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New Jersey – A lot of interesting stuff going on as the Jets prepare for their huge game at San Diego. Let’s get into some nuggets . . .
The David Nelson situation has to have the Jets excited. Coming out of the Detroit game, it looked like he had no chance to play due to an ankle injury.
But he practiced on a limited basis today, and has come a long way since the game.
A common narrative with the media is that Woody Johnson is cheap. This comes from the Jets’ approach to free agency in the off-season.
To me, this is overblown. First of all, the Jets signed perhaps the top receiver (Eric Decker), the top quarterback (Michael Vick), the top running back (Chris Johnson) and perhaps the top right tackle available (Breno Giacomini).
So it’s not like they totally sat on their hands.
The Jets position on this is they are a lot young players whose contracts are coming up (Mo Wilkerson, DeMario Davis, Jeremy Kerley, Antonio Allen, Damon Harrison to name a few) around the same time, and some of the saved cap space (which can be carried over to the next season) is with these contracts in mind.
But the point I was trying to make here is that he’s not a cheap owner, and the Jets’ medical facilities in Florham Park, in their $75 million training complex, are superb – perhaps the best in the league.
Look at Nelson and Calvin Pryor this week. I didn’t think either was going to play in San Diego, but the Jets excellent training staff and state-of-the-art rehab technology, expedited the healing process for both guys. I’ve been to many team complexes. Not all are the same. Believe me. The Jets have are cutting edge medical operation, and this gives the Jets a competitive advantage over some teams.
And this is the way Johnson wanted it.
I remember when Greg Salas arrived last year from Philadelphia with a knee injury, and he was raving about the Jets’ trainer’s room compared to other places.
Do I think Johnson is the best owner? No. But the “cheap” label isn’t applicable here . . .
The San Diego Chargers ruled center Rich Ohrnberger “out” today due to a back ailment.
So with the team’s outstanding center Nick Hardwick on IR, and Ohrnberger out, the Chargers will be on their third center, Doug Legursky, a journeyman who used to be in Buffalo, where the Jets were able to get the better of him.
And Legursky signed with San Diego after their first game following the Hardwick injury, so he’s still working on chemistry with his teammates, and the line calls.
Look for Damon Harrison and Kenrick Ellis too be able to be able to get a lot done against this guy up the middle. The Jets view Legursky as a good “box” player, meaning he likes to operate in a phone booth. If he can get his hands on you right in front of him, he’s pretty good, but lateral quickness gives him issues.
Ellis will be back up this week. The Jets de-activated him last week to give T.J. Barnes a shot, but that was a mistake. Barnes didn’t have a good game (his pad level is too high), and Rex realizes now it wasn’t a good decision to flip Ellis for Barnes . . .
Another injury that helps the Jets is outside linebacker Jerry Attachu being out. He’s a player I thought the Jets should have picked. He’s a very good edge pass rusher, and another really good edge pass rusher, Melvin Ingram, is on short-term IR.
These two guys being sidelined certainly will help the Jets offensive tackles and help Geno Smith have more time to throw . . .
October 3, 2014
Premium will return by 11:59 on Sunday night from San Diego.
