Jets Wednesday Morning Recap & Hard Knocks Preview

The Good – Another strong day for Vernon Gholston, who collected praise from all the beat writers for constantly being in the backfield today, including back to back pressures on Kellen Clemens and a pressure on Mark Sanchez. Brodney Pool recorded a sack against Sanchez. Clemens hit Marcus Henry for a 50 yard touchdown (how about that connection?). Donovan Warren picked off Clemens. Vladimir Ducasse had one of this better days, while working with the ones. Kevin O’Connell hooked up with Larry Taylor for a 40 yard touchdown.

The Bad – Nick Mangold got his bell rung in individual drills while battling with Sione Pouha and didn’t participate in team drills. Kyle Wilson got called for a pass interference, which brought back a Jim Leonhard interception. It sounds like the defense beat up on the offense a little bit, especially when the second units were going against each other. Marquice Cole was beat by Larry Taylor for a long touchdown, a day after getting some work with the first team.

Play Of The Day – The long touchdown receptions by reserve receivers, Marcus Henry and Larry Taylor. Mark Brunell had one of his passes batted up in the air, caught it himself and took off for a short gain.

Played Who Helped Himself - The summer of Gholston continues

Player Who Hurt Himself – The extended missed time by Brashton Satele can’t be helping his case to make the roster. You hate to see Nick Folk missing field goals from under 45 yards.

Sanchez Stats – 8/15 in team drills. He was sacked once by Brodney Pool (stats courtesy of Manish Mehta).

Folk Stats – 4/6…misses from 42 and 44 yards.

Injury - Brashton Satele and Brian Jackson were out of practice today. Jason Taylor was back on the field. Joe McKnight and Jim Leonhard had their legs wrapped but were practicing.

Depth Chart – Vladimir Ducasse worked with the first team at left guard today.

Rex Ryan Press Conference Highlights -

• Ryan called for Darrelle Revis to come to the facility with anybody he wants and the entire organization will show up. He will cancel practice. Ryan thinks this is the only way to prevent any confusion over who is saying what, and that if they do it that way “I bet something gets done.”
• He said it was a “blatant joke” that Revis’ agents called Mike Tannenbaum and Woody Johnson “blatant liars.”
• Nick Mangold was held out for precautionary reasons after being hit on the head.
• The Jets could still consider keeping four quarterbacks.
• He wasn’t happy with the pass protection in today’s practice.
• The player he has been most impressed with on the Jets defense so far has been Kyle Wilson, particularly his communication and studying skills…posturing?
• He doesn’t think the Jets will run the ball as much as they did last year but will maintain a “Ground and Pound” mentality.

Revis Update – The big story of the day was Gary Myers reporting the Jets and Revis are 40 million dollars apart in negotiations. Despite the Jets offering a 10 year, 120 million dollar contract, the Revis camp isn’t satisfied because of the lack of guaranteed money and signing bonus.

Hard Knocks Preview

Enough of all the Revis talk for a second and let’s get excited about HBO’s Hard Knocks premiering tonight, featuring the New York Jets. A few things to look for:

An All-Time Record – Bart Scott may break a record for most words spoken in a single hour of television. He will absolutely break the record for most trash talking in a single hour.

Revis (whoops) – Apparently we won’t see much of a focus on the Revis situation tonight but I am sure there will have to be at least a few quotes on him from some of the players and coaches. I just don’t want to see any camera footage of Mike Tannenbaum arguing on the phone or the faces of Revis’ agents.

The Beard – Interested to see Braylon Edwards’ beard in HD tonight…that thing has a life of its own.

The Meeting Room – Among my favorite parts of Hard Knocks is when they show the coaches discussing the depth chart and specific players in a meeting room. Let’s see who Rex Ryan and company are high on and who is on their way out the door.

Camera Hogs – I am guessing we are going to see plenty of Nick Mangold, Bart Scott, Mark Sanchez, Rex Ryan and to a slightly lesser extent Braylon Edwards, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Kyle Wilson.

Quotes – I am sure Ryan will spend 15 – 20 minutes discussing a Super Bowl. Maybe he will take a shot at New England or Miami along the way.

