Content available exclusively for subscribers
Please subscribe now to unlock this article!
Cortland – Dan checks in from the SUNY-Cortland campus with a heaping helping of Website Whispers from check-in day . . .
People who are wondering why the Jets signed OLB/DE Jason Babin today to a two-year contract, the answer is simple.
They are concerned about the health of OLB Antwan Barnes, who is coming off major knee surgery.
The last time we saw him on the field at minicamp, he was limping in the locker room and on the practice field.
That was in June, and he didn’t look anywhere near being ready.
If Babin is still at the top of his game, he could turn out to be a terrific addition for the Jets. I would say the best way to describe him is as “a professional pass rusher.”
The guy knows how to get to the quarterback.
Perhaps he doesn’t run the 4.62 forty he ran coming out of Western Michigan, but he’s one of those guys whose got a ton of tools in his bag of tricks in terms of getting to the quarterback – technique, setting up linemen, motor, hand work. The guy knows what he’s doing on out there.
In 2010, he had 12.5 sacks in Tennessee, and in 2011, he had 18 sacks with Philly.
Unless he has totally fallen off the mountain physically, he could be a terrific addition for the Jets.
As the headline read in the latest issue of Jets Confidential Magazine – “Jets lack game-wrecker at OLB.”
When Babin is on, he’s a game-wrecker . . .
Rex Ryan on Barnes – “Well, Antwan will be on PUP right now. We are going to be smart with him. In fact he passed his conditioning test.”
Here is the thing about passing the conditioning test vis-à-vis his knee rehab.
Conditioning tests require straight-line running.
The issue here is cutting on the knee, not running on a straight-line . . .
Scary lightening this afternoon during the Jets check-in to Cortland.
Before coming to the dorms for the players to go to their rooms, the two team buses (not all players go on the buses, a lot of veterans drive), went to downtown Cortland to have a mini pep rally, and it scary how close some of the lightning strikes were to this rally . . .
Rex Ryan was asked about the quarterback competition today.
“Let’s just get through a couple of days of training camp here and things like that,” said Ryan.
He’s kicking the can here.
There is no competition right now, so why doesn’t he just come out and say it.
And then he added this.
“I look at our situation here and when I say it is the strongest quarterback situation since I’ve been here, I really mean it,” said Ryan. “When you look at it you’ve got two guys certainly capable of starting, Geno Smith, especially with the way he finished here, and Mike Vick. We all know what Mike brings to the table. Then you look at two young guys also competing with (Matt) Simms and Tajh Boyd and I think that’s going to be great competition also.”
You know what, if it’s too early to talk about a competition, it’s also too early to talk about how strong the position is.
Let’s start at the bottom. What is so great about Matt Simms and Tajh Boyd as NFL quarterbacks as we sit here right now? I don’t get that one. Maybe they will be fine, but at this stage of the game, Rex is embellishing when talking about these guys. Neither reads defenses great as we sit here.
Speaking of embellishing, Rex, and others around the team, are embellishing Geno’s last month. He was okay, but remember, two of the opponents were two of the worst teams in football – Oakland and Cleveland, and both games were at home. The Carolina game wasn’t great. The Miami game was okay.
As for Vick, he might be the best quarterback on the team, but he’s turnover and injury-prone.
Hey, this could turn out to be a great quarterback situation, but to me, Rex is way over the top on the topic right now.
And I’m not going to be a stenographer, like so many in the media, and repeat what he says like a parrot without critical analysis.
July 23, 2014
Premium will return by 9:30 pm on Thursday.