The Reinforcements

Thursday October 29, 2009 5:33 PM By Roderick Boone

After getting gnawed at by the injury bug over the last month or so, it appears as if the Jets are finally getting healthy. And just in time for Armageddon three days from now.

Everyone who's been banged up is practicing once again, including the trio of players who sat out yesterday's session: WR David Clowney (ankle), RG Brandon Moore (foot) and CB Lito Sheppard (quad).

That means the Jets should have their full compliment of players when they tackle the Dolphins at the Meadowlands, save possibly for Sheppard. Rex Ryan still isn't convinced Lito will be be able to go, although he wasn't as definitive today as he was yesterday that Sheppard would be out. Ryan said Sheppard is somewhere between questionable and doubtful.

But even if Sheppard can't play, the Jets will be more than happy to welcome back WRs Jerricho Cotchery (hamstring) and Brad Smith (quad). With both expected to play, it should give the Jets their first real healthy look at their complete wide receiving corps since they traded for Braylon Edwards. Remember, Cotchery came up gimpy in Edwards' first practice on Oct. 8, the day after the Jets landed the big wide receiver in a trade with the Browns.

"That'll be good to see," Ryan said. "I really will be. I think that's going to us a heck of a receiving core. Obviously when got Braylon that really upgraded that receiving core because I really believe you have two No. 1 receivers now with Jerricho, obviously, and with Braylon. Then you've got an emerging guy in David Clowney coming as well. And then you have the multi-dimensional Brad Smith, and then you have Wallace Wright. I think that's an excellent group."

Clowney could get lost in the mix somewhat with the return of Cotchery and Smith. But Ryan said the second-year receiver, aka "Who Can Cover the Clown," remains in the good graces of the staff because they feel he has a better grasp of things. So as for the potential lack of opportunities for The Clown ... 

"I don't think that's going to happen any more," Ryan said. "I think there's a lot of trust now. Our coaches believe that he's going to be where he's supposed to be. David is getting the mental part down. Obviously, he has the physical tools. David gives you a weapon that if you just want to play man free coverage or a single high safety, then he can blow the roof off it. He's proven that. That's going to help us"

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LB Calvin Pace had some pretty harsh words in the aftermath of the Jets' 31-27 meltdown, calling the Wildcat "gimmicky." It was Pace's first game back from his four-game suspension and he was none too pleased with what transpired in the game.

He kind of admitted today he let his feelings get the best of him, though he didn't necessarily backtrack.

"Emotion, embarrassment," Pace said. "When you go out on any game, especially Monday night, a division game, the level the defense played before I got back, it really wasn't good enough. We didn't get off blocks, didn't make tackles. For whatever reason, we just looked rattled. I think we lost a lot of our poise in that game. As bad as we did, we still had our chance. All we had to do was kind of pull it together, especially that last drive -- find a way to get off the field and we didn't do that."

Pace lit into Dolphins rookie QB Chad Henne after the game. "Against a second-year clown quarterback, we didn’t affect him enough," he said in the quiet Jets' locker room inside Land Shark Stadium. "I guess you have to give him credit. The defense lost the game today."

Henne, who was making his second career start, had a big hand in things that night, completing 20-of-26 attempts for 241 yards and two touchdowns and finishing with a QB rating of 130.4. But there's a reason he was so successful if you ask Pace.

"The fact of the matter, when you have third-and-3, third-and-4, it's not an extremely difficult position to be in," Pace said. "When you think about it, you can check the ball down for 3 yards and when you've got two big running backs, they can fall forward for a yard and start the series right back over. What we have to do is make it third-and-long, so then they've got to go down the field a little bit. We have options. This is what they've been doing all year to people, running the first couple of downs, get seven yards. It's manageable."

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Had a lump in your throat when P Steve Weatherford took off on fourth-and-7 from just inside the Jets' 20-yard line near the end of the first quarter Sunday?

You weren't the only one.

Special teams coach/guru Mike Westhoff said the punt team has "alert" reads it looks at to see if a fake can be executed. But even he had no clue Weatherford was going to dart on his daring run. Unlike the two fake punts the Jets had against the Dolphins in their meeting a little over two weeks ago, this wasn't called by Westhoff.

It was strictly on Weatherford, who's become king of fake punts all of the sudden.

"At first, I wasn't happy," Westhoff said. "I was like, 'What are you doing?' When I took that step, he said, I could just in my peripheral vision, they were just running. They just took off and ran. And instinctively because of the alert, he ran. Now normally, we'd punt the football."  

Weatherford may be fleet of foot, but his hands aren't as consistent as Westhoff would like and that's part of the reason they pulled the plug on him holding on field goals and extra-point attempts and went with QB Kellen Clemens instead.

Clemens' hands are a bit steadier and Westhoff decided to give the fourth-year QB his shot.

"We want to get our best 11 on the field every single chance we get," Westhoff said. "And Kellen deserves a chance to be involved just like everybody else."

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WR Danny Woodhead is slowly grasping things after making the position change from running back. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer was complimentary of the fan favorite and said he'll eventually get more work.

