8/24/2010 Jets Camp Report – Florham Park

By Phil Sullivan

The New York Jets were finally on display for the fans today in Florham Park, NJ.  The public session that was scheduled for Monday was rained out and the Jets practiced indoors instead.  Although no official attendance numbers were provided for Tuesday, the number was in the thousands.  It was standing room only as the bleachers and VIP areas were filled to capacity.

On the field the story was defense, defense and more defense.  There were some camp reports today (cough Manish Mehta, Jenny Vrentas) touting how Mark Sanchez was 4 for 6 in 11 on 11s and Kellen Clemens threw a 30 yard plus touchdown.  Both of those lines are true.  What other camp reports left out is how bad the passing game really looked.

When they tired to throw down the field, the defense would not allow it.  At one point Kellen Clemens had 862 incompletions in a row.  That is an unofficial count, the real number might be closer to 4.  Clemens was actually sacked twice as well and it was a non-contact drill.  Time ran out, receivers covered, play is over.

Mark Brunell played like a 40 year old quarterback.  His timing seems off and although I don’t have his official numbers from the 11 on 11 drill, they were not impressive.

Hopefully Brian Schottenheimer remembers that the Jets need to run the ball first.  Asking Mark Sanchez to put this offense on his back right now would be a mistake.

The good news?  This is the Jets defense they were facing.  The great news?  This was the coverage without Darrelle Revis.  Things are only going to get better on the defensive front once Revis returns.

Here are some additional notes from the practice:

• TE Jeff Cumberland had two drops, one ball was thrown behind him and would have been a tough catch.  The other ball, thrown by Kellen Clemens, should have been caught and would have gone for a 20 yard gain.
• The few completions that the offense did have during the 11 on 11s went seemed to go to LaDainian Tomlinson.
• Marcus Henry was the recipient of the 30 yard touchdown pass from Kellen Clemens.
• Matt Slauson seems to have won the left guard battle.
• Wednesday night is family night at Hofstra University.  The Jets will have their last open practice of the year at Hofstra.  Practice starts at 6pm, Jets Fest opens at 4pm.

The Jets were gracious hosts as they signed autographs for an extended period of time.  Some players seemed to sign for everyone who wasn’t on the Mark Sanchez line which was, no surprise here, very long.

You can read more about the practice in our NY Jets forum.