Jets OTA Practice Update (6/2)

before training camp. Is today the day when it is officially a hundred days from the beginning of the two thousand one NFL season, it is it is the first game, which is what Bucks Cowboys Thursday Night special right Tampa, Right, so you know the Buccaneers are coming here this year to face the Jets, and they have never beaten the Jets on the road. I did not know that. I also know that the Jets have never beaten the Eagles, but to have an opportunity to do so this season.

But with that being said, oh T S is like, it's an interesting time because it's the first grasp of football for the fans, especially the new players on each team, and like for the Jazz of course that starts with Zack Wilson just because of the nature of the position he plays. You think about the free agent editions, but it's twofold one, it's a voluntary workout, and two players are not in PAD, So there's only so much that

you can really put into these workouts. Yeah, but the great thing if you're Robert Sale and you're Joe Douglas is that you've had more than eight players participating here early in o T as of ten sessions, and all three or four now are open to the media. There is UH to this week actually that are going to be open to the media. So you want to see

players uh contributing or participating. While this is not mandatory, mandatory minicamp is gonna come at the end of his day, at the end of the spring here, well, I guess we're closing in a summer. But if you're the Jets, you're encouraged by guys coming out. We'll taking advantage of their opportunities beyond the field, because let's face it, you got a new head coach, you got new systems on both sides of the football. You have a really big time infusion of talent on both sides of the ball.

But there's a lot of new here, so as much field time as you can take advantage of here in the spring, your figures to help you come September, October and beyond, and the attendance in the voluntary workouts, I think it's been outstanding. I mean, I know Robert Salis said that the Jets had over eighty players here in Flora Park. I mean, there's only ninety on the roster right now, and I feel like that is not the

norm in the NFL right now. I mean, granted, I don't know the numbers for all thirty one other teams, but it seems like the Jets are on the higher end of attendance than most. I think there are a lot of teams who probably have numbers in a similar range. But I think what you're hearing from players when they do get the opportunity to speak of Robert sala Is, they love the guy, they love the culture that he's instilling,

and they want to be part of it. Yeah. I think that you can also feel it on the field. I mean, there is definitely an energy, and you know, some might say that's just because it's spraying and guys miss playing ball, but I really feel like in the few amount of times that we've been out at practice so far that the pace has been there, the energy has been up, and I think that a lot of guys are really eager to get after it. And you know, I just want to focus on Zach Wilson for a minute.

And he's a good example of a guy that one learning a lot right now because he's learning a new offense, even though it does have its similarities to what he ran at b y U. And for all intents and purposes, we'll recording this at the beginning of June. I would say that he's looked good and doesn't look like he's lost in the playbook. No, And the Jets continue to say they've been almost wild by his mental horse power. Michael Fleur was referring to it the other day, is

that you can't keep him away. He wants more. And to his credit, Wilson was twenty one years old. Talks about this being a process and that he has to get protections right and alignments and executions and then you have to read the defense. But as far as what we've seen on the field in this very small sample size, he's a tremendous athlete. He's very accurate with the football and the ball is not hit the ground a lot. Now these guys are not out there with pads on.

Nobody's hitting him. Um but so far and there's not like a true rush either. I think that's important, right right, But with that being said, it's not like he's holding onto the football. It's not like he's completing the past five seconds after he takes that snap. He's letting the ball come out. It's coming out quickly. We talked about his arm angles for months. He can do that from different arm angles, but you know, he can sit up

there in the pocket and just let it loose. And we've seen a number of times, i think early here throughout O T A S and we've only been out there a couple of times, is that he's been very good working the middle of the field, the seams. And then we've heard about the back shoulder prowis throughout his days at b y U. Well, we were out there on the field today and it seems like every day at practice he'll throw a back shoulder and you're like, well, there, yeah,

there it is. You know in a sequence though, you know, let's say he took five reps just spit ball in here and one of the reps was the back shoulder fade. Then a couple of plays later you talked about work in the middle of the field. He threw a rope to Bracks and Barrios who was cutting over the middle of the field and it hid him right between the numbers and stride and You're like, oh, well, there's the power.