Maybe even sooner than we think.

"The good thing about Danny is he is really bright and he can really do both roles, which is a good thing for him and for us," Schottenheimer said. "You can be a little light at one position for a week or two, then have a guy for it. He had a couple of good runs there at the end. He had a great block on Shonn Greene’s late touchdown run late in the game on third-and-seven. He was in the back side and we call it convoy blocking. He came and got all the way to the safety, Michael Huff, and covered him up and Shonn cut back behind him.

"He’s absolutely got a role. He’s going to play and he’ll be involved. You guys obviously won’t know until you see him lined up, but he can do different things."

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Doesn't look like Dolphins OLB Jason Taylor is shedding any tears about this potentially being his final game at Giants Stadium. Barring a playoff meeting, this is the 'Fins final trek to stadium that's making way for the $1.4 billion new edifice a Hail Mary away.

Taylor isn't getting too nostalgic, however.

“Nah," he said, "they can turn it into a parking lot for all I care.”

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As usual, Kimberley (K-Mart) Martin covers for me tomorrow. She'll update you with all the injury info and any news of the day.

Is it Sunday yet?

Wednesday October 28, 2009 6:10 PM By Roderick Boone

That's the prevailing feeling I got from the way the Jets were talking today.

While they weren't exactly peeking past the Bills and Raiders these past two weeks, there's no doubt they're anxious for a little bit of revenge against their AFC East divisional foe from South Florida.

"If you get beat and whipped or whatever you want to say, like we did that Monday night," Rex Ryan said, "if we would have played Minnesota, Chicago or somebody like that, you may have to wait four years for that opportunity again. The great thing about this one is it's right now. It's happening now. They've only played one game and they get us again.

"So we'll see. And again, I think we felt -- every man in that room felt, I know I did -- that I wanted this opportunity again."

CB Darrelle Revis said: "We've been waiting for them. It’s not like we looked past the team we played the past couple of weeks, this is going to be a fight. This is a game that we wanted to get back. We felt that we didn’t play our best defense that day. We have something to show."

What about you S Kerry Rhodes? What ya got? Happy to be playing the Dolphins less than three weeks after losing to them 31-27 on that Monday night?

"It's good to play them that early, to get that taste out your mouth early, and they beat us down in Miami," Rhodes said. "So it's a chance for us to repay them early."

"It's going to be a great game," Ryan said. "I think our fans need to set the tone up in the stands. I'm not saying hit people in a Dolphins jersey or anything like that, but we've got to get an understanding one way or the other. This is our home field and I'm expecting big things out of our crowd."

Sunday's tilt marks the first time QB Mark Sanchez has played against a team he's already seen, and even the rook -- not me, Sanchez -- can feel the added anticipation of Dolphins-Jets II.

"You never want to build up a game, but if there was a game to build up ... we've got to do well," he said. "They're thinking the same thing. But especially going into a bye week, you don't want that sour taste in your mouth, you don't want to be off a whole week. It's hard enough waiting a week to play, but if you've got wait two weeks, that's going to be terrible. So we just need to play well and prepare and I think everybody has the right mindset in getting ready for a good Miami team."

Sanchez, by the way, purchased 500 hot dogs and 500 hamburgers plus rolls and buns for each from an A&P supermarket and had them donated to a soup kitchen in Morristown, N.J. to turn the whole Hot Dog gate thing into something positive.

"They really appreciated it," he said, "and expressed their gratitude."

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Let's get to injury situation and start with those who didn't practice today.

WR David Clowney (ankle), RG Brandon Moore (foot), and CB Lito Sheppard (quad) each didn't participate today. Sounds like Sheppard will be out again this week.

Among those who were limited: WR Jerricho Cotchery (hamstring), DE Shaun Ellis (knee), LB Bart Scott (knee), Brad Smith (quad), and RT Damien Woody (foot).

Cotchery is almost a sure bet to play this weekend, saying his hammy feels good. I asked him if he thought about maybe sitting out one more week with the bye coming up after Sunday's game. He isn't having that, though.

"Nah, I'm ready to go, man," he said. "I'm ready to go. It's not anything where I'm trying to take baby steps. I feel good right now. So it's not [about] trying to rest up or anything. I feel good, I'm ready to go. Bye week isn't even on my mind right now. Trying to win the game is on my mind, so I'm just ready to go out there and help us win a game."

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Justin Miller was a popular man in the locker room.

Wearing No. 32, Miller practiced today and will handle the kick returner duties with Leon Washington on injured reserve after breaking his right leg in the first quarter of Sunday's 38-0 win in Oakland.

Speaking of Oakland, exactly what happened with the Raiders?

"If I could tell you, I would tell you completely," Miller said. "That's Oakland. That's about all I can say. It's some interesting things that go on at that camp. I think at the end of the day, there's a business side of it and they felt like they were going in a different direction and they needed to make a different move. You can tell, I guess by what's going on, what direction they are going."

Translation: The wrong one.

