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Florham Park – It’s time for a myriad of Whispers from Jets camp in Florham Park, New Jersey. Some interesting stuff to get into. Don’t miss out. Sign-up now. Just $7.95 a month.
Zach Sudfeld is trying to add long-snapping to his resume.
As they like to say around the NFL, “The more you can do.”
So today, Jets special team’s coach Brant Boyer let Sudfeld do a long-snap during the field goal period.
The ball kind of dribbled on the ground.
The Jets regular long-snapper was in on the next play . . .
Jets wide receiver coach Karl Dorrell has been working very hard with Jalin Marshall on catching with his hands, and not body-catching.
And Marshall seems to be making progress.
One example of the progress he’s making is the fact that he’s rarely jumping for passes (that don’t require jumping that is) as much as he used to.
I asked Dorrell about the jumping, and he said that was a byproduct of body-catching. When you catch with your hands, you are less apt to jump . . .
Dorrell also said something about Charone Peake that was very interesting.
“I think we are going to get his best football right now, so we are very fortunate to get him,” Dorrell said.
Peake’s career at Clemson was good, not great.
At first, he was buried on the depth chart behind guys like D’Andre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant, and then as a junior, with those guys gone, he blew out his knee. He came back to have a decent senior year.
But now two years removed from the knee (many players will tell you the second year back is when they are truly back to their old self), and getting NFL coaching, he seems ready to truly realize his potential. Remember this is a kid who was ranked as the 14th best prospect in the nation (regardless of position) coming out of Moore, SC. They guy has a lot of talent; 6-2, 209 with 4.37 speed and arms like vines.
He’s in a very good place right now. I’ve said this before, and I will say it again, this is more like a 2nd-3rd round receiver, than a seventh rounder.
So I think, all things considered, Dorrell is on to something. The Jets are likely going to get his “best football.” . . .
Geno Smith finally spoke to the media today, after a not doing so for a couple of weeks. He was mad at an ESPN writer for a headline used the term “knocked out” in describing what happened to him last summer when IK Enemkpali broke the quarterback’s jaw.
Strategically, the Jets did something very smart from a PR standpoint – they made him available today without two main Daily News writers in attendance, two scribes Smith has had issues with in the past. Both were off today.
Cagy move.
The press conference was short and went without a hitch . . .
Todd Bowles was talking today about how he basically has his mind made up on most roster matters.
“I’m pretty sure about the guys I’m keeping and not keeping,” Bowles said.
This is why I think the NFL has the worst player personnel set-up of any major league.
I love baseball and hockey. You make a roster, you earn it, with minor league systems. Those leagues have meritocracies.
NFL teams does too much anointing based on preconceived decisions before camp starts.
I can’t wait for the window-dressing “competition” to end, pick the 53, and let’s get the season started.
August 24, 2016
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