Monday Training Camp Whispers

Should a player be praised for knocking the wind out of another player by blocking him in his private parts? Probably not, but that happened today . . . more on that later.

The Jets clearly hurt David Clowney’s confidence by signing Lavaranues Coles right before training camp.
On the first day of camp, he dropped two passes in the morning and had another bad drop in the afternoon.
Coles is one of the greatest players in Jets history, a true warrior. However, he looked like he slipped a little last year in Cincinnati.
Is he better than Clowney right now? Probably. But Clowney is now in his third season with the team. If you have a receiver around that long, and you need a third for fourth receiver for a month, why is Clowney around if he can’t fill in for a few games? Remember, the starters when Holmes is out will be Jerricho Cotchery and Braylon Edwards. Brad Smith will get some reps as the #3, so you could make the argument Coles was brought in to be the fourth receiver for four games.
And let’s not forget that Dustin Keller is an H-Back and lines up often as wide receiver, and gets thrown to a lot. Also, the Jets have big plans for L.T. in the passing game.
So with Cotchery, Edwards, Smith, Keller and Tomlinson all going to be part of the passing game over the first month, why did Tannebaum need to bring in Coles, and thrown Clowney for a loop?
Did the GM forget the two 71-yard touchdown passes Clowney caught in one preseason game?
When Cotchery was out last year with a hamstring, Clowney caught four passes for 72 yards against the Dolphins, including a 53-yard reception.
Clowney also caught four passes for 79 yards and a touchdown against Oakland.
So he can’t be the third or fourth receiver for a month?
Clowney looked really bad in practice on Monday.
Like a player who had lost some confidence.
And considering the lack of respect they Jets showed him by signing Coles, you can understand why.

DAY ONE PRACTICE OBSERVATIONS –
Wide receiver Andrae Allison looked good in the afternoon practice, hauling in a couple of quick slants in traffic . . .
Mark Sanchez didn’t look great in the afternoon practice, like when he threw behind Dustin Keller on a crossing route . . .
Antonio Cromartie had a nice PD on a comeback route to Braylon Edwards on the right side. He did a good job staying in Edwards hip pocket. The 6-3 Cromartie is a good matchup for the 6-3 Edwards, and “Cro” will really help the Jets deal with big receivers on their schedule like Brandon Marshall and Randy Moss . . .
The Jets are playing Brodney Pool so deep, on some plays he might be in Ithaca . . .
While it’s true that fullback John Connor has several real nice blocks in the morning practice, and did not the wind out of a few linebackers, it’s really important to consider what he did to Kenwin Cummings. The reason Connor knocked the wind out of Cummings was because he blocked him right in the male private parts. He definitely didn’t do it on purpose, but what player wouldn’t get the wind knocked out of him if he was blocked right in the reproductive organ? . . .
Linebacker Josh Mauga definitely has ability. He had passes defensed in both the morning and afternoon practices . . .
Along with his on-and-off conditioning problems, Joe McKnight is wildly inconsistent. He dropped a perfect pass from Mark Brunell and a kickoff in the morning practice.
If I’m the Jets I bring this kid along very slowly. He’s got a lot of raw ability, but needs quite a bit of work.