Hard Knocks

Jets Fans: Stop The Pity Party

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Do you remember December 30th 2007? I do. I was sitting in the pouring rain watching the 3-12 New York Jets play the 4-11 Kansas City Chiefs. The Jets won the game 13-10. I left the stadium frustrated because we hurt our draft position, ultimately falling to number six where the team would select Vernon Gholston. Our quarterback of the future, Kellen Clemens, had just played one of his better games of the 2007 season: 13/25, 115 yards, TD. Our newly signed starting running back, Thomas Jones, scored his second touchdown of the season. The offensive line was in shambles. The defense prominently featured players like Dewayne Robertson, Victor Hobson, David Barrett, and Erik Coleman.

Fast forward to January 20th, 2008. The New York Giants upset the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship Game, sending the Jets in-stadium rivals to face their division rivals, the New England Patriots (coming off a perfect regular season) in the Super Bowl. The Giants and Patriots went on to play one of the most memorable championship games in league history, while the Jets wallowed in complete and utter irrelevancy.

Do you remember those days? They weren’t too long ago. Do you remember gearing up for a broken down Chad Pennington/Kellen Clemens quarterback battle? What about the few months of the Kellen Clemens/Brett Ratliff/Erik Ainge battle? How about heading into training camp with Brad Smith/David Clowney/Chansi Stuckey fighting it out for a starting receiver spot? At cornerback, do you recall players like Hank Poteat, Drew Coleman, and Barrett rotating in a starting spot? The Jets offensive line used to feature players like Anthony Clement and Adrien Clarke.

Yes, the Darrelle Revis holdout sucks. There really isn’t a better way to put it. Revis was a player our organization was savvy enough to trade up to select, who developed in front of our eyes into the league’s best cornerback and arguably best defensive player. The entire league took notice. We got to see one of our players featured in Nike commercials and constantly be talked about on the NFL Network and ESPN. Everybody was looking forward to his encore performance to an epic 2009 season. Bring on Brandon Marshall. Bring on Randy Moss. Bring on Chad Ochocinco Johnson. Bring on Andre Johnson. Send every diva, big-name receiver at our defense and watch him disappear.

It now looks like that may not happen. Before you bury the Jets organization, before you bury Woody Johnson, Mike Tannenbaum, and Rex Ryan, remember this: Tannenbaum brought this team back to relevancy with the resources provided to him by Johnson. He got us Mark Sanchez so we didn’t have to watch Kellen Clemens or Brett Ratliff one-hop curl routes. He beefed up the defense by trading for Kris Jenkins and Antonio Cromartie, hitting on David Harris in the second round, and signing Calvin Pace, Bart Scott, and Jim Leonhard. On offense, he collected an impressive arsenal of weapons for his franchise quarterback.

Rex Ryan may have hurt the Jets bargaining position by showing too much love for his player to the media. However, that is Ryan’s personality. Don’t talk about loving all the swagger and confidence he brought to the organization and then get mad when he gives due praise to a player. I will take the negative impact on negotiations Rex Ryan brings, in exchange for all the positives he has brought the Jets, which shouldn’t have to be listed.

Don’t talk yourself into hating Revis either. The Jets organization approached him about re-negotiating his contract and after hearing everything they said about him, he expects to be compensated at a substantially higher level in 2010 (currently scheduled to be the eight highest paid defensive back on the Jets). Yes, he should understand that Al Davis is clinically insane and gave Nnamdi Asomugha an aberration of a contract and yes he has three years left on his deal but this is a business. The Jets botched the Leon Washington situation to an extent, which has burned a scary image into the heads of current players. Who wants to shipped off to the rain in Seattle to play for Pete Carroll without a new contract?

There is plenty of blame to go around. The Jets organization gets a little. Darrelle Revis gets a little. Al Davis can have a little. Leon Washington’s injury is a factor. Yet, there is no reason to spend all pre-season pouting and looking for somebody to blame.

Guess what? Even without Darrelle Revis, the Jets are loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. They are still the favorite in the AFC East. They are being featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks. They have knocked the Giants and yes even the Yankees off the back page. We aren’t playing in Giants Stadium anymore. The Jets are playing in primetime in weeks 1, 3, and 5 to start off the season, along with Thanksgiving night and a December Monday night showdown in New England. Beyond that, there is still a relatively good chance Revis will join the team at some point before the regular season starts, despite all of Woody Johnson’s posturing today.

