Lasting Impression

Horns blaring, whistles screeching, voices yelling, pads popping, sweat pouring.  My friends this is no longer Club Edwards.  Players running from drill to drill, coaches getting up in the faces of their players and getting their point across.  Players run laps for mental mistakes, this camp is all football all the time. 

Gone are the days of the coach walking around smiling with the players cracking jokes, gone are the days of players sitting on their helmets when they are winded.  Gone are the days when the players day dream through drills and feel content with their position on the team.  This is a new year, a new regime and a completely new attitude.

I have to be honest I was skeptical about the hiring of Eric Mangini and had my doubts that his bite could match his bark.  It is easy to talk about being tough and physical but making the transformation is a whole other story.  Will the players respond to him? Will they respect him? Can he keep them organized and focused? So far from what I have seen in person, the answer is yes to all of the questions.
 
I have attended many training camps over the years including every one of Coach Edwards and the only camp I can compare Mangini’s to is Bill Parcells.  Now I am not saying that Coach Mangini is the next Bill Parcells I am just saying he conducts the same kind of physical, intense, focused sessions that I witnessed during the Tuna’s era.  The new leader of the Jets glares over every drill and his coaches are focused on making this team better.  Each position coach is intensely involved in their drills, most of them hands on and each of their players are forced to learn and improve.  As a fan looking for a team that will be strong, tough, physical and disciplined I could not be happier with what I saw in the opening days of camp.  I know it is early but this camp has left a lasting impression on me and definitely with the 2006 New York Jets.