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A heaping helping . . .
You have to respect how hard rookie defensive lineman Nathan Shepherd plays the game. He has a great motor – not just as a run-stopper and pass rusher on the interior, but how busts his butt to pursue ballcarriers to the sideline.
This is a very hungry, driven football player.
He used to work a 12-hour shift in a warehouse in Toronto. He doesn’t want to go back to there, so he’s doing everything he can do make himself a success in the NFL.
By the way, speaking of his hunger, I’ve noticed the last few days Shepherd wearing a medical sleeve, stocking, whatever you want to call it, on his left leg. So he’s clearly not 100 percent, but he’s not the kind of guy who is going to want to sit out . . .
While most of the team was on one practice field working on an offense-defense drills, Jets offensive coordinator Jeremy Bates was working on another field with Sam Darnold and Jermaine Kearse.
This shows you have focused like a laser Bates is on developing Darnold. The quarterback wasn’t involved in the drill on the main field, so Bates didn’t want to waste valuable practice time he could use to continue developing Darnold . . .
Darnold had two passes tipped on the line today. This has happened on a number of occasions in camp. Perhaps this has something to do with the delivery . . .
You get the sense that Chad Hansen is on the bubble. First off the Jets are loaded at receiver, and secondly he’s had a very inconsistent summer.
He seems to be pressing a little bit . . .
Darron Lee had a pick in today’s practice on a Teddy Bridgewater pass over the middle. This play was why he was selected by the Jets in the 2015 first round. Jets fans can only hope this a turning point . . .
Outside linebacker Frankie Luvu broke through the middle of the line for a QB pressure. He still looks like their best hope for an emerging pass rusher . . .
A website called, “Football Outsiders,” a service used by ESPN, trashed the Jets’ offensive line.
“Is there any reason for hope with this offensive line? The most optimistic things I can think of for this offensive line are the following: – Kelvin Beachum stays healthy for an entire season- Brandon Shell has some late bloomer development in him ala Derek Newton- Everybody else doesn’t take a step back from their recent performances. It’s a unit of mostly average-to-bad players that are old enough that any performance swings upwards will be completely unexpected. It’s uh … not ideal.”
I think it’s foolish to trash an offensive line in the middle of the summer. Look, I’m not going to put this line in Canton, but I think it’s smart to wait until the regular season starts and see how this unit comes together.
And I think the writer left out a key aspect to the Jets line – they have significantly upgrade the center position, the linchpin of any line, with Spencer Long. Wesley Johnson did the best he could, but he’s undersized and got pushed around some time by massive nose tackles. With the 6-5, 320 Long, whose strong as an ox, this won’t happen.
August 21, 2018
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