So relax Jets fans, life is good, enjoy the ride in 2010. We are the team everybody loves to hate and really what is better than that in sports?

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Jets Thursday Training Camp Round-Up

Some assorted thoughts on Jets training camp as we head towards the weekend –

First off, a friendly reminder to follow Turn On The Jets on Facebook and Twitter (TurnOnTheJets).

The Jets early practice was cut short by rain this morning and they only had a special teams session in the afternoon. Hence, the normal avalanche of information about specific plays in practice wasn’t released today, however here is a run down of the biggest headlines:

• Joe Namath graced the organization with his presence today and was quick to pronounce his belief the Jets were poised to win the Super Bowl. For some reason this was reported as a major story. I am not sure it is so shocking that a Jets legend who is involved in working with the organization is going to say he is confident the Jets will be really good in 2010. It is about as surprising as Rex Ryan saying he thinks the Jets will have the best defense in the NFL, which he says about 11 times a day.
• Kris Jenkins had a scare today when he took a shot to his leg and admitted he had a similar feeling to when he tore his ligaments last year. However, everything held together and he said surviving that shot has boosted his confidence about the strength of his leg heading into this season. I would still expect Jenkins to have very limited reps in the pre-season. It will also be interesting to see the amount of playing time Jenkins gets in the beginning of the regular season as the Jets attempt to keep him fresh for the stretch run. Sione Pouha is a more than capable back-up, who can provide a high amount of quality reps off the bench.
• Linebacker Brashton Satele’s injury isn’t that serious and he should be back at practice within in the next few days.
• Steve Weatherford was rested for this afternoon’s special teams practice. Apparently punter TJ Conley has improved substantially from last season but it sounds like Weatherford still has a very strong hold on the job.
• Mike Westhoff announced today that Kyle Wilson will be the Jets primary punt returner and Brad Smith will be the primary kick returner heading into the pre-season. I would still expect to see some Jim Leonhard on punt return for certain situations, along with Antonio Cromartie getting a few reps occasionally at both punt returner and kick returner. Aundrae Allison or Joe McKnight should also get some reps in the pre-season to be given a chance to make an impression.
• Rex Ryan signed the Jets logo on Adam Schefter’s ESPN training camp tour bus “Soon To Be Champs.”…you have to love the big guy.

• From listening to every single interview on WFAN and ESPN Radio today at Jets camp (I was stuck working construction)…it sounds like there has been no tangible progress on the Revis deal and we should all be settling in for a long wait. In the meantime, Revis has been pairing up with old his buddy Chad Ochocino Johnson to work on the OCNN Network. All of his teammates said all the right things about supporting his decision and believing the team could be fine without him, while he sorts out his contract situation. Overall, I would say Rex Ryan has absolutely made his imprint across this roster. The confidence across the board from all the players is extremely encouraging.
• It continues to sound like Matt Slauson has a very good shot of beating out rookie Vladimir Ducasse for the starting left guard position.

The Jets have a practice at 8:20 and 4:20 tomorrow and then have their annual Green and White scrimmage on Saturday at 6 PM.

A Few Shovel Fulls of TOJ TV

Jets Practice #5 Quick Recap & A Pat On The Back For Nick Mangold and David Harris

Quick highlights of what is being reported from the Jets afternoon practice -

• It sounded like a much better session for Mark Sanchez who hit a handful of check downs to LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene, hit Santonio Holmes for a touchdown and had another long connection with Jerricho Cotchery.
• Linebacker Brashton Satele left the field with a leg injury.
• Vernon Gholston? Another sack…when did this guy turn into Mr. Augusut?
• Yesterday’s story of the day, Jeff Cumberland, dropped two passes today.
• Santonio Holmes came back with a bang, making a diving touchdown reception from Mark Sanchez and then catching a wide open touchdown a few players later from Kellen Clemens.
• Drew Coleman had his third interception over the past two days.
• Jason Taylor recorded a sack today.
• Nick Folk has been booming kickoffs.

The Jets organization better reward Nick Mangold and David Harris for being such good soldiers with their contact situations. They are in the final years of their contracts, have easily outperformed their current deals but still have showed up to camp. Look at these quotes:

“I’m a football player,” Mangold said.  “Camp is what you do.  You know it’s just one of those things.  I decided after thinking about every option to be here and put my best foot forward and try to have a good time up here in beautiful Cortland.”

