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Cortland – The Jets had their first day of practice today in Cortland, and JC publisher Dan Leberfeld has these thoughts and observations . . .
After covering Mike Westhoff as Jets special team’s coach the last 13 years, it’s strange seeing somebody else lording over that unit.
But, as you know, Westhoff retired after last season, and is now a member of the Jets pre-game radio show.
The new special team’s coach is Ben Kotwika.
It was interesting to see him on the practice field today, being very vocal, embracing his new role as the leader, no longer the second-in-command.
I don’t think I ever heard Kotwika’s voice on the field before today. Being a long-time military man, he’s well aware of the importance of chain of command, and when he was Mike’s assistant, Ben stayed in the background, did what Mike asked him to do.
But today, now in charge, he was barking out instructions left and right.
I think he’s a little more into positive reinforcement than Mike.
I don’t mean that as a shot at Mike, one of the greatest special team’s coaches in NFL history, but Ben’s style is definitely different.
Ben doesn’t seem to tear guys down as much . . .
One of the more impressive plays by a wide receiver today was by rookie free agent K.J. Stroud from Bethune Cookman.
Geno Smith threw a pretty deep ball down the left sideline.
And Stroud put on the afterburners, blew by CB Ellis Lankster, and hauled it in.
I’m telling you, they run this play all the time in practice, and usually it doesn’t work, because often receivers don’t have that late burst to run under the ball, like Wesley Walker used to, and pull away from cornerback. Stroud did just that.
I was standing on the sideline this happened, and I’m like, “Whoa, where did that come from?”
Stroud is 6-3, 205, and can fly.
The Brooklyn-native started his college career at Rutgers, but transferred to Bethune-Cookman, to get more playing time.
I’m not putting him in Canton, but I’m telling you, this was a very impressive play, the kind that catches the attention of the coaching staff and personnel department . . .
Another young receiver who had a nice grab today was Joe Collins, a second-year player out of Weber State, who was in Jets camp last summer.
He caught a deep out from Mark Sanchez.
I liked Collins last summer, and I continue to like him now. He’s 6-3, 200 pounds, and has really sure hands . . .
There was a lot of buzz today when Quinton Coples showed his excellent speed for a 280-pounder, and ran a scrambling Geno Smith out of bounds on the left sideline.
But you know what, in a play that wasn’t as publicized, he did the same thing to Sanchez on the right sideline, earlier in the practice.
Coples has great wheels for a guy his size . . .
I think it’s going to be very hard for Aussie rugby star Hayden Smith to make the team.
Watching him closely today, I noticed he lumbers in patterns, doesn’t have much of a burst.
Barring injury, the Jets three tight ends this year will likely be Kellen Winslow, Jeff Cumberland and Konrad Reuland.
Reuland is a very good blocker, but I also view him as an underrated receiver. I rarely see him drop anything thrown to him.
One scout told me Reuland is a 5.0 forty guy, which isn’t very good, so while he’s never going to get down the field, he’s rock solid on short routes, and that is all the Jets will ask him to handle, with Winslow and Cumberland on board . . .
I’m not going to get into the quarterbacks much today. It was just the first day of camp, and they both had their moments, but it’s way too early to discern anything right now.
And by the way, I think the stats being done by some are ridiculous.
Remember, there is no tackling in practice, and you can’t touch the quarterbacks. So often what happens is a play goes on past it’s realistic timetable.
So often a sack would happen, but the pass rusher lets up, and after the play would have been over, the quarterback completes a pass. So with that being the case, what is the point of the stats?
July 26, 2013
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