There was the touch. We still haven't seen him like on cork one down the field really far, but I'm sure that will, you know, come with time. The other thing that I was impressed with, and you know, we kind of said something to each other on the field, was he got somebody on a on a cadence call

where he got a defender to jump. And to me, you know, when Robert Sala talked about coaching how there's one on one, two oh one, three oh one, it seems like Zack Wilson when he got the defender to jump, that was more of a two oh one, three oh one move as opposed to a one on one move. Yeah, you gotta give him credit. You gotta give Michael Fleur credit. Greg Knapp is constantly in his ear. He just has a way about him that you like Zach Wilson. He's

got this confidence. But people talking about him being cocky. I don't know if he's cocky. He's got a belief in his ability, but man, he's got an insatiable appetite for football. Yeah, they they say that he can't get enough. And he's taken advantage of all these voluntary sessions right now, and yeah, so far, early results have been good. We got a long way to go before you get to September. A lot of moving parts on both sides of the ball.

You mentioned more than eighty players being here. Well, I've got a couple of key offensive performers we didn't see on the field the other day. And you know, he'll have to establish that chemistry and rhythm with those guys. But he likes the offense too. And you talk to people and he said that on draft night that this is the place I wanted to be, And he talks about it being complimentary, that you can run multiple things

from one look. So we'll come out in this look and we're gonna attack you this way on this down that we're gonna come at you with the same look and we're gonna attack you a different way the next play, and he loves it. I also think that it's a defensively speaking, unrelated to Zach Wilson, it's hard to really get a feel because so much of the defense is predicated on cal Tech and you can't really contact anybody

right now. So it's a it's a good way to get a look at certain players, but most at least for me, the way I look at it. At it it's a lot easier to see how certain offensive players look than defensive players because it's not like the defensive line is going after the offensive line. The linebackers can't tackle the running back, so now you're really relying on

seven on seven work. And at this point, you know, I would imagine that the defense overall would have the the upper hand, just like every spring and summer, But it definitely feels like in seven on seven the offense gets the best out of the defense most of the time. And I with that being said, I just want to say, Keelan Cole look also look pretty good today. Fast quick uh he releases um on a dime out of his

brakes right, very productive receiver in Jacksonville. He's the guys flashed early because um, you know, we haven't seen a couple of guys out there. But again that speaks to Zack Wilson as well, because he's finding Keenland cole but eight in a limited time that weep on out there, but work in the middle of the field catching it

and he's quick, but he's got the straight ahead speed too. Yeah, So it's been it's been fun to watch practice because this is the one time or not the one time, but this is the beginning of the time of the year where you can start to go out to practice a couple of times and then many Camp you get a little three day stretch before training camp. Then we're out there like every day, and you know, it's hard because I feel like fans are starving to know what's

happening at practice. But it's also difficult to analyze what's going on just because it's not full speed with pads on and you don't want to blow things out of proportion, right Like for example, Michael Carter had a good run today and it's a no contact run where the off fensive line started cheering because Carter hit the hole and there was a hole and he he he had a nice run. But it's also tough because it wasn't there was no contact, so it's hard to really get a

full gauge. So if you're a fan and you're listening like, well, how's player X performing? If we say like this guy is performing well or not well or whatever, you always got to take it with a grain of salt. There was a player a couple of years ago had a great spring that ended up being cut that after training camp because when the pads come on, it's a totally

totally different story. Well, and didn't Sala say this the other day that this is the opportunity for players to see how their physical skill set fits inside the systems. The jets are running and the real football doesn't happen until you actually do put those pads on it, and that doesn't come until late July. Right now, for these guys, it's absorbing the system and then also seen how they can carve out a role in the respective systems. Yeah, it's it's a great point because is to use solids

line training camp is when it becomes real. Like up until that point, it's it's not that it's fake, it's just it's more about applying what you learn in the virtual classroom onto the field day by day, piece by piece before trying to put it all together and really start to lay the foundation in training camp or build on the foundation that's being laid now in training camp.

