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New York Jets: Todd Bowles discusses starting spots
The New York Jets continue to work on getting their roster ready for a full season ahead. With one more game left this preseason, head coach Todd Bowles announced a few starting spots as well as clarifying injuries and positional battles.
Yesterday, Bowles spoke to the media and let them know about how the roster is shaping up and much more. We here at The Jet Press would like to thank the Media Relations Department of the Jets for sending us his complete transcript. Enjoy!
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On if Willie Colon is officially the starting right guard…
Yes.
On what Colon did to earn that spot…
He was the more aggressive of the ones that were competing for the position. He wanted it more. He came out and played like it and he proved it.
On if Colon impressed him with how much he has left in the tank…
He came back to camp in shape, he wanted it more. He played like he wanted it more. He was the hungriest. He showed, he didn’t bust as many assignments as the rest of them. He played tougher, he played more physical than the rest of them. So, he’s the starter.
On if Brian Winters is Colon’s backup…
Right now. He’s still playing for some more two nights from now.
On how much he has to focus on maintenance with Colon at this stage of his career…
I think we have a couple vets we have to focus on. You have to keep him fresh for the season. Be smart enough to understand when they need the reps and smart enough to understand when they need to rest.
On if Jeremy Kerley was able to do anything in practice today…
He wore a red jersey and he ran around, but still no physical contact. But, he’s feeling better.
On how he will play the quarterbacks on Thursday…
We’re probably going to see a lot of Matt (Flynn) and try to see some of Josh (Johnson) as well. I’m going to try and focus on those two guys.
On if Bryce Petty will play…
That hasn’t been decided yet. We’ll decide that this afternoon.
On challenges of this game for players on the second and third teams…
It’s going to be tough because they have to play special teams, as well as play their position. So there’s going to be a lot of heavy breathing going on, but you have to focus in on your assignment and you’ve got to understand that if starters get hurt and you make this team, you’re going to have to play. I want to see if these guys can play then you know what you’re getting when they make the team.
On Jace Amaro being on IR…
Yes, when he got hurt it was more of the shoulder. It was either a two-week period, two and a half, three week period to get better. If it didn’t get any better and it was still as worse as it was, then we’d have to go ahead and do surgery and we’d have to shelve him. So we gave him time to get better and he didn’t get better. So, end result is we have to do surgery and put him on IR.
Oct 16, 2014; Foxborough, MA, USA; New York Jets tight end Jace Amaro (88) reaches for a pass against New England Patriots strong safety Patrick Chung (23) during the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark L. Baer-USA TODAY Sports
On if Amaro’s injury is a labrum tear…
That’s what they said it was. But, he can’t do anything. We had to put him on IR. He’s still in a lot of pain.
On if Amaro had surgery yet…
Not yet.
On state of the tight end position…
Somebody has to step up. We have a couple guys playing this week that we want to see more of. We’ll look at it from there. With Jace, it’s just a chance for somebody else to play.
On if Amaro was surprised to be put on IR…
(He) wasn’t surprised, I mean he was bummed out about it. But, if you’re in pain and you’re not getting any better, you have to fix it sooner than later.
On if he envisions Quincy Enunwa filling some of the duties he expected Amaro to have…
Not at the moment. He’s a big wideout right now. He’s just able to block better than the rest of them. His size and his physicality presents that. So, going forward you’d like to see how he plays in this game as a wide receiver.
On how comfortable he is if he needs to play Ryan Fitzpatrick all season…
I’m very comfortable.
On if he could elaborate on Fitzpatrick…
He’s played. He’s started games in this league. He can throw. He has command of the offense. I’m comfortable with him starting and he’s shown great progress the past couple of weeks he’s been playing.
On if the defense is so strong that the offense can “hide” the quarterback…
No, you can’t completely hide a quarterback. I don’t care how strong your defense is. But, they’re going to have to make some plays, that’s the bottom line. Maybe it’s one or two, maybe it’s three or four, but they’re going to have to make some throws and make some plays. The defenses are going to make you make some plays and you have to deliver. You just don’t get the job by handing off and just staying out of the way. You’re going to be in the forefront. You’re going to have to play.
Aug 29, 2015; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (14) throws a pass during the first half of their game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
On if would be pleased if Fitzpatrick can continue to perform at the level he demonstrated against the Giants…
There was consistency. It was progress. You want to see more, obviously, because it’s only a half. In the full game, (there will be) people game-planning you and coming at you with different blitzes and everything else. So, you temper what you saw. You saw a lot of great things right there in the first half, but they didn’t do much to come after us in a certain way and we made progress. We have to keep building and he has to keep building, and he understands that.
