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Practice notes and Whispers from Florham Park . . .
WR Chad Hansen beat CB Trumaine Johnson on a deep post.
WR Ar’Darius Stewart beat Johnson on a crossing route.
Watching these plays made me think, “Considering how much money he got, should backup receivers be beating him like this for big plays?”
My take is that he might be pacing himself, not wanting to wear himself out in August in Florham Park.
We shall see . . .
Today was another strong day for all three Jets quarterbacks, just like yesterday.
In fact, all three have been good all camp.
They are deserve credit for their play, but I think facing a pedestrian pass rush day-in, day-out in camp has been helpful as well.
On most plays, they have ample time to throw.
The Jets edge rush must get better.
I think their best hope for a guy who can move the needle is rookie free agent Frankie Luvu.
Of all the Jets edge-rushers, I think he might have the best upside.
Somebody needs to emerge this year, or this could be a long year for the Jets’ defense. You can’t play a 3-4 defense on a high level without a top-shelf edge-rush . . .
Jets defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers was on the warpath today – ripping into players left and right.
He clearly feel the defense needs to get going with the season fast-approaching . . .
Steve McLendon gave a pep talk to his teammates after they finished stretching early in practice.
He told them, “Play fast, player hard, play smart.”
McLendon, who is still sidelined with a knee injury, seems close to a return.
He’s one of the true leaders of the Jets.
Another one of their leaders is McCown, who often gives these speeches to the team after stretching.
So how strange would this turn out to be if he’s not the starting quarterback as many in the media are pushing to be the case.
As I sit here today, I have no idea who the starter will be.
But how would it be to have a backup quarterback as a team leader. That would represent a very strange dynamic.
It’s also kind of unusual to have a quarterback, getting limited reps, giving speeches to the team, but the Jets’ brass clearly doesn’t think McCown needs a lot of reps to get ready to start, due to his lengthy history as a backup who would have to consistently go into games with limited practice time . . .
You read all this stuff where people are speculating that the Jets are leaning towards starting Darnold. An ESPN reporter said it’s “trending” that way.
I honestly don’t know how anybody could know this.
Some are basing this on Darnold getting the most QB reps, but that can be totally misleading. Remember, the two young quarterbacks last summer got a lot reps. Just like last year, the Jets feel that McCown doesn’t need a lot of reps to get ready.
So while Darnold is a better prospect than the Jets two prospects from last year, to say it’s “trending” towards Darnold starting, based on reps, might not be on target.
Once again, I have no idea who is going to start, but the reps is more a byproduct of getting Darnold a lot of work since he’s a 21-year-old developing QB, more than a sign they he is leading the competition . . .
Todd Bowles and Mike Maccagnan walked off the practice field together today (pictured above). I can’t remember the last time I saw this. Perhaps this is a sign that the relationship has improved. I heard from a couple of league sources this off-season that the GM and coach weren’t on the best terms.
August 20, 2018
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