And I think some of the key questions right now, if you're sitting here in the middle of O t A S would be what are the Jets doing on the quarterback front? Are they gonna sit tight here with the young guys, you know, Zack Wilson, We'll have to see they're taking a day by day Will you be the opening day starter in Carolina? Even if he is the opening day starter. Will there be a veteran on

the horizon right now? I think the Jets are taking the proper approach because you get a guy like James Morrigan who was rafted in a fourth round a year ago. He's getting valuable reps. If you had a veteran here right now, I don't know how those reps would be distributed distributed in the spring. Yeah, I think well to that point, Solid kind of talked about that exact scenario with the cornerbacks because he was asked, how how do you view or how do you like the corners room?

And he was saying, well, they're young, they got length, they got size, they're eager to learn. And so he's saying all these things, and and he was asked point blank, you know, would you consider or Actually, before he was even asked this, Sala said, the easy answer would be to bring in a veteran, but a veteran would eat up a lot of the reps. And they're trying to evaluate these young guys to see where they stand. And right now, the Jets cornerback room, I would say is

the most NFL unproven among the team. If not, if it is not the number one position on the team that doesn't have the most you know, I would say the biggest resume as a group in the NFL. On the Jets, then I would say they're in the top two or three at the very latest. And that's a fair point. And again you're taking an advantage of these o t a s out here. You're Blessed Aus and your Bryce Hall, you're Javlin Gidrey, you are the three

rookie corners who were taking on Day three of the draft. Again, this is the time, especially for those young guys, those rookies, is that not only are they trying to carve a role on the defensive side of the football. But what can they do for brand Boyer and company? How are they absorbing his system? How can they contribute on special teams? Because I think sometimes we think about these guys in a vacuum that, oh, what is this guy gonna do at the cornerback position? Well, what is he gonna do

on special teams? Justin hard He's a guy carved his role in the National Football League because he's a special teams ace. Yes, he lines up with the cornerback, but we don't know if he's gonna be playing any cornerback at all this year. Um, you know, I'm not trying to get ahead of myself, but Hardy is a perfect example of a guy who is an NFL mainstay now and he's gonna play a big time role on this

team because of what he does on teams. Right, I'm not I'm not gonna I'm about to say a name and people and people would be like, well, how could you compare Justin Hardy to this guy. I'm just using the example of a player that carved his special team's role to a point where he doesn't even play on either offense or defense and it's in the division. It's Matthew Slater, who was probably what the best special teams player of the last decade, and he's technically a receiver,

but he doesn't ever line up out wide. And it's not like the Patriots this past year were so deep at receiver that they didn't need him. So I'm saying, like, similarly, Justin Hardy is listed on the roster as a cornerback, but he is so good at special teams that that's his full time position. Yeah, uh, you know, so a cornerback. And we started this conversation and we're jumping around a

little bit, but rightfully, so away is that? Okay? So right now you have three quarterbacks on our roster who have never taken a snap in the National Football League, you know, as Zack Wilson getting out there getting a big time chunk of reps. Then at the cornerback position, there are some unproven commodities. But guys, the Jets like their talent and physical skill sets, so how can they absorb the system? Um, how can they possibly create a

role for themselves down the line? And then at the linebacker position, totally different situation where you do have a pair of young guys on the outside. But c J. Mosley was the talk of O T A. S in Week one, just because he talked to the media for the first time in a long time. Really happy and it was clear listening to Mosley that the fire still burns. And I love the reference that he used, uh the Curry borrow that you know, I don't have anything to prove,

but I believe I have a lot to accomplish. Don't you think that he seemed a lot happier. I know c J. Mosley has probably spoken to the media like five to ten times since he signed two years ago, but c J. Mosley speaking to the media just seemed like he was He was very happy. He was in a comfortable place, There's no doubt about it. So you just got a sense that this guy is so happy

to be back on a football field. And Sala has been effusive in his praise for him, saying that c. J. Moseley can plain any system because I know a lot of people say it, said, hey, what can he fit

