The Jet Press » Sean Lester Durham

Quick Pre-Camp Thoughts on New York Jets DT Damon Harrison

Sean Lester Durham — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 09:30:37 +0000

Dec 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets defensive tackle Damon Harrison (71) during the game against the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Jets 28-9. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

Sean Lester Durham’s thoughts on the Jets young lineman.

Jets have a lot of new faces on the roster and tons of underrated players as well but one of my favorites is DT Damon Harrison aka Snacks aka Big Dame aka Watermelon Jones (I made the last one up).

What I see in Harrison is essentially what you want to see in every football player on your team as a fan; hunger, pride, skill, athleticism and hunger, PLUS he’s hungry. Harrison didn’t see much playing time last season outside of a brief appearance last season when DT Kenrick Ellis went down with an injury. But, even in that brief appearance Harrison showed his potential and hunger, attacking the backfield and ball carrier with tenacity.

Yeah it’s virtually impossible to sit here and predict Harrison will be productive this season as the Jets have yet to even begin camp but it’s not impossible to predict that if and when Harrison is given another chance to show case his talent, he’ll go hard and give Jets fans something to be proud of.

I’m rooting for the Jets to put the best most talented starting D-line group out there on Sundays and I would not be surprised if Harrison ends up being apart of that group as a starter or a rotational player that seems to be getting noticeably more playing time as the season progresses. Some people would probably classify Harrison as an “underrated” player but I don’t underrate him, I know he’s a special talent and will show that one day.

Geno Smith – A New York Jets Quick Pre-Camp Take

Sean Lester Durham — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 18:00:18 +0000

If you have listened to the overtones in Jets Nation since Geno was drafted then you’d probably believe the Jets just drafted chopped liver in the 2nd round of this past April’s draft. Let’s be crystal clear here, Geno Smith is no chopped liver, hell…..chopped liver is no “chopped liver” as I’ve had some very tasty chopped liver before………………………………………………………………….I digress.

It’s semi-Comical, the overanalyzing Geno Smith has received since becoming a Jet and one is left to the opinion that his becoming a Jet IS the only reason he is getting overanalyzed in the first place.

Think back, way back, “pre-draft” WAY back and I promise you the Geno rumblings that were tossed around were 80% positive with the 20% doubters left to squabble amongst one another about how “overrated” he was and so on….. which is actually a fair debate to have considering how you want to look at him. Actually you can have that debate about any player at NY time. There were “overrated” grumblings about RG3 last season which at this point means absolutely nothing and essentially means it’s a matter of opinion but a good QB is a good QB is a good QB right? Well yeah, unless the “good QB” is drafted by a team that everyone loves to hate for more than one reason right now.

Fact of the matter is; had Geno Smith been drafted by any other team than the NY Jets, he’d have been labeled a “steal” and a “hell of a prospect” by everyone with a human vernacular. Instead, immediately after his drafting we “discovered” that Geno was not only a “diva” but that he hates kittens and babies as well, everything positive he had done prior to the draft, the sappy pre-draft mini-documentaries that showed him to be a dedicated and humble leader were soon forgotten and replaced with the “reports” from the idiots that Geno was a “diva” and there’s a rumor going around that he threw a late night bitch fit party/Agent Firing Celebration in a hotel REPORTEDLY with Lindsay Lohan, Lawrence Taylor and Rick James all because he fell out of the first round and into the 2nd….

It’s simply madness personified and it’s so insanely comical that someone should probably get M Knight Shaymalan to make an unintentional comedy film about it.

Here’s what I know;

- I know Geno is as a good a prospect if not better than Russell Wilson when he came out last year

- I know Geno’s previous and new teammates have nothing but great things to say about his film study habits

-I know Geno’s 42 to 6 TD to int ratio last year was not only impressive but coupled with his 72.8% comp% it showed an uncanny ability to not only find the open man but to take care of the ball while not holding back on the rifle

-I do know Geno though not as athletic as running QBs like RG3 and Cam Newton, he’s very athletic and has the ability to extend plays, escape pressure while maintaining composure and throwing with pin point accuracy on the run, things that you cant teach but only hope to coach a young QBs

-I know Geno finds the open man and he doesn’t need tall WRs to aid in this ability. Geno made Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey look much better than they actually were and they have an avg height of 5’8, a skill that will undoubtedly come in handy now that Geno will eventually be throwing to Jets talented WR Jeremy Kerley who is a bit vertically challenged as well.

