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I love that training camp is open to the media. It’s awesome that the NFL allows us access.
But while it’s great being there, sometimes I can’t wait for it to wrap up, so some of the dubious takes that spread like wildfire every day stop until next summer.
What happens is that some reporters will tell the world on Twitter (X) that so and so is having a great practice, and then bloggers and podcasters will run with these assessments, which are sometimes half-baked.
Like this one from Tuesday – “David Bailey is getting by Luke Goedeke pretty much every play.”
Bailey and Goedeke fought against practice. When I tweeted some soundbites from the massive right tackle after the practice about what happened, my feed got bombarded with responses telling me how Bailey dominated him in the practice. Hence, he was angry because he got his butt whipped by the rookie.
I’m sorry, I just didn’t see that.
Don’t get me wrong, Bailey flashed a little, but this concept that he was getting by him “pretty much every play,” I just didn’t see it.
And remember, unlike a game, we (the public and fans) don’t have access to replays of practice plays.
Also, remember, during a joint practice, you often have two fields going on at the same time; you often have two scrimmages, offense vs. defense, going on at the same time, since both teams have 90-man rosters right now.
So you are dividing your attention between two fields, two scrimmages at the same time; you can miss some details, and once again, there is no access to replay.
But from I could see, I didn’t see domination, and neither did Robby Sabo of Jets X-Factor – “No, he didn’t dominate … I do not agree.”
Sabo said that on Jake Asman’s podcast.
Sabo added Bailey’s domination was “over-exaggerated.”
Sabo, aside from covering the Jets, is also an assistant football coach at a high school.
We have also heard raves from reporters about rookie QB Cade Klubnik that the podcasters and bloggers have run with.
Yes, there have been some nice throws, which caught the attention of practice observers, but the kid has a lot to work on.
There is an old saying in the NFL that you often hear GMs say about scouts, “You have to evaluate the evaluators.”
What happens this time of year, especially with the explosion of Twitter (X), is fans, hungry for practice information, will take bold media assessments from practice to the bank.
But as Bill Parcells often said, “Know who you are.”
As sportswriters, we know some things, but not everything about what we are watching.
I will never forget something John Elway said when he took over as Denver Broncos GM – “I know what I don’t know.”
It’s time for some sports reporters to embrace this mantra, perhaps a little more when watching practice.
Stop talking about how great certain guys are doing when you don’t have access to the playbook and don’t know the assignments.
That is why I often hesitate to criticize coverage players because I don’t know the assignments, and sometimes it might look like one guy’s fault, but it’s not. Like when CB AZ Thomas was beat for a long TD by WR Tee Higgins last year down the right sideline in Cincinnati, but it turns out he was supposed to get safety help, which he didn’t.
Look, there are things you can praise. Of course there are. TE Jeremy Ruckert had a nice catch on Wednesday on a 50-50 ball. WR Arian Smith caught a 50-yard bomb on Wednesday. No reason to hesitate praising those kinds of plays. Pretty cut-and-dried.
But to say “David Bailey is getting by Luke Goedeke pretty much every play” is perhaps a bridge too far.
While most fans jumped on this tweet and trashed Goedeke, one fan took a more measured approach – “I expect a player with the traits of Bailey to have early success… I just take issue with how I’ve seen Jets media falsely report the joint practices. It’s stirring up their fans to antagonize Bucs players and fans while it’s completely unearned.” – Robb Hueter.
Also, keep something in mind about the one-on-one line drills you often see in camp. They favor the defensive player. ESPN’s Tom Luginbill once called it a “rigged drill.”
“The defensive player has a two-way go (can go right or left), no run support responsibility, and the offensive [lineman] is on his heels at a distinct disadvantage,” Luginbill said. “The drill is literally rigged. We read about how a defensive lineman had a dominant performance at a camp. Guess what, he should. #1, he’s the better athlete, he’s in a rigged drill, and we overinflate it.”
Goedeke is a very good player. He got a massive second contract before last season, a four-year deal for $90 million with $50 million guaranteed. Great right tackle money.
Bailey looks like he’s going to be a good one as well.
Here is my takeaway from the Bailey-Goedeke matchup.
Bailey got him with outside speed or spin moves at times, but when he tried to bull-rush the corn-fed midwestern lineman, he didn’t have a lot of success.
Memo to fans who are hanging their hats on some of the hyperbolic reports coming out of training camp – “Evaluate the evaluators.”
August 13, 2026
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