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New Jersey – The Jets reported for training camp today, so football is back in earnest in Florham Back. Let’s take a look at some of what went on today . . .
Darrelle Revis recently had a man-to-man talk with Sheldon Richardson, who is suspended for the first month of the season for smoking pot. Richardson can participate in training camp.
“Being older, I tried to share some wisdom,” Revis said.
Revis deserves credit for this, but to me while it’s great for teammates to support Richardson, as they should, there is only so much they can do.
This is a situation that likely is only going to improve with professional counseling.
Richardson couldn’t stopping smoking pot with SO much at stake (he’s losing $600,000 now and the suspension will likely cost him money in his next contract), so clearly there is a deep-seated issue here.
I’m not here to judge people who smoke pot. I know plenty of people who do. I’m just saying that when you play in a league where it’s illegal, and you have already been caught, and you keep doing it, that is problematic . . .
It’s amazing to look at Geno Smith now, compared to when he first arrived from a physical standpoint.
It’s like one of those before-and-after pictures you see at the gym or in magazines.
When Smith first arrived in Florham Park, it looked like he didn’t spend much time in the gym. Now he looks like he’s been living in there.
His body is much more defined now – much better equipped to deal with the punishment NFL quarterbacks have to deal with . . .
The feeling around here is that Chan Gailey’s offensive approach is going to make things easier for Smith. Perhaps there were too many bells and whistles before. Clearly there was something amiss last year, with all the delay-of-game penalties and burned timeouts before the play clock expired.
But there is always one issue to keep in mind when you try to simplify the QB position or minimize it – you can’t always do it.
Generally this only works when you keep the score under control.
But sometimes you fall behind or face a really tough defense, and the quarterback needs to leave “The Simple Zone.”
“Chan will make it simple for (Geno),” said Charlie Casserly of the NFL Network. “But you can do that in every situation.”
A perfect example of what I’m talking about are the 2014 Kansas City Chiefs. They had perhaps the NFL’s most conservative, basic passing offense. That is fine when you can win 20-16. But if you get into a shootout with Denver, you are in a lot of trouble.
My point is there is only so much you can simplify and “hide” the position . . .
David Harris knows expectations for most NFL teams this time of year are sky high, so he feels you take them with a grain of salt.
“Nobody is going to say about their season – ‘we are going to miss the playoffs,’” Harris said . . .
July 29, 2015
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