“I’m being patient and just getting ready for football,” Harris said of his contract situation. “My agent will take care of everything else. I love to play football and I love to be around my teammates. I’ll be at camp on time.”

Are you kidding me in this day and age of players holding out when they have three years left on a deal they originally held out twenty days for? Can you ask for anything more out of the best center in the NFL or one of the best inside linebackers in the NFL?

When the contract situation with Darrelle Revis is resolved, the Jets better remember to write a fat check to #74 and #52, two members of the core four who handled their contract situation the right way.

Jets Practice #4 Recap & Thoughts On Offensive Depth Chart

Practice #4 Recap

The Good – LaDainian Tomlinson beating David Harris on a slant route and taking it all the way to the end-zone. Mark Sanchez drawing Kris Jenkins off-sides. Joe McKnight holding his own against Bart Scott in pass protection drills. John Conner getting another big hit in, this time on Calvin Pace. Braylon Edwards beating Dwight Lowery for a 20 yard touchdown in 7 on 7 drills. Sanchez squeezing one down the seam to Jerricho Cotchery for a touchdown. Kyle Wilson getting his first interception of camp, when he picked off a Mark Brunell pass headed towards David Clowney. Aundrae Allison catching a long touchdown from Kevin O’Connell. Antonio Cromartie pulling in two more interceptions from Sanchez.

The Bad – Dwight Lowery getting beat for a touchdown, where is our Island? Joe McKnight had yet another drop today. Mark Sanchez was picked off  twice by Antonio Cromartie in 11 on 11s. Kellen Clemens was picked off by Drew Coleman. Mark Brunell was picked off by Kyle Wilson. Sanchez botched a pitch to LaDainian Tomlinson. Nick Folk missing a 35 yard and 40 yard field goal.

Play of the Day – Braylon Edwards out jumped Antonio Cromartie for a one-handed reception that set up the game winning field goal in the two minute drill.

Player Who Helped Himself – John Conner is catching everybody’s attention at least once every practice. He might end up with a bigger role on the offense than Joe McKnight and his pan hands.  Antonio Cromartie has interceptions two consecutive days and from all accounts has put together a very good few days to start camp.

Player Who Hurt Himself – Mark Sanchez hasn’t gotten off to the best start this summer. His completion numbers have been a little disappointing and he has thrown a few interceptions over the past couple of practices.

Sanchez Stats – 8/17, 2 INTs in 11 on 11s (both INTs by Cromartie)…thanks to Manish Mehta for the numbers.

Folk Stats – 6/8 (1 miss from 35 yards and 1 miss from 40 yards)

Roster Moves – Kris Jenkins was taken off the Active/PUP list and was back to practice. Don’t expect to see Erik Ainge anytime soon, since it was reported that he has been checked into a drug treatment/rehab facility. Ainge was suspended four games in 2008 for substance abuse. Kellen Clemens is back to practicing 100 percent. Santonio Holmes has to pass his conditioning test this morning and then is expected on the field this afternoon.

Injury – Shaun Ellis sat out of practice today because the coaches advised him to take a day off.

Depth Chart – John Conner saw some reps with the first team offense at fullback. Matt Slauson was back to working as the starting left guard. Ropati Pitoitua and Vernon Gholston both received first team reps at defensive end, as did Jason Taylor.

Rex Ryan Press Conference Highlights -

• Called today the “Cromartie and Braylon Edwards” show.
• Santonio Holmes will have to pass his conditioning test after his suspension and will be a full go in this afternoon’s practice.
• Praised punter Steve Weatherford’s work this off-season, including his holding.
• Said he hasn’t noticed the Hard Knocks cameras in meetings and that they have been discreet.
• He praised Antonio Cromartie’s desire to learn how to do things “the Jets way.”
• Jim Leonhard is the top “hands” option as a punt returner, meaning if there is any poor weather conditions he would be placed back there. However, he said the coaching staff wants Kyle Wilson to win the full time job.

Revis Update – In an interview yesterday, Peter King of SI said he believed Revis had more leverage than the Jets and that a deal wouldn’t be finalized until around Labor Day.