in a four three? Well, Sala said he can fit in anything, and you can see him being a powerful mover, and I think he's such an instinctive football player, and him and Jared Davis are two guys not that we're just gonna watch during the spring, but I'm gonna keep my eye on that linebacker position throughout training camp, right, I agree, because that position, especially those two guys that you said, really when you look at the whole position as well, you could it's really like a two side

at a coin because on one end, C. J. Mosley essentially hasn't played football in two seasons, but at his best he is a very good player and one of the best inside linebackers in the league. Jared Davis has the physical traits to fit this system that Robert Sala and Jeff Albrick are implementing. But at the same time, a lot of people think he didn't quite live up to the hype in Detroit, and some people attribute that

to being in a three four defense. Well, I guess we'll see because it will be in the four three. So those two guys in particular, along with Blake Cashman who struggled to stay healthy throughout one season in his two year career, and two rookies and Jamiean Sherwood and Hobson Nosrel Dean, I mean that that position group has I would say one of the bigger question marks around it, but in the same breath, it could also be one of the highest upside positions depending on how let's say

Mosley and Davis play. If you have C. J. Mosley healthy for sixteen games, that that's really like what Jared Davis brings to the table. From an athletic athleticism perspective. Remember his second year in the National Football League, he was a stat stuffer and he's a guy could come up and play the run. He has an athleticism to

drop into coverage. He's been effective blitzer at various points throughout his career and sometimes it changes scenery leads to different results for players, and Davis is a guy who I think can benefit not only just from playing under Salo and all breaking next to a C. J. Mosley, but also from the chaos that Salo wants to create upfront, because the Jets defensive line is one of the better,

if not the best, positional group on this team. Yeah, I definitely agree with that, and I think it'll be interesting to see what happens because we've gotten a glimpse of c. J. Mosley and it was what you know to almost two quarters. But it was a really good glimpse of what he could bring to the team because that was, in his words, one of, if not the best football game he's played in the NFL. I mean, he was everywhere, and you talk about his pass coverage.

I feel like a lot of people when he signed here was saying, well, you know, pass coverage is one of the question marks of his games. And he was running stride for stride with John Smokey Brown when he got hurt. And John Brown is a speedster in the eyes of many. Well, another thing is that he knows how offenses are trying to attack. Yeah, that's the thing about mostly such a hetty ball player, so he oftentimes is going to read your route before you start making

your own moves. He can pick up things tendencies just from film work. And uh he's also very long, and that's gonna help him in coverage as well. So the shakedown defensively, Yeah, those are gonna be two groups that we're gonna keep a close eye on. I think throughout camp will be cornerbacks and then linebackers. Offensively, it's been interesting to watch the running backs um here early on because Tevin Coleman this is just spring and he's a veteran,

but he's got some pop to his game. And another guy who's got some legit explosive ability is the running back from North Carolina, Michael Carter. Yeah, he does well. Like I said earlier, Michael Carter, it might have been a no contact run, but he really hit that whole hard. And Michael Flore speaking of the media the other day, was saying that I was saying that basically one of the key elements and running backs that he looks for is playing your foot in the ground and go north

and south, not a whole lot of dancing. And I feel like we knew that when Michael la Flour first signed on to be the offensive coordinator. But at the same time, Michael la Flore also said, while that's a key element and maybe like the common denominator of everybody, all the running backs come in different shapes and sizes, and I think the Jets have a little bit of

everything in the running backs room right now. In terms of Tevin Coleman, like you said, it is the spring and he knows this system better than anyone else in

that room. But he's really light on his feet and it seems like he gets around very quickly and he almost just kind of glides on the field, whereas someone like Michael p Ryan feels like he's got a little bit of more of like a heavy footed run, like both good running backs and Michael p Ryan can plant his foot and go, but it just feels a little bit different, feels a little more physical of a runner

than Coleman. Yeah, and these are good problems to have because I know oftentimes we think in terms of running backs and said, wow, you got so many. Well, this system has favored using multiple backs. So if they have multiple good options out of the backfield, that's going to help along the way. And where could the Jets potentially be most improved in two thousands twenty one? Could it be the offensive line? Because I'm jumping around, we talked

about the running backs a little bit. We started talking about Wilson. This is like almost like a therapy session podcast. Left tackle. If you put Elijah Vera Tucker Tucker at left guard, Connor McGovern, I think it's gonna be a good fit for the system. We talked about that multiple times. You've got George pant over there at right tackle. Who's gonna be in the lead at right guard, Alex Lewis,

