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Florham Park – A lot of stuff going on in Florham Park as the Jets prepare for Buffalo and churn their roster . . .
Jets special team’s coach Brant Boyer is breathing a sigh of relief with the team resigning linebacker Bruce Carter today.
The guy is a superb kick and punt coverage player. Not sure why he was released in the first place.
The corresponding move with Carter’s re-signing was putting Lorenzo Mauldin on IR today. They couldn’t have put Mauldin on IR yesterday and not waive Carter? Strange.
Mauldin’s back has been a problem for several weeks. The Jets are putting him on IR with the intent of bringing him back when healthy, which you can now do with two players, thanks to new NFL legislation . . .
Speaking of Jets special teams, watching that unit at practice today, it occurred to me that so much work they did in the spring and summer was a waste of time.
What am I getting at?
The Jets had so many new players on the field today in their special team’s practice, it was like the first day of the off-season program for some of these guys.
New Jets tight end Will Tye was on a kick return, and lined up in the wrong spot, and had to be moved to the correct yard line. Not criticizing him. He’s a very smart guy. He just got here. The coach who corrected him, introduced himself to Tye for the first time a few minutes earlier on the practice field. Brent Qvale helped Tye out a lot today.
Also on this unit was new Jets linebacker Edmond Robinson.
And most importantly, there was a new kick returner – Kalif Raymond. At first, he didn’t even know they needed him back there for the drill. They had to call his name to report back to the kick returner spot. Once again, he’s a smart guy, but he just got here. And then, he needed a lot of pointers on where they wanted him to run.
The other kick returner back there with him was JoJo Natson who was also just signed.
Look, I’m sure they will be fine in time on this unit, but think about what a waste of time all that work they did with Messrs Frankie Hammond, Jordan Todman, Romar Morris – getting in sync with the Jets blockers. Watching today’s kick return drill was reminiscent of the first day of OTA’s.
But with all that being said, the Jets are very excited to finally get kick returner Kalif Raymond in the building. They tried to sign him last year, but he decided to stay in Denver. Perhaps they finally have found their returner. Raymond, a rare NFL player out of The College of the Holy Cross, runs under 4.4, and has smooth hips to cut in the open field. He’s listed at 5-9, 160, but he’s definitely heavier than that. That was a college weight. I didn’t get a chance to ask him his weight today, but he’s definitely bigger than 160 . . .
New Jets wide receiver Demore’ea Stringfellow is huge – almost like a small tight end at 6-2, 222. But he can also run, which you saw on his 99-yard TD catch for the Miami Dolphins against the Atlanta Falcons in the third preseason game. He’s a terrific red-zone threat, who had 11 touchdowns in his two years at Ole Miss (he transferred there from the University of Washington).
The key to good waiver claims on the final cut down is to take advantage of cuts other teams don’t want to make, but have no choice, because of a glut at certain position. The Dolphins had a ton of talent at receiver, so they cut Stringfellow, and the Jets claimed him. The New York Giants had a ton of talent at tight and reluctantly cut Will Tye, and the Jets claimed him. That is the key to taking advantage of the final cut down . . .
The Jets surprisingly cut DE Lawrence Thomas the other day, but his locker in his tact, with all this stuff in it, so he’s probably coming back.
September 4, 2017
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