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Washington is scheduled to return home today from the Bay Area. He's expected to make a full recovery and FB Tony Richardson, one of his closest friends on the team, couldn't wait to check him out.

"He seems like he's doing pretty good under the circumstaces," Richardson told me. "He seems positive. I think he was pretty pleased with how the surgery went. He comes back in tonight, so I'm anxious to see him."

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For those who might not have been following, today is the first day that Newsday.com goes behind a new pay wall. Subscribers to the newspaper and those who have Cablevision's Optimum Online service can access the site at no charge. 

I understand this made some of you very unhappy. Ok, many of you. But our business needs a severe overhaul and if this saves our industry and subsequently jobs as well, then we'll all be better off for it.

You get one free click per day, so if you like to visit this blog daily, you still can. I appreciate all of you out there who are hanging in with us and we're going to make sure you have content that you can't find anywhere else right here. That's a promise. It's something I've tried to do and will continue to give you die hards out there the extra info you so crave.

Remember, you can also follow me right here on Twitter. If you notice, we've added my Twitter feed here on my blog and it's located along the right side of the screen underneath the tag clouds.

Brandon Moore to Mark Sanchez: 'Calm down'

Monday October 5, 2009 8:05 PM By Greg Logan

The bad day at the office that awaits every rookie NFL quarterback hit
Mark Sanchez between the eyes in Sunday's 24-10 loss in New Orleans. To
his credit, Sanchez didn't run from his responsibility for giving up
two touchdowns on an interception and a fumble in his end zone. Then
again, how could he?

He came close to making the big mistake in his 3-0 start, which
included another interception return for a TD in the opener at Houston,
but escaped with no real damage. In fact, the success he enjoyed seemed
to prompt him to try to do more than he is capable of four games into
his NFL career.

Right guard Brandon Moore, who spends his time trying to relieve the
physical pressure on Sanchez, suggested the rookie shouldn't worry
about putting too much mental pressure on himself either. "I just don't
want him to feel like he needs to show anything to the offense," Moore
said today. "I feel he feels the pressure of having to perform so well.
He has to learn it's all of us. He doesn't have to put it all on his
shoulders. You tell him and hope he gets it.

"It's just understanding, 'Don't put too much into it. You've got a
veteran team, a veteran offense. Just calm down, and it will all
happen.'"

Although he was victimized by a tough Saints defense, the winners
complimented the rookie's toughness. And Moore said Sanchez showed no
signs of buckling during the game.

"He gets in the huddle ready to call the plays and ready to sling it,"
Moore said. "I never saw any wavering in his attitude or his approach. "

Sanchez has to recognize the Jets have a great defense in place that
can afford him and the offense time and field position in most games to
always stay competitive. Even spotting 14 points to the NFL's most
high-powered offense, the Jets went into the fourth quarter trailing
only 17-10.

"It was a winnable game after the worst scenarios that happened,"
Moore said. "To still be 17-10, that will go a long way in future
games."

The Morning After (Preseason Week 4 edition)

Friday September 4, 2009 12:43 PM By Roderick Boone

As good as Mark Sanchez and the offense looked last night in the team's 38-27 win over the Eagles at the Meadowlands, we can't say the same thing about the Jets' first-string defense.

Simply put, they were awful in their lone series of the night. The Eagles marched down the field thanks to the Jets committing three penalties for 65 yards, and two were of the pass interference variety. The other was an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on LB Bart Scott right near the goal line.

During the postgame session with Rex Ryan, I asked him if he was a little worried with the rash of penalties the Jets seem to be accumulating. He seemed bothered, especially by the pass interference calls.

"I’m concerned," he said. "I want to make sure we’re teaching our guys correctly and really look at it. I want to see if it was an obvious foul."

That's now 17 penalties for 192 yards in the last two games alone, and Ryan voiced his anger with the number of penalties to the players at halftime.

"Rex came into the locker room and really made himself clear with how he felt," NT Kris Jenkins said. "I think the guys really responded to that and that's what matters. Even though the ones weren't out there, they definitely responded to the way he came in here and got after us. And we understand what it is that we have to do. It's a real test of character to how the group responded as a whole to go do that.

"Honestly, you won't be able to understand that until next week."

Jenkins was right, though. The bright spot for the defense was the play of the reserves, who took it to the Eagles' second- and third-teamers. The Jets finished with seven sacks, giving them 18 through the preseason.

That's the most any team has registered in a four-game preseason since the Patriots had 19 in 2003.

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Sanchez was crisp in his one and only series of the night. Sanchez didn't miss a throw, completing all five passes for 67 yards including that 21-yard touchdown toss to WR Jerricho Cotchery. He had a perfect QB rating of 158.3.

I've said it previously more than once, but it bears repeating as we move closer to next Sunday's season opener in Houston. It's becoming more obvious with each day that Sanchez has all the tools to be successful in this league and he has a desire to improve. He wants to be among the best. 

Just listen to what he had to say after the game about the way the Jets concluded the preseason, winning their last two games after dropping their first two.

"We wanted to finish strong every drill, every rep, every practice and every preseason game," he said. "This was a great step for us going into the regular season." 

