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Mark Sanchez throws a pick in the afternoon, but an overall good first day
Shorter practice in the afternoon, so not as much in the team drills.
But…
We finally got to see the punter posse out there at the start of practice and the first thing to know is Eric Wilbur, who looked too much like Ben Graham in the recent voluntary minicamp, was significantly better. But I’d have to give a slight advantage on the afternoon to T.J. Conley, the UFA who led the nation in punting last year.
Both had one wicked shank apiece, off the side of their respective right foots. But neither – thankfully – repeated the effort and, after they each boomed 6-8 kicks, we didn’t see much from them the rest of practice. I’d rank both in the “solid” to “pretty good” category for the day, though with the qualifier that the afternoon practice, as was the case in the morning, was indoors.
Mark Sanchez, meanwhile, wasn’t quite as good in the afternoon as he was in the morning, though he wasn’t bad.
He started by completing four of his first five passes in the 7-on-7s before skidding somewhat and finishing 8-for-16 for 118 yards. Rex Ryan lamented the defense getting its hands on five passes – not all of them Sanchez’s – in the morning but not recording on interception. The defense changed that in the afternoon and the victim was Sanchez.
It happened when Sanchez hung a ball on a deep pass down the middle for Paul Raymond. Though the ball traveled a good 50 yards in the air, it was slightly underthrown, allowing CB Marquice Cole (Northwestern) to tip the ball and make the interception on the deflection.
* Incidentally, if you’re wondering: yes, Cole is on the roster. For these rookie minicamps some second-year players can participate, the reason you read earlier about Marcus Henry and Paul Raymond catching passes (they caught quite a few in the afternoon as well). Some of the other roster players out there today: Huey Whittaker, Jehuu Caulcrick, Brandon Renkart, Kenwin Cummings, Stanley Daniels, Brian Schaefering, Mike Kracalik and Ropati Pitoitua.
Speaking of Henry and Raymond, Sanchez’s best 7-on-7 passes were passes to each of them on deep passes down the middle. Henry’s covered 25 yards and Raymond’s went for 27. Sanchez also threw a nice sideline pass to Whittaker for 18 yards. As he did in the morning, Sanchez threw the intermediate sideline routes pretty well.
Not much in the way of the 11-on-11s as Sanchez was 3-for-4 for 41 yards, the best throw a 16-yarder to Henry on the sideline that barely eluded the coverage of CB Sean Smalls.
* A few of the defensive guys who flew – and moved – around a bit out there: DL Matt Kroul, NT Josh Hunt, DE Zach Potter and DE Jamaal Westerman, whom Ryan mentioned after the morning practice.
* Third-round pick Shonn Greene dropped a screen pass with no one near him and spent several moments staring at the ground, obviously PO'd at himself. And RB Allen Patrick, a tryout player from Oklahoma, looked quite good running the ball in the afternoon. Has what seems like a great initial burst.
* Sanchez, during a water break, not only said “thank you” when the waterboy came out to him, but he also started chatting the kid up for nearly a minute, smiling as he did so. Always good to see that because, well, why not. Nothing wrong with being a nice guy.
The minicamp continues Saturday morning.
Tags: mark sanchez, jets rookie minicamp, eric wilbur, shonn greene, t.j. conley, rex ryan, paul raymond, huey whittaker, marcus henry, jehuu caulcrick, brandon renkart, kenwin cummings, stanley daniels, brian schaefering, mike kracalik, matt kroul, josh hunt, zach potter, jamaal westerman, ben graham, sean smalls, ropati pitoitua
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Morning minicamp with the rookies in "the bubble"
First, to the important stuff.
No punting this morning.
Presumably, punters Eric Wilbur and T.J. Conley will get their game on this afternoon.
Now, to Mark Sanchez.
In the 7-on-7s, Sanchez went 10-for-16 for (approximately) 125 yards, which included – again approximating here – a 65 yard touchdown pass to Marcus Henry. Henry broke open deep in the right seam, having beaten cornerback Sean Smalls (a tryout player from UMass), and Sanchez hit him with a perfect spiral that traveled about 25 yards.
That’s probably what stood out the most in watching Sanchez this morning – his consistency in delivering a spiral on almost every throw. His first few passes were behind the intended receiver, but he soon found his rhythm.
Among those, beside Henry, catching Sanchez’s passes: 6-3 WR Britt Davis (Northern Illinois), 6-2 WR Huey Whittaker (South Florida), 6-6 TE Andrew Davie (Arkansas) and 6-4 TE Robert Myers (Utah State). Myers showed a bit of alligator arms on a deep pass over the middle.
Sanchez didn’t do as much passing the 11-on-11s (I’m assuming we’ll see more of that in the afternoon), going just 3-for-4, though with two exceptional throws. One was a 19-yard completion (Smalls again was the victim) to Davis on the right sideline and the other was a play that went about 40 yards, a solid timing throw down the sideline to Paul Raymond.
Sanchez appears to be able to make “all the throws,” as the cliché goes, and he looked to have the gun to complete those intermediate (15 yarders) balls to the sideline.
Rex Ryan noted afterward – and not without some pride -- that Sanchez worked with some of the rookies last night on aspects of the offense. Ryan found out during practice because the unit looked a bit more in sync with the 18 plays it had been given than he expected.
“He’s a natural leader,” Ryan said of Sanchez. “Some guys can lead and some guys can’t.”
Ryan mentioned, as he did on draft day, the “swagger” Sanchez seems to possess.
Sanchez called his first day, “successful.”
Other things:
* Shonn Greene got a handful of carries in the 11-on-11s and made a good move after catching a screen pass in the right flat. He looks quick to the hole but with players in shorts and helmets, its hard to tell with these things.
* Ryan was asked if any other tryout players impressed him in the morning. He mentioned Rutgers UFA DE Jamaal Westerman and tryout players John Simmons, a 6-4 TE from Minnesota, and Brian Toal, a LB from Boston College.
I would throw in Hofstra’s Ottis Lewis, a 6-6 WR who made a diving reception on the first ball he saw, an out pass of about 10 yards thrown by Harvard QB Chris Pizzotti. The 6-5 Pizzotti, by the way, threw a couple of nice balls, including a 46-yarder during a positional drill that hit Davis in stride by the right pylon.
Afternoon practice at about 4.
Tags: mark sanchez, rex ryan, marcus henry, sean smalls, robert myers, andrew davie, huey whittaker, chris pizzotti, jamaal westerman, ottis lewis, hofstra football, brian toal, john simmons
