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FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – It’s time for a heaping helping of notes from Florham Park. Let’s get it started . . .
It was a bit of an under the radar move earlier this week, but the Jets brought back second-year running back John Griffin and signed him to the practice squad. Griffin was in camp with the Cincinnati Bengals last year before being cut at the end of preseason. He had a tremendous rookie and mini-camp for the Jets this summer before suffering a high ankle sprain. He was given an injury settlement but now he’s back.
A former track star, Griffin is very quick and changes direction in a split-second. He hits the hole well and has good lower body explosiveness to his game. He also displays good hands and could be a nice third-down back. He will be an interesting player to watch.
“I’m feeling better now, all healed up basically,” Griffin told Jets Confidential. “I did work on my own back home to be ready and stay fit and I kept in contact with the coaches here. I’m glad to be back.” . . .
It’s always interesting to see what players, when cut, have their nameplates removed in the Jets locker room. Sometimes, the fact that a name isn’t removed, is an indicator that the player will be back. Antonio Allen, the rookie safety who was cut earlier this week, still has his nameplate up over his locker, perhaps showing that the Jets are just juggling numbers right now. Fullback John Conner, whose name has been on his locker over the past several weeks, saw it come down since last Monday. His locker space was completely cleared as well. The last of the “Terminator” maybe? . . .
Sione Pouha is continuing to make progress with his lower back injury. Even though he was listed as “limited,” he showed good mobility in practice today. The key to watch with a lower back injury is vertical motion is adjusting when twisting and turning. Pouha looked solid in that regard on Wednesday, a good sign for a Jets’ run defense that will be tested by the Seahawks ground attack . . .
Rookie Stephen Hill still remains very much a work in progress. He struggles when he gets jammed at the line. At practice he spent some time working on his ability to get off the line faster and shed cornerbacks . . .
Undrafted rookie free agent Hayworth Hicks is a puzzling Wednesday transaction for the Jets. The 6’3, 336 lbs. guard out of Iowa State was signed off the Colts practice squad. Where he fits into the team remains to be seen. The Jets don’t need another guard at this point, especially since Vlad Ducasse was pumped up this summer by the coaching staff as being in a position battle with Matt Slauson. The move just doesn’t make sense and the bulking guard appears a step slow and certainly lumbers.
“It was a surprise I did get picked up by a different team than the Colts. I had my mind on being a practice squad guy all year; my agent said I wasn’t a practice squad guy. I thought I’d be there until they brought me up,” Hicks told Jets Confidential. “He said [the Jets] liked me so I’m here now.”
Hayworth didn’t participate in any combines or all-star games before the NFL Draft in April, but the Jets did attend his Pro Day at Iowa State and a scout did speak with him afterwards.
November 7, 2012
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