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LB Vernon Gholston recorded his first career NFL sack. But if you read this column by Bob Glauber, there's someone who thinks the move to draft Gholston sixth overall "should go on the tombstone of Eric Mangini."

Ouch, that hurt.

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Everyone is gushing over Danny Woodhead's play, especially some of the people on the radio.

My question: Where ya been?

Woodhead has been an intriguing storyline all spring, dating back to when RBs Leon Washington and Thomas Jones weren't participating in the voluntary OTAs. He was getting a bulk of the work then, and Ryan has been singing his praises in training camp whenever someone asks about the 5-9, 195-pounder, saying at one point Woodhead has the best hands of anybody in the backfield.

Yes, anybody includes Washington. Essentially, Woodhead is a poor man's Washington and he was a one-man wrecking crew last night. His 158 yards were the second-highest output in a preseason game since they started keeping preseason stats in 1992. He also ran for two touchdowns and one was a 55-yarder.

With that kind of performance, it's going to be hard for the Jets not to keep him because if he's cut, there's no way he's slipping through waivers. So the Jets won't be able to stash him on the practice squad.

"I’m not worried about that," Woodhead said. "That’s not my job to make the decision of who makes the team. My job is to go out there and play football. Hopefully, my performance is enough. Either way, I'm going to keep working hard and try to become a better football player. It's all in God's hands and I trust whatever he's going to do with my life and that’s the way I will approach it."

If you didn't know why he's quickly become a fan favorite, those words tell you all you need to know.

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What would a Jets' preseason game be without a David Clowney touchdown reception? The second-year wideout had another lengthy TD grab last night, snaring a73-yarder from Erik Ainge in the fourth quarter.

Quipped Ryan: "I still don’t have an answer on who can cover the Clown."

Despite getting shut out against the Giants Saturday, Clowney finished the preseason with seven receptions for 243 yards with three touchdowns. He's staking his claim to be a big part of this wide receiver corps and it will be interesting to see how he'll be used because they already have a special package of plays just for him.

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Another tough night for CB Lito Sheppard. He was flagged for a pass interference penalty in his one and only drive, and the 43-yard penalty put the Eagles in field goal territory. They, of course, went on to score a touchdown.

That's two rough weeks in a row for Sheppard, who has three pass interference penalties in a matter of two games.

"It's definitely tough considering I'm trying to do everything right in my power to make plays," Sheppard told me, "and it still seems somehow to go against me. But like I said, I can't worry about that. I'm just going to keep playing and we are going to get a solution to that."

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Caught up with newly-signed TE Ben Hartsock after the game and he seemed excited about his new chance. He's primarily a blocking tight end who should help in the running game, and also thinks he can be a factor in the passing game as well whenever he's called on.

"I think I can catch the ball," said Hartsock, who already knew Gholston, Nick Mangold and Brandon Moore. "I'm not going to try to pull the wool over anybody. I'm not going to run down the field like a Dustin Keller, but I know that when I get out in a route opportunity, I can catch the ball just as well as anybody." 

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There won't be any player access for us until Tuesday, but we'll get to speak with Rex tomorrow to get a handle on the Jets' cuts. Remember, the rosters must be trimmed from 75 down to 53 by 6 p.m.

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Don't forget to follow me right here on Twitter. It is follow Friday after all.

The Morning After (Preseason Week 1 edition)

Saturday August 15, 2009 12:22 PM By Roderick Boone

Before we get to the quarterback battle that consumed everyone, we'll start off with Rex Ryan's thoughts about last night's game overall.

Ryan hasn't been angered very much in his short tenture, but last night he was pretty perturbed with how things went down in the Jets' 23-20 loss to the Rams in their preseason opener at Giants Stadium. Whether it was missed assignments or poor tackling, Ryan wasn't happy with all the mental mistakes, especially from the reserves.

And he addressed it with the team immediately afterward.

"He was upset," right guard Brandon Moore said. "He let us know that he doesn't like losing. He can't remember preseason scores, but he doesn't like losing. He expects more out of the guys that are behind the starters. He was disappointed in that, and the [bad] finish of the game and all the work we put in. He was a little disappointed to see that once guys got under the lights that they didn't handle the mental aspects of the game."

The Jets didn't look mentally ready at the start of the third quarter. They let Samkon Gado rumble downfield virtually untouched on a 77-yard touchdown run 25 seconds into the start of the half. 

Ryan was a little bothered the Jets weren't able to hold the Rams off after taking a 23-20 lead with just over 10 minutes left in the fourth. WR Paul Raymond muffed a Donnie Jones punt at the Jets' own 24-yard line and the Rams scored the go-ahead touchdown three plays later  on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Keith Null to Sean Walker.

