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New Jersey – Here are some more of Dan’s thoughts and Whispers from the New York Jets OTA’s this week in Florham Park . . .
The Jets’ brass wasn’t too happy with Brian Costello (New York Post) criticizing Eric Decker (pictured above with Tommy Kendall, host of Test Drive on Fox Sports 1) for missing the voluntary OTA practice on Wednesday to go with his wife to the Country Music Awards. His wife is a country music singer.
I guess I look at this two ways.
Decker is very bright. He scored a 43 on the Wonderlic test at the combine – the top score from his class. When the real bullets start flying in early September, he will know the playbook and route tree like the back of his hand. Decker has a reputation as a very, very hard worker in the weight room, film room, practice field and so forth. Work ethic and doing his due diligence has never been an area anybody questioned with this player.
But on the other hand, one thing I noticed watching the OTA practice yesterday, were some chemistry issues between Geno Smith/Michael Vick and some of the targets. There were too many passes hitting the ground. This is a good time of year to work out the kinks.
I guess in a selfish way, I wish Brian hadn’t written what he did. I know he has a job to do, and he works for a tabloid, but that kind of article in the spring, with a new guy, can really hurt the relationship between the player and the press, and sometimes it never recovers.
The proof will be in the pudding with Decker once the real games start.
But I do wonder one thing – would Decker have done this with Peyton Manning? . . .
In the battle for the third QB job, Tajh Boyd looked better than Matt Simms yesterday.
To me, at this stage, Simms should be a little better at reading defenses.
I will give you an example from Wednesday’s practice.
Simms threw a pass down the left sideline to Jalen Saunders that was broken up. Saunders wasn’t open.
But Quincy Enunwa was wide open on a post down the deep middle – wide open, waving his arms . . .
One guy not to overlook in the Jets now crowded wide receiver room is Greg Salas. He was catching everything in sight yesterday. He has strong, steady hands. He also seems a lot more confident with the offense. Remember last year, he joined the Jets’ mid-season, and was learning on the fly. Salas was a record-setting receiver at Hawaii, who was a fourth round pick of the St. Louis Rams in 2011 . . .
Alex Green looked good running the football on Wednesday. I know it’s hard to get too crazy about running backs in non-tackling practices, but what I saw was a player who looked quick making cuts for a 225-pound back.
I know people were quick to write-off Green, who also went to Hawaii, after the Darryl Richardson waiver claim, but not so fast.
First of all, there are no guarantees with Richardson. The Jets claimed him to kick the tires, and he has to prove he can stay healthy. Also, you just get the sense Mike Goodson isn’t going to be around.
I know Green should rent, not buy in Florham Park, but don’t be shocked if he’s on the Jets this year . . .
June 5, 2014
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