Monday Morning Quarterback: New York Jets’ Training Camp Week Two

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

(84) makes a catch during drills at training camp at SUNY Cortland. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Morning gang. Let’s talk about what went on during week two of training camp.

I never thought I would be talking about this guy in the picture, but I am. Stephen Hill. In the 2014 version of training camp, Hill is starting to understand how to be a professional wide receiver. There have been sightings of him actually using his hands to catch the ball, instead of letting it go into his body.

At the Green and White scrimmage, Hill caught a long pass by catching the ball at its highest point, which is exactly what we want to see. I know that it is training camp, and we need to see Hill getting it done in games. But there is nothing wrong with positives coming in camp. It all starts somewhere.

Jace Amaro has great ability. He has made some receptions that have not gone unnoticed. However, his trouble with the playbook has not gone unnoticed either. All the ability in the world will not help Jace out if he cannot understand his plays. The coaching staff has noticed at camp, as has Geno Smith. It’s still early, but it doesn’t seem to be turning around for him yet, which is a little bit worrisome. It will definitely be something to focus on as camp continues to unfold.

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I understand that they don’t want to announce Geno Smith as the starter yet. They want the camp to progress more before they make that announcement. But, can we stop making up the fact that the snaps aren’t clear evidence of the depth chart please? There was a quote from John Idzik where there is competition during warmups! Come on John. If you read Susan Lamb’s great writeup “In Support of Michael Vick“, even HE knows he isn’t going to be the starter.

Don’t announce the starter if you choose not to, but stop with the jive about them competing during stretching exercises.  It’s just silly.

Year two of the Marty era may not be perfect, but one thing is for sure, it will be more EXPLOSIVE. I’m talking about having Chris Johnson out in space, which is is happening during camp a lot, including splitting him outside at wide receiver. Add him to Eric Decker and the rest of the crew, and the Jets’ offense will certainly be more watchable than it was last year.

The other item I wanted to talk about was something we talked about earlier this week, but deserves repeating. That is Demario Davis and his emergence as a leader of this football team. We interviewed Demario shortly after he was drafted, and you could already tell he had leadership qualities.  But lately at camp, those qualities are coming to the forefront.  He learned from Bart Scott, and might just be better at being a leader, which is a scary prospect, but a good one for Jets’ fans.

Enjoy the week, we have a game on Thursday!