"I hate losing," Ryan said. "I don’t care, preseason or not. Whatever the case, it stinks. You have to give credit to the Rams. They did a good job. They made some plays. One running back was so quick, I never saw his number. That was embarrassing. We made way too many mistakes on defense and with the third group. Sometimes unfortunately, this game is too big for some people at times.  That’s why not everybody makes this team. I’m looking for Jets. I’m looking for guys that are passionate, tough people and are smart. We made way too many mistakes. It was embarrassing. Two touchdowns they got were off mental mistakes by us. I can’t handle getting beat physically but I can handle it more than when we get beat mentally. That was real unfortunate."

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Should we just go ahead and write Mark Sanchez's name as the starter in magic marker now? Bob Glauber thinks Sanchez might've won the gig with his first pass of the game.

My take: I was asked by John Buccigross during a SportsCenter phone interview on July 31, the first day of training camp, who I thought was going to be starting at QB come the Sept. 13 opener. I said then it would be Sanchez and it's looking more and more like he will indeed by the guy.

He's done nothing since to show he can't handle it.

When Sanchez hit David Clowney with that 48-yard strike on his first play, that immediately showed the type of tools and moxie Sanchez has. There's something about him that oozes that "it" factor. I've noticed it from the first time I was around him -- the day he threw out the first pitch at Citi Field -- and last night was the first chance Jets fans really got to see a glimpse of why the Jets wanted him to be their franchise quarterback.

And even though he was the star of the night, completing 3-of-4 passes for 88 yards, he understands he has plenty more to prove.

"It was just a first game," Sanchez said. "We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, and I don’t personally want to do that. It’s still very early. It was one series, and it was some basic stuff out there. We will do a lot more come next week, and maybe I’ll see some more playing time. As these things go on, you have to stay sharp, make completions and move the chains. I thought I did that tonight, but like I said, it’s still very early."

Ryan hasn't named Sanchez the starter for the Jets' next preseason game, which comes a week from Monday against the Ravens in Baltimore. But he hinted we'll find out the answer tomorrow morning.

Said Ryan: "It would be probably obvious in the first practice what we are going to do."

Translation: We'll see Sanchez under center taking the first-team reps.

Daily QB Meter (on a scale of 1-5, zero being even): Two in favor of Sanchez. He's tied his largest lead.

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How about that Erik Ainge, huh?

Ainge played two-plus quarters and hit 10-of-17 passes for 149 yards. With Sanchez and Clemens getting all the pub, Ainge has quitely had a nice training camp. His passes might look ugly sometimes, but he's effective.

He, of course, had that 50-yard touchdown strike to Clowney early in the fourth quarter.

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Speaking of Clowney, there was a sense of deju vu all over again. Clowney had a 'breakout' game in last year's preseason opener against the Browns with two long touchdown grabs.

Clowney has done little to distinguish himself throughout the spring and most of the first two weeks of training camp. But his three receptions for 102 yards and a TD put him back on the radar.

"My whole thing," Clowney said, "was trying to come in, make the same plays I did."

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Defensively, the Jets were OK, nothing spectacular.

Fans saw just how much the team is going to miss LB Calvin Pace, who's suspended for the first four games for violating the league's policy on performance-enhancing substances. Pace tied LB Brandon Reikart for the most tackles with four, and he also had a sack.

LB David Harris was all over the place and also had three tackles and a sack. So, too, was CB Donald Strickland with his three tackles and sack.

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After taking the day off, the Jets head to Cortland later this evening for their second tour of duty in Central New York, returning back home Friday.

They'll hold two practices tomorrow with the first one starting at 8:20 a.m.. The afternoon special teams practice begins at 4:15 p.m. 

I'll check in with you from lovely Cortland tomorrow.

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Another friendly reminder that you can find me here on Twitter at twitter.com/rodboone.

(Photo: MCT/John Dunn)

Who are these guys?

Thursday August 13, 2009 2:29 PM By Roderick Boone

That may be what some fans start muttering to themselves sometime early in the first quarter of tomorrow's preseason opener with the Rams at Giants Stadium.

With LG Alan Faneca the latest to join the Jets' list of the walking wounded, the Jets will be down three starters on their offensive line against Steve Spagnuolo's crew. C Nick Mangold (right knee) and RT Damien Woody (head) got dinged up earlier in the week and had already been ruled out before Faneca's broken middle finger on his left hand was revealed during yesterday's homecoming practice at Hofstra.

(Speaking of Hofstra, many of Long Island's huge stable of Jets fans are still bothered by the team's departure, as Barbara Barker noted here.)

So there's a good chance there will be a makeshift lineup of LT D'Brickashaw Ferguson, LG Stanley Daniels, C Robert Turner, RG Brandon Moore, and RT Wayne Hunter when the first-string offense is on the field.

Rex Ryan knows he won't be able to get much of an evaluation on both quarterbacks without most of the starting offensive line intact -- not to mention both Kellen Clemens and Mark Sanchez might wind up running for their lives more often than not -- and that's why we'll probably be seeing even more of QB Erik Ainge than originally promised.  

Worried yet? Should they be? None of these injuries are considered to be of the serious variety. I'll go back to the answer Ryan gave in response to my question on Monday, when I asked if he's getting a little concerned about all these nagging injuries cropping up.

