McKnight shows why he was a high draft pick

CORTLAND, N.Y. - Joe McKnight showed some flashes Saturday, giving a little insight into why the Jets made the talented running back their fourth-round pick in April's draft.

McKnight had a couple of nifty runs in the Green & White Scrimmage, one a 25-yarder in which he showed a nice burst getting around the outside. He also had 9-yard scamper on the second play, following it up with a first-down run one play later.

"You always wait for those moments," McKnight said. "I live for those moments so I can prove to the coach I can [pass] protect and last long in this league. I hope I did good and I hope he thinks I did good."

So what did his coach think?

"I just wanted to see him pound it in there for two, just keep pounding it in there and eventually you'll hit through it," Rex Ryan said. "He made a couple of nice runs. You saw that one big run to the outside where you saw that speed that he has. But I still want to see him run with a little more authority inside the tackles."

Rex: My bad

The estimated 9,500 fans probably were thinking, "Oh, no. Here we go again with Nick Folk" when the kicker misfired from about 40 yards on fourth-and-5 from the 20-yard line on the scrimmage's second series. But Ryan said Folk's misfire was really his fault.

"The one guy I've got to apologize to is Nick Folk," Ryan said, explaining Folk wasn't scheduled to kick until later in the scrimmage. "I just looked and said, 'All right, let's kick the field goal.' Our punter, Steve Weatherford, who was holding, he didn't even have his helmet, so he had to borrow somebody's helmet.

"So I kind of rushed him out there absolutely cold with no warm-up. So I'll take that miss. But other than that, he kicked well." Folk unofficially went 5-for-7 with a long of 47 yards.

Extra points

Ryan said WR David Clowney remained excused while he takes care of a personal issue and hopes he'll be back Monday . . . TE Jeff Cumberland (head) didn't participate . . . Sunday is a scheduled off day.