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Cortland -Dan Leberfeld checks in from SUNY-Cortland in Central New York with a bunch of good stuff from the Jets’ Monday practice . . .
The Jets signed RB Mossis Madu.
He came out of the University of Oklahoma in 2011, and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and made the team.
He’s similar to Mike Goodson in that he’s a running back who is built more like a wide receiver, and people have toyed with the idea of a position change over the years.
And like Goodson, he’s a very good receiver out of the backfield. With Tampa Bay in 2011, he had 10 catches in limited duty.
After the coaching change in Tampa Bay in 2012, he didn’t make the team the following summer, and was out of football last year.
He’s definitely a Marty Morhninweg kind of running back. Remember, Mornhinweg is a pass-first coordinator, and loves quick scat backs who are good at catching out of the backfield, and making people miss in the open field. Brian Westbrook and Shady McCoy are two good examples of Mornhinweg kind of backs.
I’m not saying Madu is as good as Westbrook and McCoy, but he’s that kind of tailback.
He has a very interesting lineage. His father is from Nigeria and is mother is a native of country I have to admit, and had not heard of before he told me – Saipan.
Saipan is a territory of the United States in the western Pacific Ocean, near Guam, another U.S. territory . . .
As you know, the Jets signed former Washington Redskins center Erik Cook.
With the injury to Dalton Freeman, and Caleb Schlauderaff’s inconsistent snapping, the Jets decided to bring in some insurance.
Guard Stephen Peterman has also taken some snaps at center in case of an emergency . . .
You know who is kind of an underrated player – DE Tevita Finau. The New Zealand-native of Tongan-descent, was on the Jets’ practice squad part of last year.
He is definitely build like a 3-4 end at 6-4, and round 290-295 pounds.
He’s very athletic, and has made a lot of plays in camp, including stopping RB John Griffin in the backfield today . . .
The release of Jordan White (with an injury settlement) didn’t come as a surprise. He was buried on the WR depth chart, and wasn’t getting a lot of reps . . .
One thing I’ve noticed about this camp, compared to the last few, is there is a lot more teaching of fundamentals.
New linebacker coach Brian VanGorder is a very good teacher. He is very vocal on the practice field. They can probably here him in Syracuse – lol . . .
Defensive line coach Karl Dunbar was working on hand technique today with Kenrick Ellis. It’s no secret he needs to step up in the technique department . . .
Speaking of defensive linemen, while Sheldon Richardson’s still is a work-in-progress with his technique, his quickness and athleticism are amazing for a 293-pound defensive linemen. On a running play today, he shot into the backfield and stopped Chad Spann for a loss . . .
Mark Sanchez took some very unfair criticism on Twitter today from a few reporters. He threw a pass into the end zone, and it went over a fence.
He was made fun of for this, but I’m telling you, I was standing right there, he was absolutely throwing it away – there was nobody open in the end zone.
The criticism was out of line . . .
Chris Ivory was working his tail off with a trainer on the side of the practice field today, doing a ton of physical therapy to get his hamstring right. He was really pushing himself, but I did notice that when he did anything involving cutting, he was somewhat ginger . . .
While Antonio Allen is starting at safety next to Dawan Landry, Kyle Wilson could replace him on passing downs . . .
Nick Bellore had a terrific PD on Spann in a coverage drill. Bellore has really had a very good camp, and has earned the right to get some PT at linebacker, not just on special teams . . .
For what it’s worth, Santonio Holmes was pushing himself very hard on the stationary bike today . . .
Geno Smith had a substandard practice today. Once again, the big issue was that he was holding on to the ball too long. He’s still a work-in-progress at reading coverages, which is understandable . . .
CB Darrin Walls continues to have a good camp. He had a nice PD on a deep out to Braylon Edwards today.
August 5, 2013
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