"These things happen all the time," he said. "I'm happy that -- knock on wood and everything else -- that we haven't lost anybody for a significant amount of time. So that's a plus. I think when you look through camp, if you can go through and have just the little minor injuries that we've had, I think every team would take that. We've probably had as few injuries as anybody."

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Katie Strang, our new Islanders beat writer, was filling in for me yesterday and was even gracious enough to update our Daily QB Meter in today's paper. She had Sanchez 6-for-8 with two would-be sacks and Clemens 5-for-9 with a sack.

Clemens had a bad overthrow and also nearly got picked off by CB Lito Sheppard on an errant deep pass. Sanchez connected with converted TE Kareem Brown for a roughly 20-yard hook up near the end of practice.

Daily QB Meter (on a scale of 1-5, zero being even): One in favor of Sanchez. Tilts back slightly in the rook's direction heading into tomorrow's matchup with the Rams. 

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No access today as the Jets held a brief walkthrough at the Meadowlands in preparation for the Rams game. They'll take Saturday off to travel back up to Cortland, where they'll hold six more days of practices before breaking camp for good up there following an 8:15 a.m. special teams practice Friday.

The first practices back in Central New York come Sunday with the first beginning at 8:20 a.m.. There will be a special teams practice at 4:15 p.m.

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Another reminder that you can follow me right here on Twitter at twitter.com/rodboone.

(Photo: Joe Rogate)

Kellen Clemens shines in the morning

Friday April 17, 2009 1:40 PM By Erik Boland

Have to rush through this a bit as the pre-draft press conference is coming up soon. With that excuse for any misspellings, errors, etc. out of the way…

Well, score the first day and a half of the minicamp to Kellen Clemens. And don’t just take my word for it.

“I thought he looked outstanding today,” Rex Ryan said of Clemens, who worked with the first team, after practice. “I really liked how he took charge of the offense today.”

Not that he thought Brett Ratliff was bad.

“Ratty made some great throws,” Ryan said. “He’s got a talented arm.”

The numbers? Well, no interceptions for either quarterback, though there weren’t a lot of downfield throws.

Ratliff went 8-for-12 in total in the 7-on-7’s, with one of his better throws a 22-yard strike to Marcus Henry [two nice catches for him this morning] on a seam route.

Clemens was 6-for-8, which included a nice juggling reception by tight end tryout Kareem Brown in the seam for a gain of 18 yards. He also zipped the ball in nicely over the middle for about 12 yards to Chansi Stuckey.

In the 11-on-11s, it was mostly runs and short passes. Ratliff went 4-for-4, his best throw a 15-yarder to the sideline to David Clowney, who made a nice grab. Marques Douglas, incidentally, pressured Ratliff on the play, one of three times I saw him in the backfield.

Clemens' top play in the 11-on-11s was when he rolled to his left and found Jerricho Cotchery in the flat for an 18-yard gain.

* Ryan might have let the team’s draft plans slip [though it very well could have been an intentional slip; the whole "smokescreen" thing] when he was asked if, given that most of the team’s free agency work was done on defense, that meant the draft might be skewed more toward offense.

“You can probably figure that out,” Ryan said.

* Ryan said he will have influence on whom the Jets draft, though “at the end of the day Mike will make the final decision. But it won’t be just one man making that call,” meaning Tannenbaum will take input from multiple people, including Ryan.

* Ryan thought Vernon Gholston had a good practice this morning.“You saw how he flew to the ball,” Ryan said. “He would have had a couple sacks today.”

Maybe. Ryan might have been hyperbolizing a little but Gholston definitely looked more into it this morning than he did yesterday when he had a quiet day.

* Jason Trusnik continues to look good this camp. He stuffed (as much as someone can stuff someone in a non-contact drill) Danny Woodhead on an inside run and, as was the case yesterday, Trusnik made his way into the backfield a couple of times.

* A humorous moment of Ryan’s press conference today came when Jets PR chief Bruce Speight’s cell phone made a noise. Ryan stopped an answer in mid-sentence, and looked Speight.

“Oh boy, that’s a critical error right there,” Ryan said with a smile.

* Ryan has liked what he’s seen out of Clowney. After seeing last year’s preseason Ryan said his thought was, “Wow, can this kid run.”

But, “There’s more to him than that,” Ryan said. “He’s been very impressive.”

* There was an ugly collision as, during a deep passing drill with one receiver going one-on-one against a defender, Wallace Wright – coming from one direction – collided with Kenwin Cummings, who was defending Jehuu Caulrick, coming the other way on the sideline.

Ryan said both players, who stayed down for several minutes and returned to the field, though not to practice, would be “fine.” Cummings Ryan suspected might have suffered a slight concussion and Wright, who had his right knee wrapped in the locker room, will be “checked out” Ryan said. Neither player will practice this afternoon and likely won’t tomorrow.

“22 years coaching and never seen anything like that before,” Ryan said of the collision.

