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Florham Park – Never a dull moment at One Jets Drive, and Dan checks in with stuff on Mark Sanchez, Brady Quinn, Dee Milliner and more . . .
Mark Sanchez (shoulder) was riding the stationary bike on the other side of the practice field from where the media was standing.
When Sanchez, or one of the trainers, saw the cameramen shooting Sanchez on the bike, they moved the bike behind a large poll, so it could not be seen.
Sanchez, or the trainer, or both, didn’t want him being shot . . .
Watching Dee Milliner run today early in practice, he looked like he was planting with no problems on his bad calf, and looked very quick . . .
Robert Malone continues to kick the heck out of the ball. He has been on fire the last three week.
And one point, Ben Kotwica (who I think will be a head coach in the near future), couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm.
“Nice punt – you win with bleep like that,” Kotwica yelled . . .
After a filed a premium story yesterday, the Jets announced another waiver claim – OT Ben Ijalana from the Indianapolis Colts.
There is a health gamble since Ijalana hurt his right knee each of the last two years, but if the knee checks out okay, this guy is a nice pickup.
He was rated very highly coming out of Villanova in 2011. He was one of the best tackle prospects in that draft.
He has arms like vines (as you know, long arms are so important on the offensive line), is a very good athlete, and is extremely bright (he will pick things up fast).
Everything about this signing makes sense aside from the injury risk, and surely the Jets went over this guy’s knees with a fine tooth comb . . .
While some people are making fun of the signing of Brady Quinn, I don’t have a problem with it.
I know his lifetime record isn’t great, but he’s been on some very, very bad teams.
He’s a decent QB with a background in the West Coast offense, who has started 20 games in the NFL, being brought in as an insurance policy. Who can argue with that?
Well you could say, well “why not just keep Greg McElroy?”
Well considering McElroy was waived/injured and then given an injury settlement today, he’s clearly not healthy.
As you all know, I think McElroy should have been the “hold-the-fort” quarterback, as Bill Parcells used to say, until Geno Smith was ready. But aside from Rex’s obvious dislike for the guy, right now, he’s just not healthy.
He hurt his knee against Detroit, and then had two setbacks in practice.
So with Sanchez hurt, McElroy out of the picture, and Simms not ready (let’s not put him in Canton after beating the Eagles second and third-stringers in the fourth preseason game), bringing Quinn into the picture right now, is a pragmatic move.
Quinn is an upgrade over Graham Harrell. Quinn is much bigger, has a better arm, and is more athletic . . .
One of the more bizarre personnel moves the last few days was keeping Will Campbell on the regular roster.
This makes ZERO sense.
Nobody is stealing Campbell off the practice squad.
Remember, he was a defensive lineman in college, who the Jets picked and moved to the offensive line. He’s been a guard for four months. He’s a project of biblical proportion.
Why would the Jets keep him on the regular roster, and bounce Danny Lansanah who busted his butt to make the team?
Keep in mind, the Jets have plenty of backup lineman, and just three inside linebackers.
This has made some beat writers accuse John Idzik of padding his draft record. I’m going to hold off a few weeks on that.
Let’s see what happens next week, but honestly, Campbell on the regular roster right now, makes very little sense, on many levels.
September 2, 2013
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