Thoughts On Offensive Depth Chart

It sounds like Matt Slauson has a much better chance at winning the starting left guard job  than most people (including myself) originally gave him. He has been rotating every practice with Vladimir Ducasse and got the nod in the Jets first practice. Rich Cimini of ESPN New York gave him a slight edge when asked about the battle. If Slauson does happen to win the job, it will be interesting to see if the Jets spend the season grooming Ducasse to replace Damien Woody at right tackle in 2011. Ducasse could also be given a role in some of the Jets short yardage packages, similar to Robert Turner and Wayne Hunter.

Tomlinson is off to a strong start in camp and has been receiving a good amount of reps with the first team offense. I still don’t buy him competing with Shonn Greene for the starting job but he will get plenty of work in the pre-season to show the Jets he still has the necessary burst. Tomlinson is probably looking at 9-13 touches a game until Joe McKnight gets his act together and can become a bigger part of the offense. Also in the backfield, it sounds like John Conner is having one of the most impressive overall camps so far. He may actually carve out a little role for himself in the offense this year in certain situations or if he keeps playing so well, is it possible the Jets could release Tony Richardson at some point this summer? Going back to McKnight, if he keeps struggling it only increases the chances of Danny Woodhead sticking on the roster.

Santonio Holmes returns to the practice field this afternoon. I am anxious to hear about where Brian Schottenheimer is lining him up and if the Jets are trotting out any four and five receiver sets. There hasn’t been much talk about the Jets using their “Tiger” formation yet, however they could just be waiting until the more basic offensive installation is done.

Jets are back on the practice field at 4:20.

Practice #3 Recap & AFC East Round-Up

Practice #3 Recap

The Good – Nick Folk going 5/5 on field goal attempts. Mark Sanchez and Dustin Keller showing good chemistry, which was sorely lacking during a good part of the regular season in 2009. Antonio Cromartie pulling in a nice interception. David Clowney catching a 80 yard touchdown pass. Kenwin Cummings and Wayne Hunter getting into a scuffle, which drew Mike Pettine and Brian Schottenheimer into a screaming match. From my playing days, watching an offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator fight on the practice field is always entertaining. Vernon Gholston (Gasp) made a few impact plays. Rookie UDFA tight end Jeff Cumberland flashed on a couple of plays, making me look smart for mentioning him in my training camp sleepers article on Saturday (Yes, I know I mentioned Britt Davis too, whatever).

The Bad – Sanchez throwing an interception and having sub-par completion numbers (6/13). Brodney Pool getting beat by Clowney for that 80 yard touchdown. Kris Jenkins still being on the sideline with a hamstring injury. The fact that we have to hear about Brett Favre nonstop for the next week(s). Beyond that, there weren’t too many negatives being reported.

Plays of the Day – Clowney’s touchdown. Cromartie’s interception. Vernon Gholston’s “would have been a sack in a real game,” always sad that it is such huge news when that occurs.

Player Who Helped Himself – Jeff Cumberland getting his name out there with a few big plays. Nick Folk for remaining steady on day two.

Player Who Hurt Himself – Doesn’t really sound like anybody did too much damage today, although it sounds like Kellen Clemens and Erik Ainge are on their way out the door.

Sanchez Stats – 6/13, 1 INT (Cromartie) in 11 on 11s

Folk Stats – 5/5 (all under 40 yards) still…good start for Folk.

Roster Moves – The Jets signed wide receiver Vic Hall.

Depth Chart – Vladimir Ducasse worked with the first team at left guard today. Kellen Clemens was back on the practice field in a limited role. Kris Jenkins remained sidelined.

Rex Ryan Press Conference Highlights -

• The team hasn’t hesitated mentioning Darrelle Revis in team meetings and Ryan conceded that he knows Revis’ uncle Sean Gilbert is playing a big role in consulting his decision making process.
• He praised Nick Folk’s strong start to training camp and admitted he was worried about him after OTAs.
• He mentioned how David Clowney needs to step up on special teams to help fill the void left by Wallace Wright.
• When discussing the tight ends, he said Jeff Cumberland has been impressive catching the ball but needs to block better. He would also like to see Dustin Keller become more involved in the run blocking. There was also a bold guarantee of Ben Hartsock doubling his production from 2009 (1 reception, 1 yard, 1 touchdown).
• Normal praise for Vernon Gholston’s “progress”. I’ll believe it when I see it.
• Ryan said he knows nothing about the status of Erik Ainge…probably doesn’t bode well for his chances of making the roster.
• Praise for new acquisitions Antonio Cromartie (new found physicality, LaDainian Tomlinson (still showing burst) and Brodney Pool (ability to quickly pick up the Jets system).