* There were some light moments during practice, with the lightest coming early on when Ryan donned an orange skullcap and charged [rumbled] down on the kick coverage team. The second time he did it, Danny Woodhead ended up blocking him and size-wise – the smallish Woodhead against the, well, somewhat more bulbous Ryan – it was the manifestation of physical comedy.

* Speaking of Woodhead, who has gotten a lot of work the first day-and-a-half, Ryan said Woodhead reminded him of another undersized player he knows.

“The first thing I thought was, ‘Hey, there’s another Jim Leonhard out there.’ We have two guys that look like your next door neighbor.”

Ryan, of course, meant it as a compliment as his affinity for Leonhard is well documented.

“He’s got a chance,” Ryan said of Woodhead’s chances to make the team.

* Dustin Keller, who sat out yesterday with flu-like symptoms was back. Shaun Ellis and Brandon Moore continued to work on the side.

* Jay Feely went 7-for-7 in FGs, hitting from 32, 33, 36, 38, 40, 41 and 43 yards. The punters were on an adjacent field and, therefore, we didn’t see much of them. That should change this afternoon.

And with that, time for the pre-draft press conference. And a second practice after that.

Brandon Moore: Hopefully I can end my career here

Saturday February 28, 2009 1:25 PM By Erik Boland

Brandon Moore said he harbored no anger toward the Jets for the events of the last couple days, which started with him getting released but then signing with the Jets after their deal with the Steelers Chris Kemoeatu fell through when he re-signed with Pittsburgh. Of course, he made out very well financially so there's not that much to be angry about and, as he pointed out several times in his conference call with reporters a few minutes ago, he's back with a team he never wanted to leave in the first place.

"When it happened I wasn’t bitter," Moore said. "I’ve played long enough and understand the business side of it. I wasn’t upset honestly."

Moore said he had some feelers shortly after free agency started Friday morning but also said the lines of communication between his agent and the Jets stayed open.

"It didn't end on bad terms," Moore said of his release.

Of the Jets pursuit of Kemoeatu, Moore seemed to shrug (over the phone anyway).

"At the end of the day, when all was said and done, who did they come back to?" Moore said. "And it was with the team I wanted to be with. We worked it out at the end."

Moore said the importance of keeping the offensive line completely intact couldn't be overstated.

"That’s stuff goes a long way when it gets down to playing football," said Moore, who has started 73 straight games for the Jets. "I feel real good about this group."

Moore, who said he now hoped to finish his career with the Jets, had this to say about Rex Ryan, with whom he's spoken to a couple of times since Ryan took over.

"I watched his [introductory] press conference on TV," Moore said. "It got me ready to go play. He’s straight forward, a football coach through and through. He’s bringing a dynamic to this team I feel was really needed [with] motivation and passion. Guys really feed into that."

Night moves with Rex Ryan and Mike T

Friday February 27, 2009 8:43 PM By Erik Boland

The Jets announced a conference call for 9 p.m. tonight, featuring Mike Tannenbaum and Rex Ryan. Expect them to talk about the drama of the day with Bart Scott, but also some upcoming moves. A source familiar with the team's plans confirmed Brandon Moore was in the process of being re-signed (yes I tweaked that sentence a bit), and Ryan no longer has to plead the fifth when talking about his former players, including Jim Leonhard who is scheduled in town tomorrow.

Lots to talk about. I'll be back later tonight with some kind of report. Time for a quick brew (meaning the brewing of coffee, of course).

* The delay in the start of the call might have something to do with this (Litooo). Probably helps that I included the link this time.

On the conference call just now, incidentally, Tannenbaum declined to talk about the trade.

"That’s not something I can address," Tannenbaum said.

Have to plug in some quotes for my newspaper story but Rex Ryan had a couple of great lines, as usual.

This was his opening about Scott: "We added the Mad Backer today. What you’ve seen him do and accomplish in Baltimore is just the tip of the iceberg for this young man. I think he’s going to be even more effective now with this Jets defense. He gives us some flexibility with David we didn’t have with Ray [in Baltimore]."

Ryan, without being asked, defined Mad Backer: "He’s called the Mad Backer because he hates the other guys in the other jerseys during the game. When he’s on the field against somebody, he plays the way you’re supposed to and that’s a violent and physical game."

Tannenbaum said the day wasn't nearly as dramatic behind the scenes as some might have thought, calling the day, "Business as usual."

Not sure anyone, Tannenbaum included, actually believed that but Ryan, when asked if in the end there was ever a doubt Scott would be wearing green and white, he said there wasn't.

"No, no doubt whatsoever," Ryan said.

Tannenbaum wouldn't rule out going after Ray Lewis but Ryan, and this is me reading between the lines, seemed to deflect that as a possibility.

"I’m sure he’s not going to have any problems finding a job out there," Ryan said.

* Ryan said at one point during the negotiations, he went to the Short Hills Mall with Scott and defensive coordinator Mike Pettine to get away from things.

Last one. Ryan was asked if this year's Jets defense would resemble what he had in Baltimore.

"I think it will in production," Ryan said. "I think w’re going to have an outstanding defense, and that’s right out of the gate. We should have high expectations."

And with that, back to newspaper things.

