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As you know by now
Aaron Rodgers didn’t practice on Wednesday at the Jets OTA session.
He spent a lot of time on a stationary bike, and then during passing drills, he was giving instructions to receivers on mental stuff, perhaps about things to work on from a previous play. He was like a coach out there today.
How is his calf doing? It’s hard to tell, but he was wearing a compression sleeve on it, and when he ran with the quarterbacks going to the next pass drill, that he was observing, not participating in, the other three quarterbacks ran way in front of him, and he jogged very gingerly. This could be just preventive, but he was jogging gingerly.
This doesn’t seem serious, but you need to be really careful with calf injuries in sports, because if you come back too soon, you could re-injure it, and knock yourself out for a longer stretch . . .
With Rodgers out, Zach Wilson was the #1 QB today, and clearly still has a lot of work to do.
He just doesn’t seem particularly comfortable seeing the field. To use a scouting term, he’s not “trusting his eyes.” A few times, he was looking at a target, was about to throw the ball, pulled the ball back, and then threw it to that spot, late. I guess you could call it a double pump, but whatever you want to call it, it shows indecisiveness.
He was also running too much in a red zone drill. These are often wasted reps. What is the point of running that much in a non-contact practice with no tackling? Just let it rip – experiment a little. That is what the spring is about.
These red zone drills are tough on young quarterbacks because everything is so condensed in there.
There were also some accuracy issues, like when he overthrew TE Jeremy Ruckert down the seam, and WR T.J. Luther on a crossing route.
I’m not looking to pick on him, just going by what I saw. He is still a major work-in-progress, and Tim Boyle looked like the better #2 QB option today . . .
Early observation on rookie linebacker Zaire Barnes – he has good instincts and triggers very fast, finding the ball very quickly . . .
The Jets did the right thing with DE Michael Clemons this off-season. They had him bulk up to 290 pounds (which he carries well), and intend on playing him a lot at defensive tackle. It makes sense. He’s really not twitchy enough to be a full-time defensive end, but with his long arms and power, could create big problems for guards and centers . . .
Jets defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich called Nathan Shepherd “very hard to replace.” Shepherd signed with New Orleans
I respectfully disagree.
He’s got a great motor, is very tough, and a hard worker, but too many big runs were right at him the last few years. It was probably time to move on.
Sheldon Rankins, who signed with Houston, is a guy they will miss, for sure.
But free agent signings Al Woods and Quinton Jefferson, who both came over from Seattle, should be a boon to the Jets’ run defense . . .
Kutztown wide receiver Joe Kapp, who was at the Jets rookie minicamp on a tryout, was signed earlier this week, and made his presence known immediately. He was prolific in practice today, probably catching more passes than any other receiver. I don’t do stats, but that is what it seemed like. He ran a nice out route on CB Javelin Guidry, pulling away him, creating a big window for the QB to throw into . . .
May 31, 2023
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