Revis Update – It has been confirmed that Mike Tannenbaum reached out to Revis’ agent last night, in hopes of setting up a meeting. Obviously it is good news that the lines of communication are remaining open and I liked Woody Johnson’s proactive approach about getting a deal done in his press conference yesterday. Honestly, I wouldn’t bank on Revis playing in the first pre-season game but I’d be happy enough if he was back in time for the second or third game.

AFC East Round-Up

Buffalo Bills – Aaron Schobel’s career with the Bills is now over, as they will look to trade or release him. This is good news for D’Brickashaw Ferguson, who always struggled with Schobel. If your Buffalo, you don’t have enough good players to let one of your few ones walk away. Rookie tackle Ed Wang suffered a relatively serious injury and could be out for awhile, as did rookie linebacker Danny Batten. Trent Edwards remains on top of the quarterback depth chart. Currently, Steve Johnson is starting opposite Lee Evans at wide receiver. The Bills had a fight at camp yesterday when last year’s rookie disappointment Aaron Maybin took a cheap shot at Fred Jackson, which fired up the offensive line. Rookie CJ Spiller is still unsigned.

Miami Dolphins – Karlos Dansby has made a strong impression so far at camp. Rookie linebacker A.J. Edds tore a knee ligament in yesterday’s practice. There is some chatter on Twitter about Chad Pennington looking better than Chad Henne so far but our favorite beat writer, Armando Salguero, disagreed with the sentiment. Rookie John Jerry is looking like the leading candidate to start at right guard. First round pick Jared Odrick has been impressive.

New England Patriots – Wes Welker has been practicing with the team. It doesn’t sound like Torry Holt is going to stick around on the final roster, as the Patriots want to give a bigger role to second year players Julian Edelman and Brandon Tate. Nick Kaczur and Ty Warren have been missing time with injuries. Rookie receiver Taylor Price and rookie tight end Aaron Hernandez have been heavily involved in the offense.

TOJ TV

Practice #1 Recap & Why Revis Holdout Won't Be Short

First a few updates:

1. Our standard training camp procedure is going to be this, after the Jets daily 8:20 AM practice and Rex Ryan’s subsequent press conference, there will be an article summarizing what happened as reported by the beat writers along with analysis of what it all means, along with discussion of another topic. At night, after their 4:20 PM practice, we will do the same thing. On days when there is only special teams practice at 4:20, we should be able to worry a little less about what happened on the practice field and expand on some other issues. There will of course also be posts on their days off, previews and recaps of all the pre-season games, and previews and recaps of Hard Knocks.

2. Follow Turn On The Jets on Facebook and Twitter (TurnOnTheJets).

Practice #1 Recap & Why Revis Holdout Won’t Be Short

Practice #1 Recap

The Good – Bart Scott making fun of Mark Brunell’s age when he came off the bench to run the 2nd offense. Nick Folk going 7-8 on field goal attempts. Braylon Edwards making two impressive catches over Antonio Cromartie. Mark Sanchez not throwing any interceptions. Jason Taylor practicing at 100 percent. James Ihedigbo lighting up Joe McKnight on a run up the middle…welcome to the NFL, rookie.

The Bad – Laveranues Coles dropped a well thrown deep ball by Mark Brunell. Wayne Hunter dropped a short, tackle eligible pass from Mark Sanchez. Joe McKnight muffed a kickoff and dropped a pass. David Clowney had a few drops, including an easy one on a short slant from Sanchez, which drew the ire of Brian Schottenheimer. LaDainian Tomlinson had a fumble in 9 on 7 drills.

Plays of the Day – It sounds like the two acrobatic grabs by Braylon Edwards over Antonio Cromartie were the highlights of practice. Edwards has had a strong off-season and it good to see that he is keeping up in Cortland. Also, Nick Folk starting off camp 7-8 on field goal attempts is the best news of the day, as far as I’m concerned.

