is a big reason for this positive vibe. He’s always talking loud on the practice field, getting guys fired up.
Q)What was your overall impression of Teddy Bridgewater in the spring?
Leberfeld: The biggest thing is that he was healthy and he was moving around and he fit right in with the other two, with Josh (McCown) and Sam (Darnold). He was throwing the ball well. He grasped the offense well. We will be excited to see him in training camp.
Leberfeld: Bridgewater looked good running around out there. He didn’t seem to be favoring his surgical knee.
If he has a good summer, I’d keep him on the roster. Think about Minnesota, Teddy’s former team, they needed all three of their quarterbacks last year – Bridgewater wasn’t ready at the beginning of the season, and then Sam Bradford got hurt, and Case Keenum played most of the year and played great.
To me, if Josh McCown got hurt early in the season, I’d go with Bridgewater. I’m talking September or October. Because Darnold is going to need time, and if something happened to McCown early, that won’t make Darnold ready before he’s ready. An early injury to McCown doesn’t speed up the maturation process.
But it should be noted that if another team loses their starting QB this summer, Bridgewater could also turn into a trade commodity.
Q)Was it a “successful spring” for Darnold?
Bowles: It was a learning spring. I don’t think anyone has success in the spring in a t-shirt and shorts. It was a process of learning for him that I thought was pretty good that will help him come training camp.
Leberfeld. Exactly, the only thing that mattered with Darnold this spring was learning, not media reviews or media stats.
And Bowles makes a great point about “t-shirt and shorts.” NFL teams don’t play tackle football in the spring. You can’t touch the quarterback. So spring practices for quarterbacks mean very little. It’s not close to the environment they will encounter in games.
Q)Will Josh McCown begin training camp as the starter?
Bowles: Josh will start come training camp and we will see what happens at the end of training camp.
Leberfeld: I think he will be the starter at the end of training camp. I happen to think this QB competition is a little bit of a charade. They need to make the playoffs this year after seven years in a row out of the second-season. McCown gives them the best chance to do that. Also, why would you pay $10 million to a QB to not start games, especially early in the season? I’m not saying he will be starting in December if the Jets fall for playoff contention, but at the beginning of a season, in a year they need to make the playoffs, McCown should start.
June 20, 2018
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