Geno will soon get a legit chance to show what he can do for this Jets team and let’s try to not act surprise when Geno gives this Jets team and fan base something official to cheer about. He’s immensely talented and has the necessary skills and attributes to excel within the West Coast offense. H e has the arm strength and the accuracy to give his offense and essentially his team a chance to win week in and week out, he has the composure and maturity to do for his team what Russell Wilson, RG3 and Andrew Luck did for their respective teams if and when he’s given a chance to do so.

Jets fans should be very happy to have Geno on their team and soon, very soon, Geno will show why the excitement and happiness will be justified.

Dont believe me just watch!

A Brief Analysis of the New York Jets 2013 NFL Draft Class-Part II

Sean Lester Durham — Fri, 03 May 2013 09:30:49 +0000

Sean is back with the second part of his analysis on the 2013 Draft Class. If you missed it, check out Part I by clicking here.

John Idzik began adding offensive line depth when he added Brian Winters from Kent State.

3rd Round 72nd overall (Assigned): Brian Winters, OL, Kent State

One of the biggest question marks going into the draft for the Jets was the status of the O-line. At this point the Jets have question marks at pretty much every position outside of Left Tackle and Center and will probably hold a fierce camp competition at the other questionable Guard and Right Tackle positions. Brian Winters should be expected to not only compete for a position but no one should be surprised to see Winters coming out on top of a competition in camp. Winters is a highly versatile O-lineman that I had slated as a 2nd rounder and possibly going to the Steelers or Cowboys in that round but he managed to slip into the 3rd round and onto the Jets roster. Winters is very athletic and is touted as being highly versatile with the ability to slide inside and out. Seeing as though the Jets have questions at both Guard spots and possibly Right Tackle, I’d say Winters attributes will certainly give him the edge over other potential Jets starting O-linemen!

5th Round 141st (Assigned): Oday Aboushi, OL, UVA

The Jets continued to add line depth with Oday Aboushi.

Staying with the O-lineman theme here (not that I’m complaining considering the Jets can certainly stand to beef up the O-line), the Jets utilized their 5th round pick on University of Virginia offensive tackle Oday Aboushi who is a long, athletic player with very good pass blocking skills. Once Aboushi adds a little more strength, he has terrific potential as a Tackle at the next level. Like Winters and Campbell, Aboushi will be given a chance to show what he has to compete for a spot on a Jets O-line that has some opportunistic openings at this moment.
Aboushi is very good at getting off at the snap. His footwork is somewhat inconsistent but certainly solid against pass rushers who can use speed and power effectively.
A solid zone blocker with good movement but not an overpowering player, Aboushi is certainly strong when keeping his feet active, has adequate strength, could afford to add more muscle and is essentially a project right now. How fast he learns and how well he receives coaching will determine just how soon he is able to contribute if ever.

6th Round 178th (Assigned): William Campbell, DT, Michigan

Although Campbell was a successful defensive tackle at Michigan with 11 starts and two games with 10 tackles — he also played guard and may project better at that position in the NFL. The Jets definitely need help at the Guard position and this pick was the more intriguing of all of the Jets selection on draft day and that’s saying something!

Many scouts have said that the 6-5, 308-pound Campbell is best suited to play on the offensive line, a sentiment the Jets certainly agreed as they announced that they will officially list him as an offensive lineman. Campbell played guard the second half of his sophomore season. He had three private workouts leading up to the draft, with two of the teams, including the Jets, looking to see him on the offensive line. Hard to project where he’ll end up or what he’ll bring to the competition but I know for a FACT he can’t be any worse than Vlad Ducasse, can he?

7th Round 215th (Assigned): Tommy Bohanon, FB, Wake Forest

The Jet’s running game was already upgraded by the time Tommy Bohanon was drafted with Mike Goodson and Chris Ivory being acquired by the Jets but boy does OC Marty Morninweg have to be licking his chops at the things he can do with Bohanon in the backfield. Yes Bohanon is a FB and yes FBs are rarely utilized any more in the NFL today but Bohanon isn’t just a Fullback, he’s a very talented runner with excellent receiving skills and happens to be very strong. There’s seemingly no reason why you don’t start him immediately and put him in front of Ivory to help open the way for the Jets recently acquired RB from the Saints. Ivory is already a very very talented RB but with Bohanon paving the way he should find himself gaining quite a few yards in his first season as a Jet.
Bohanon will be critical on 3rd down conversions as he has great vision while carrying the ball, can be elusive when he needs to be but in standard Fullbacking fashion, he’d rather run over defenders. Bohanon’s position may seem like an un-important one but on this Jets team and in this Jets offense we’ll see a lot of Bohanon and we should probably get used to the name. The guy will grab JetNation by doing both dirty and pretty work and I’m certain he wouldn’t have it any other way.