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A heaping helping of Training Camp Whispers . . .
Josh McCown looked really good today.
He had a number of impressive throws, including a rocket over the middle to rookie tight end Chris Herndon (who looked terrific). The pass was in tight quarters – it was a nice throw and catch.
There was a nice bootleg to the left side where McCown rolled out and hit Herndon for a nice gain. The was a really smart call by McCown because Jamal Adams was blitzing off right edge, and by rolling to the left, he got away from the safety.
McCown’s arm looked very strong.
Right below where I was standing (on the second level of the Jets’ fieldhouse), McCown threw a rocket to rookie Jonah Trinnaman on the left sideline. It went through the rookie’s hands, which obviously isn’t good, but I was impressed with the velocity. At 38, McCown still has a live arm. He can still “spin it” as they say.
He was also clearly the leader of the team on the field, rallying the players up for a pep talk at the start of practice.
Look, I understand that the holdout of Sam Darnold isn’t ideal for the Jets, but I think the rookie is a longshot to start at the beginning of the season. Some people are going nuts about the holdout and ripping the Jets, but in my world-view this isn’t a big deal since I don’t view Darnold as the Week One starter.
To me, the Jets have the best of both worlds. They have a veteran QB, perhaps playing his best football, at the top of the QB mental curve who can make them a playoff contender this year, and they can take it slow with Darnold and have him ready to roll in 2019 . . .
A couple of defensive linemen caught my attention today, a pair of Pac-12 guys, Leonard Williams and Xavier Cooper. They both looked super quick beating offensive linemen into gaps. Cooper was outstanding today making a ton of impressive plays . . .
Speaking of defensive linemen, Jets third-round pick Nathan Shepherd must learn how to lower his pad level. He looked too upright today making himself easily negated. One example was on a long run by running back Trenton Cannon to the left side through a hole set up by Dakota Dozier locking of Shepherd whose pad level was too high.
At Fort Hays State, Shepherd could dominate overmatched offensive linemen with his physical ability, but that isn’t going to fly on this level.
I think he will be good in time, but he needs a lot of technique work . . .
Safety Rontez Miles watched today’s practice on the sideline with a therapeutic sleeve on his left leg.
He suffered a torn meniscus in the spring.
He’s on the PUP list. The Jets should not rush back since they are loaded at safety. Not only do they have promising second-year starters Jamal Adams and Marcus Maye but quality reserves in Terence Brooks, Doug Middleton, J.J. Wilcox and a sleeper – Kacy Rodgers II.
Rodgers looked good in the spring and had a strong practice today – he had a PD on a deep pass, and also hit tight end Bucky Hodges so hard after a catch, he coughed up the football. After the play, Rodgers let out a primal screen, showing a lot of passion.
Rodgers, who is the son of the Jets’ defensive coordinator of the same name, isn’t in Florham Park due to nepotism – he’s a legit player who has a chance to hang around. He has nice size (6-2, 220) and instincts. He’s very bright.
July 27, 2018
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