Player Who Helped Himself – Braylon Edwards continues to make a case for himself as a legit number one receiver. It can’t hurt Danny Woodhead’s roster chances that Joe McKnight is struggling so much. Rex Ryan also raved about John Conner and how physical he was in the team’s inside run drill. He commented that drafting Conner was his decision and he is feeling pretty good about it right now.

Player Who Hurt Himself – Joe McKnight and David Clowney. McKnight apparently has some anxiety issues, which has factored in his conditioning problems. He passed his conditioning test yesterday with flying colors after calming down but prior to that failed. His nerves continued to hurt him on the practice field today as he muffed a kickoff and dropped a pass. He also took a big shot on a running play from hard hitting safety James Ihedigbo. If the guy is getting this nervous for practice, what he is going to do under the bright lights of Monday Night Football in week one? Clowney has had problems with drops in the past and simply put can’t afford any mistakes in the Jets crowded receiver situation.

Sanchez Stats – Unofficially 4/9 in 11 on 11s.

Folk Stats – 7-8 on field goal attempts…his only miss came from 36 yards. An encouraging sign for everybody who is rightfully panicked about the Jets kicking situation.

Roster Moves – The Jets released WR Britt Davis last night. I was kind of surprised by the move because of the strong camp Davis had in 2009. Yet, the Jets are obviously crowded at the receiver position, especially after adding Laveranues Coles (who is now wearing #85 by the way).

Depth Chart – Brodney Pool was starting at safety. Mike DeVito started at defensive end. Sione Pouha started for Kris Jenkins. Mark Brunell was the #2 quarterback. Dwight Lowery took the bulk of the reps for Darrelle Revis. Vladimir Ducasse and Matt Slauson rotated as the starting left guard. Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson rotated as the starting running back. Danny Woodhead worked as the third down back. Brad Smith, Antonio Cromartie, Joe McKnight, Kyle WIlson, and Larry Taylor all worked at kick returner.

Rex Ryan Press Conference Highlights -

• Disappointed with the lack of physical contact overall.
• Raved about the physicality of rookie fullback John Conner
• LaDainian Tomlinson tweaked his hamstring before camp but insisted on participating in conditioning drills and now appears to be 100 percent.
• Didn’t sound too thrilled with Revis when asked about him. He said “there is 11 Jets on defense right now, that’s all I know. We don’t have Revis Rules.”
• He is impressed with the type of command Mark Sanchez now has over the offense and how he has bulked up a little bit over the off-season.
• Pleased with Mark Brunell and how he can help all of the young quarterbacks.
• Said Joe McKnight gets too hyped up but he still is an impressive kid and is explosive when he hits the hole.
• He did his normal hopeful talk about the potential of Vernon Gholston and said he may be the fastest defensive end in the league…oh boy.

Revis Update – Nothing substantive.

Why Revis Holdout Won’t Be Short

All of the rhetoric coming from both sides yesterday, made it sound like there has been plenty of dialogue yet no progress on agreement on total compensation or guaranteed money. Considering how long this has been going on, it is unlikely everything is going to snap into place in the next few days. Don’t forget Revis held out 20 days in his rookie season and Mike Tannenbaum characterized his rookie contract as “the most difficult negotiations he has ever been a part of.” As the regular season inches closer, the pressure on the organization will rapidly increase. Also, the public image of Darrelle Revis, who has just arrived as a legitimate NFL superstar will take a bigger hit. You would think these factors will push them towards an agreement by the end of the pre-season but you never know. Sean Gilbert, who is Darrelle Revis’ uncle, is closely involved with these negotiations and he sat out an entire season in protest of his contract.

Jenny Vrentas of The Star Ledger wrote yesterday that Mike Tannenbaum appeared genuinely surprised in his press conference that he couldn’t reach an agreement with Revis. Considering the wide range of maneuvers Mr. T has pulled off in recent years that also isn’t an encouraging sign. Even though public opinion seems to be on the Jets side, I feel like Revis has more leverage because of how much hype the Jets have built up around themselves this season. Rex Ryan can posture to the media all he wants, but he knows how badly the Jets need Revis. Woody Johnson just paid for a new stadium and got his organization on HBO, it isn’t good for business when you demonstrate you can’t take care of your best employee. This team is now extremely self-conscious about their media portrayal and shedding the “same old Jets” label, unfortunately having your best player hold out before the most hyped season in franchise history looks like a little dysfunctional.

TOJ TV