* Ok, one last thing: the way Ryan raved about Leonhard, who will be in town Saturday, don't be surprised if a deal is reached very quickly there.

"Just a smart, tough, passionate guy," Ryan said. "You try to surround yourself with those kinds of players."

Now we're done. For the moment.

Bart Scott off the table?

Tuesday February 24, 2009 9:38 PM By Erik Boland

Maybe.

Bob Glauber has an item on his blog that says the Ravens are progressing toward reaching a deal with Bart Scott that would keep him off the market and away from the Jets, who had planned a vigorous pursuit of the linebacker.

If you don't want to read it - which I encourage you to, of course - here was the most important part:

"The Ravens are making a concerted effort to re-sign linebacker Bart Scott before the start of free agency. We're told there has been steady progress toward a new contract, although negotiations could come down to the wire. The signing period begins at 12:01 a.m. Friday."

There's a related item on the Baltimore Sun's site as well, a post that indicates Ray Lewis' case of flap-jaw in Hawaii vexed Ravens' owner Steve Bisciotti. Lewis, if you remember, in the week leading up to the Pro Bowl talked glowingly of the possibility of playing with T.O. in Dallas or being reunited with Rex Ryan in New York. Maybe Bisciotti missed the part where Lewis called Baltimore "my city."

Anyway, if [and I stress "if" because a deal hasn't yet been reached] the Ravens close with Scott, I still don't think it's automatic Lewis ends up with the Jets. And who knows, maybe this would allow them to get something done with Brandon Moore, who still has not been released.

Smith, Harris back at practice, and Favre talks about lots of stuff

Wednesday November 26, 2008 2:28 PM By Erik Boland

First, to the “news” portion of the program:

* Eric Mangini disclosed the team awards from the Titans game.

Offensive player of the game: Leon Washington

Defensive: Abram Elam

Special teams: Marques Murrell

Practice: Brett Ratliff

Also, Mangini said Eric Smith and David Harris would practice today and when the media went out to practice, both players were stretching with the team. We saw Harris working in the positional drills but Smith, after the team adjourned from stretching, went to the sideline and the exercise bike. I’d say Harris is the more likely of the two to play Sunday, but my bet is neither will suit up.

* Brett Favre’s answers are usually pretty good and it was no exception when he was asked to give a snapshot of each of his offensive linemen – D’Brickashaw Ferguson, Alan Faneca, Nick Mangold, Brandon Moore and Damien Woody.

“Nick has the chance to be the best I’ve ever played with. Athletically speaking he’s by far the most athletic.”

“Faneca is one of those guys that every team wishes they had on their team. He never complains; is always running, blocking, doing something. He’s a perfect fit for he side that breaks on, because I see a change in Brick. Once again, I wasn’t here last year, but just form the start of the year now…it goes without saying that Brick is ultra talented. Using that is the key. I think he’s finding out day in and day out he can be pretty darn good.”

“Brandon and Woody, the right side, they’re all playing great. Woody’s got the best feet I’ve ever seen. Brandon is probably our best just pure run blocker. I mean he’s hard to move. He can move people.”

Favre also talked about an in-practice skirmish between Ferguson and Shaun Ellis from a while back.

“Having a little spunk about you is not a bad thing," Favre said. "Everybody laughed, stuff like that. Most people were like, ‘Man, we haven’t seen that side of Brick.’”

* Favre was asked about the dangers of the team getting ahead of itself as the wins keep piling up and the positive attention continues to come. Favre said nothing has changed much since the early part of the season, other than players' confidence.

“You know, you’re on top of the world one day, hit the bottom the next,” Favre said. “As we struggled early in the year, I don’t think it really affected anyone, because look where we are now. I really don’t think that the success we’re having right now will affect us. In saying that, I don’t know what’s going to happen the next five. But I think our preparation, guys will say the right things. It seems like a pretty focused team.”

* Favre on the offense of late, its ability to hold onto the ball and overall effectiveness:

“The key in all of this to me is the fact that our running game has really dominated, no different than our defense, stopping the run. The fact we’ve been able to run the football at our discretion has made all the difference. For any quarterback, if you can run the football the way we’re running it, sort of dictates to the defense, I don’t want to say you want them to play, but how they have to play you. Do they bring an extra guy in the box? If they do that, then a slant should be there, a go route, a back shoulder throw or whatever. We have the guys from our receiver corps standpoint that can catch the ball at the line of scrimmage, get 10 or 15. They did it the other day. If you’re a defensive coordinator, you’re scratching your head going, what do I do?”

* Finally, a quick congrats to the Associated Press' Jets beat reporter, Dennis Waszak, for tagging Thomas Jones and Leon Washington as “Pow and Later.” The nickname seems to have caught on a bit [Washington called it his favorite on ESPN yesterday morning] and whatever you may hear, it originated with Waszak.

And with that, happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I have been - and continue to be - thankful for the readers of this blog since I started on the beat.

I would tell you all about my plans tomorrow, but I don’t want to make anyone jealous. Enjoy the holiday.