On if Fitzpatrick’s arm strength is a concern.
No, not at all.
On if Lorenzo Mauldin was able to more today at practice…
He just ran on the side, but he didn’t do much more else.
On if he will play starters on Thursday…
There’s a few I’d like to see, but I’m still waffling back and forth with that with the coaches. We’ll meet this afternoon and have a final decision.
On if Sheldon Richardson will play on Thursday…
I don’t know if I want to see Sheldon play Thursday.
On if the team will practice at all this weekend, Saturday and Sunday…
No.
On why he wouldn’t want to see Richardson play on Thursday…
He played a lot last game. He can’t do anything but get hurt. He can’t do anything but go out there and get hurt. You know what Sheldon is. You’ve seen Sheldon play. So, we’ve seen enough of Sheldon to know what he can do.
On if the same applies to Muhammad Wilkerson…
Yes. no (Wilkerson).
On when the coaching staff started looking at Cleveland…
You take a peek at them. You take a peek at last year. I know they have a new offensive coordinator. You take a peek at some of the stuff he did. (You) start peeking at it a little bit in the spring, then you have to wait for preseason to see a couple games and try and put some things together and you try to be as sound as possible. That’s all you can do the first game. Everybody’s going to have some wrinkles the first game so you’ve got to be as sound as possible and just understand what you’re going in to do.
On when did they start game planning for Cleveland…
We looked at some film this week. We started. You zero in and kind of fine-tune it next week and over the weekend.
On if there is any clarity with Stevan Ridley…
Not yet, I mean he’s chomping at the bit to get back and I understand that. But, we understand that he actually has to put on some pads and do some football things to do that and still make some cuts. We’re still working on that. We’re going to make the best decision possible for the team.
On if the PUP is a strong likelihood…
No, not necessarily. Whether he comes off PUP or stays on PUP, he’s still going to have to get in pads for about two or three weeks. You’re not going to activate him if he is because he hasn’t played any football, so he’s still got to get used to his pads. It’s just a matter of discussing it and doing what’s best for us.
On approach to deciding whether to keep a player on the roster who is more versatile or a player who is good at one position…
It’s a matter of how clear is he a head of the other guy. How clear and how good is he at his position and how versatile and how qualified is the other guy? If the guy is a very good football player, you don’t give away good football players. If the guy’s a marginal football player, marginally better than the other guy and the other guy can give you special teams and give you a few other things, then you weigh it the other way. It just depends on how good the other guy is from another.
Aug 13, 2015; Detroit, MI, USA; New York Jets outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin (55) gets past Detroit Lions tackle Michael Williams (73) during the second quarter in a preseason NFL football game at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports
On weighing the upside on younger players when determining cuts…
You have to weight that too, but you also have to weigh the upside with how good the other football player is. Sometimes it’s a vet, sometimes you keep a young guy for upside and that’s just a matter of feel and you have to see them go through things, project on where he’s going to go and then project on how much the other guy has left in the tank.
On how much time they spend thinking about what players they release may be claimed by other teams…
You spend time talking about it, but you can’t control it. If somebody wants to claim your guys when you cut them, they’re going to claim them. But, if they clear, obviously we want some of our guys back on the practice that we’ve been discussing all along. We’re going to see how they play Thursday night. We have to wait, hope and cross our fingers and see if they clear waivers to bring them back and then see if they want to come back.
On if he has an idea of who he would like on the practice squad…
I have a couple guys in mind.
On if he plans on keeping any more than two tight ends…
I’ll let you know after Thursday (laughing).
On if Devin Smith was able to do any work today…
It wasn’t full speed. I mean, he jogged around and jogged some routes, but he just put it on (red jersey) so we could identify and leave him alone. He’s still not ready.
On if he has coached against Josh Johnson…
I’ve coached against him. I know he can run.
On what Johnson brings to the table as a quarterback…
He’s extremely athletic. He can get himself out of bad situations. He has a strong arm. Give him time in the pocket and he can sit there and deliver the ball, but I know the guy can run. He gave us fits every time I played against him.
On what team he was coaching with when he faced Johnson…
I can’t even tell you for sure. It might have been Miami, it may have been Dallas, but I know I’ve played against him, and I know he’s hurt us with his feet.
Next: Coffee with the New York Jets: Was Jace Amaro cursed?