Report from Monday’s Jets Training Camp Practice

After attending the Jets Training Camp Practice in Cortland, NY on Monday, I came away with a few notes I would like to share. I’ll breakdown the Offense, Defense, Special Teams, and go in-depth within each area.

More specifically, I will expose Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow, and how they played… as well as the Defensive Line and their improvements. I will also provide an update on 1^st Round Pick Quinton Coples, and how he is coming along thus far, in his Rookie year.

JETSerious will break it down, right now!

Enjoy!

OFFENSE

Mark Sanchez and Tim Tebow update:

Mark Sanchez improved passing the football today, going 6 for 10 during team drills. That’s a 60% completion rating, against one of the NFL’s top defenses. That’s definitely a good sign. Mark had a really nice throw to WR Santonio Holmes on a dig route, which would have been a LARGE gain, if not a touchdown. There needs to be plenty of those big plays this year, if the Jets want to keep defenses on their heels. This Offensive system is really dependent on these types of throws, in which Sanchez CAN make. Now, he just needs to be more consistent making those throws. If he can continue to improve each day, good things will come for Mark Sanchez and the New York Jets Offense.

Tim Tebow, on the other hand, went 4 for 6 during team drills. That’s a pretty decent day, too.

Tebow did, however, have a wild throw that should have been intercepted by LaRon Landry. It was recorded as one of his (two) incompletions. But for the most part, he made good decisions on the day.

Other than that, Tebow looked pretty good. He ran the ball well when the pocket broke down and had one long gain doing so.

Moving forward, Tebow needs to work on getting the ball out quicker, as Rex Ryan pointed out in his press conference. Both Sanchez and Tebow will benefit greatly if the Jets coaching staff decides to start clocking how long it takes to release the football. It sounds like a great idea, to help our quarterbacks improve.

Tone Time!

Santonio Holmes had a great day today. He was flying all over the field, making eye-popping catches. On one play, he made his over-the-shoulder signature catch, which I luckily caught a picture of…take a look!

Santonio was able to create a lot of yards after the catch today. I expect him to keep this level of play up, for the remainder of camp… because quite frankly, the Jets need him to do so.

Stephen Hill making highlights:

Rookie WR Stephen Hill made some nice grabs during practice today. I enjoyed watching him use his acceleration, but more importantly, his eye-hand coordination. Here’s a catch he was able to make today, with great concentration in one of the offensive drills…

Cro playing Wide:

I caught my first glimpse of CB Antonio Cromartie catching a pass as a wide receiver during drills today. We all know how fast and athletic Cromartie is. But sometimes we forget how great Cro’s hands are.

He makes a one-handed catch seem like it’s nothing:

I’m really excited to see what Antonio Cromartie can bring to the table in the Jets new offense. He can be a homerun threat when he gets his hands on the ball. Look for him to make a big splash at WR at some point… sooner or later.

Take a jump to page 2… where JETSerious will breakdown the Defense and Special Teams!

DEFENSE

Bart is Back:

Want proof that Bart is a better player than he was in 2011?

Take a look at this picture. Bart Scott manhandles Matt Slauson, throwing him off his feet and to the ground.

Slauson is a big dude, and shouldn’t be tossed around like Wayne Hunter was by Von Miller last year @ Denver.

But hey, at least Bart has the respect to give Slauson a hand afterwards…

Mayhem:

Aaron Maybin really stood out to me today, during position drills. He was matched up against LT D’Brickashaw Ferguson most of the time, which is a real challenge for “Mayhem”. He rose to the challenge and beat Ferguson around the outside a couple of times.

Here’s one example…

Other Standouts:

What other player stood out during Offensive and Defensive Line drills?

Sione Pouha.

Take a look at what Sione was able to do to Nick Mangold during a drill…

Pouha did a great job holding his own against the best center in the league. I admire the way he plays, even during practice. That’s right, we’re talking about practice.

Kenrick Ellis had a strong day as well. He looked like a beast out there, moving around like an athletic defensive end. He was often using a power swat to get passed a block, like he did in the picture below.

Along with Ellis, Damon Harrison also showed some burst off the line, often overpowering his opponent during linemen drills.

Here’s a picture of him to the left, with a great low-center of gravity.

Overall, I came away impressed by the strength, power, and speed of our defense. Our defensive line, especially. The players were really working hard out there, and you can never teach someone to play with that kind of effort. Oh, and Quinton Coples was one of those players…. So for anyone to criticize his work ethic is completely unfair.

Finally, here’s 1^st Round Draft Pick DE Quinton Coples, getting his pass rush going during Monday’s practice…

SPECIAL TEAMS

Hard Knocks Star gets the Special Teams rolling!

Special Teams Coach Mike Westoff ran the show today. Kickoffs, punts, returns… you name it. Westoff was in control.

Coach Westoff had everybody running full speed with great focus. I didn’t notice any mistakes that were made during the duration of the practice.

At one point, I heard a fan yell a chant to Coach Westoff, “Ten more years, ten more years!”

Take a look below, at Westoff’s reaction…. I found it quite humorous.

It looks like Westoff still plans on retiring a bit earlier than the fans would like to see, but you’ve got to give him the respect that he deserves.

That’s all from Jets Training Camp in Cortland, NY…. Thanks for reading!

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