Did Jets give away too much on 'Hard Knocks'?
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Did the Jets compromise some of their strategy by appearing on HBO's "Hard Knocks," opening the door for the opposition to get valuable information?
Despite what Ravens offensive coordinator Cam Cameron thinks, Rex Ryan doesn't believe so.
"I understand Cam was saying that he got a lot out of it, took a lot of notes and all that," Ryan said Saturday. "Well, I'm like, 'You've got the playbook right there.' There might be something in the playbook that might be a little more revealing than what you saw on 'Hard Knocks.'
"What are you going to learn?" he added. "You guys saw it. What did you get out of it?"
Cameron told the Baltimore media Friday that watching the reality show helped him gain some tactical information, though he declined to address the specifics.
"Yeah, there was probably a lot revealed in that strategically, the way I viewed it," Cameron said. "At least what we were jotting down. There was a lot of stuff in there strategically."
Unlike Ryan, Kris Jenkins sided with Cameron somewhat. He believes the Jets' exposure during training camp provided their opponents with some potentially useful nuggets.
"Honestly, I know we did," he said. "I know we sacrificed some things by being on 'Hard Knocks' because they got to see some things about us, some strengths, some weaknesses. But when it's all said and done, it's still football. For our division alone, which I can use as the best example, you play these guys twice a year. So they already know a certain amount about you.
"But I don't think it's going to be a point where it's detrimental to our season or to our goals. Of course, it's going to make games tougher; of course the bull's-eye gets a little bit bigger. We have a big season this year. It just is what it is."
Pool a question mark
Brodney Pool's sprained left ankle might keep him out of the season opener Monday night.
The safety, brought in as a free agent with a reputation for being physical, thinks he's healthy enough to play. But it's not his decision on whether he's going to take the field for the Jets' regular-season debut at New Meadowlands Stadium.
"It's up to the coaches," said Pool, listed as questionable. "It's going to come down to them."
Pool, limited in practice Saturday for a second straight day, suffered the injury in the Jets' preseason loss to the Redskins on Aug. 27 when someone fell on top of his ankle at the bottom of a pile while he tried to recover a fumble.
The Jets are taking a cautious approach.
"He's almost at that point where it's, do we push him through it, and it becomes a long, more of a nagging injury?" Ryan said. "Or do you give him time off and he gets to 100 percent? I think that's what we are weighing right now."
Taylor ready
Jason Taylor, who'll make his first start as a Jet Monday, seems almost befuddled by all the talk of his replacing Calvin Pace at starting outside linebacker while Pace recovers from a broken bone in his right foot.
"It's the same thing I was doing before Calvin got hurt," Taylor said. "It's the same thing, just doing it a few more times. It's really not that big a deal. I understand people don't think I can do it anymore, I'm too old or whatever - a million different things being said. But that's fine."
All for one?
Veteran fullback Tony Richardson, a member of the NFLPA's executive committee, said he hasn't spoken with his teammates nor anyone on the Ravens about doing something similar to what the Saints and Vikings did Thursday night.
Both teams ventured onto the field just before kickoff and held up one finger in a show of union solidarity as the NFLPA and NFL try to hammer out a new collective-bargaining agreement.
"All along, we've been talking about one team, one voice, one heartbeat," Richardson said. "Nothing's changed. We are all staying together, just like the owners. They are all staying together. The biggest thing is we want to get something worked out."
