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Cortland – It’s time for another heaping helping of Dan’s Website Whispers, live from Cortland, New York. Let’s talk about the morning practice . . .
It took ESPN analyst Keyshawn Johnson 16 hours to get from Los Angeles to Cortland due to travel delays.
He’s in town to a do some interviews for the worldwide leader.
Johnson addressed the media after practice, and made a lot of really, really good points about the Jets quarterback situation, and stressed over and over again this isn’t a QB platoon, and it was, it wouldn’t work.
“If this was a 50-50 split, they won’t win, and the (coaches) will be looking for a job next year,” Johnson said.
Johnson is a really impressive guy.
Not only has he carved a niche for himself as a broadcast, but he’s a hugely successful businessman.
He owes 23 Panera Bread restaurants in California . . .
While Rex says that Vlad Ducasse is competing with Matt Slauson for the starting left guard job, the UMass product is a longshot to grab that spot right now.
Rex is trying to pump up the third-year guard to improve his confidence. Think about it? With so much at stake this year for Rex and Mike, do you really think they are going to take a major chance at left guard, making a change from the steady Slauson, to the unproven Ducasse? That is highly unlikely.
Now Ducasse probably has more of an upside than Slauson. He the better athlete, bigger and more powerful, but he still has a lot to learn about left guard, since he’s been moved around so much (which was a mistake by the Jets).
But clearly what is going on here is the Jets are preparing Slauson to back-up at almost every position on the line, including tackle, so if there is an injury (aside from at left guard), he could move over to another spot, and Ducasse could plug in at left guard. So they are giving Slauson reps at a few different positions.
With Slauson’s versatility, it will allow them have less linemen active on game day.
At one point in practice, Ducasse was the left guard, and Slauson was at right guard . . .
On a deep pass early in practice, Stephen Hill and Ellis Lankster collided down field, and you could hear bones hitting.
They both limped away, but eventually seemed okay.
The Jets might want to limit these kind of calls in practice with Hill. He’s so aggressive going after the ball, there is a lot of contact between him and defensive backs. They are lucky he wasn’t hurt on this play.
Also, after a bunch of these plays, I saw him running back to the huddle, very winded.
But clearly he’s going to be special as a down field target. Not only does he has 4.3 speed, he has long arms and great leaping ability, that is a such a tremendous combo for a deep threat, as Darrelle Revis found out early in practice today . . .
Joe McKnight walked off the field with trainer John “Unchained” Mellody. He was hobbling like it was leg injury of some kind . . .
It’s kind of sad watching Mike DeVito on the sideline, with Quinton Coples starting in his place, with no competition for the job.
Of course Coples has more of an upside than DeVito at 6-6, 280 pounds with 4.7 speed, but why hand him the job? Let him earn it.
Coples had issues staying on-sides today . . .
Jeff Cumberland looks like a big part of the plans this year.
The Jets used a lot of two tight end packages in the starting offense, and Dustin Keller and Cumberland were the two guys.
He didn’t seem to be favoring his surgical Achilles at all . . .
July 27, 2012
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