Rex Ryan on Wide Receiver Stephen Hill

Jul 24, 2014; Cortland, NY, USA; New York Jets wide receiver

(84) runs with the ball after a catch during training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Anyone watching this football team knows that wide receiver Stephen Hill has been one of the biggest disappointments over the last few years. As a second round pick with great speed, Hill was supposed to be a feared down field burner, but instead, the team has been burned by his dropped passes.

However, Hill has started to come out of his career long “funk”, and he is showing some signs that he might be improving. What did Rex have to say about it?

t was good. He got deep on that one too, right at the end. It was a 10-play stretch, you’ve got to focus and he made a nice play there. So that was good to see. It’s coming. We’ll see how it is. He’s going to have an opportunity and we’ll see. Again, like we said, we’ve got great competition out there and I think it’s good. There’s a lot of guys pushing each other and we’ll see how that effects Stephen, but I think, obviously, today was a good day for him.

A main point for coach Ryan is that Stephen Hill is healthy:

Well, I feel good because I think he is healthy. He seems to be healthy. That was a big part of it last year, when we all noticed. We tried to throw six balls to him (but) he couldn’t escape anybody. It was more he could go straight line. That was it. He couldn’t cut. But right now, he’s healthy. Hopefully, that’s all behind him.

We can all pray that it is behind him, as Hill could provide a much needed threat down the field.