Greg Van Roton here, Dan Feeney, you have. That's the point that I wanted to address, is that you have six or seven guys now who have NFL starting experience, and you moved up to get Elijah Vera Tucker in the first round. So back to back offensive alignment in the first round. So I want to see what strides the Jets offensive line can take this. Yeah, me too. I think it's a great point, and I think that we should wrap up the podcast by talking about a

little bit about special teams right way. I feel like we've jumped around here and there, and on special teams. One punt return, it's been Bracks and Barrios the past two years for the Jets. He's taken punto is healing Cole who had a punt return touchdown for the Jags

last season, Elijah Moore returning some punts. But really, the the eyes for me are on kicker because that's where you have a plethora of players that Jets have to Sam Ficken, Chris Nagar and they're going head to head right now, and I know that it's O T A S. And the pads aren't on yet, but they're their competition

has started. And today when we were on the field was the first time that I've seen where players would go real close to the snap, like players on the sideline would walk up towards Thomas Hennessey Brand or really Brandon Man and whoever was kicking, and started to create a little noise to try to simulate what would be

a gamelike situation. To see. The bottom line, football is all about competition, and I think, uh, that's the culture that Sala has brought here, is that these guys are going to be invested in the players from the coaching staff and in terms in turn, Sale and company are going to expect investments from the players. And that's when something special can happen. But there's been a good vibe and practice. I think the temple has been good. You know,

those are the things you'll look for. I know it sounds minor, but this is a new staff, So how is everybody's Sometimes people come in and guys can be swimming early and it feels like the classroom on the field. No actually for these guys so far in her Salo and company, and this is one thing that he's talked about from day one is he wants the guys to play fast. He wants to take a lot off of their plates. So that's the thing the vibe that I

think we're getting from practices. The pace has been good also, the competition has been good, and it's just to start voluntary workouts. What you wanted to see, what you were hopeful about, where it was participation, and you're getting very good participation right now. And you're laying your systems out and your installations, and then you're gonna do it again training camp and before you know it, this the first of three preseason games will be played. I mean, this

is happening quick. The offseason is done in two weeks and then the next time you're back here at once Jets Drive, it's on it's training camp. And with that being said, before the players and coaches leave for you know, about six weeks when we do our final podcast after mini camp, before we take a little hiatus on the official pod, and we have actually a fun project coming to the podcast world on the official pod, and we'll

we'll share details when appropriate. But with that being said, you know what we'll do before many camp ends or officially ends are right after it ends, will hop on the mics and we'll kind of break it down I think, you know, whether it's position by position or you know, certain superlatives and stuff like that, and then we'll kind of give a wrap up of mini camp before we come back with a training camp preview and really dive

into it before and before we know it. To your point, fans are gonna be back at MetLife and it's you know, that's cool. Yeah, it's been a long time since we've heard a cheer, even out here in training camp. Listen, and let's be honest, just have a lot of question marks. But the tell is better on this football team. You can see it. It's clear. You saw it on paper, now you see it on the field. Now it's all

going to translate. We'll have to see. But you're right, you know, for everything people are on third, you know, for Jets fans, it's gonna be great seeing them back at MetLife Stadium. I can't wait for the home opener against the Patriots. We've gotta ways to go before that happens. Obviously, the preseason game against Philadelphia, book and the summer slate, but you know, I think there's gonna be some good things in store for fans over the course of training

KMP that weren't there last year. Absolutely, and that is a perfect way to end this episode of the Official Jets Podcast.