By Glenn Naughton
A few things jumped out today at Jets practice on a hot Saturday afternoon in Florham Park.
– Muhammad Wilkerson wasn’t in pads again and it was later revealed that he suffered a minor setback in his rehab from the strained hamstring he suffered earlier in camp. The Jets have been taking a cautious approach with Wilkerson thus far and there’s no reason to expect them to change course. Until he’s a full go, he should remain on the sidelines.
– Special Teams Coach Bobby April was very animated throughout practice, consistently stressing to his unit to pick up the pace. In both sessions, one early and one late, April was staying on his guys and offered praise to cornerback Dexter McDougle and LB Jamari Lattimore.
– The offensive line’s run blocking was strong. Perhaps aided by the fact that it’s camp with no tackling, but center Nick Mangold and left guard James Carpenter did a nice job of opening some holes for the running backs.
– Once again, Willie Colon started out with the first unit and appears to be working his way back in to a starting role.
– Antonio Cromartie struggled again and at this point you can only wonder if it’s a case of a veteran player holding back a little bit, or if Cro has in fact lost a step. Cromartie did however have an interception and while it was against a Jake Heaps/Johnathan Rumph tandem, it was good anticipation on his part and he did fight for the ball…and he won.
– The receivers made some excellent plays. Jonathon Rumph made a perfectly timed leaping catch over a defender, and Walt Powell made a good grab on a Bryce Petty pass in which Petty rolled out to avoid the hard-charging Trevor Reilly and put the throw in a good spot for Powell to make a sliding grab.
– Calvin Pryor had what was probably the best play of the day on defense, intercepting a mid-range Fitzpatrick pass on a diving grab in the middle of the field.
– Darryl Richardson had limited reps but flashed good quickness/agility.
– All Eric Decker does is run tight routes and catch the ball…may go down as Idzik’s best acquisition.
– Two tough drops for Shaq Evans. A couple of catchable passes but one in the dirt and one behind him. Had both hands on the ball both times.
– Trevor Reilly continues to impress. Several pressures from the Utah product today. Could push for playing time this season.
– Communication on the sidelines was excellent. Plenty of chatter between DBs/LB’s discussing responsibilities. Veteran safety Marcus Gilchrist had a good talk with Calvin Pryor regarding covering/cheating on specific routes. The former college CB could be the perfect mentor for Pryor in developing coverage skills.
– Fitzpatrick completed his first seven pass attempts in team drills, looked a little bit shaky in the middle, then finished strong with a TD pass to Eric Decker in the back of the end zone before lofting a perfectly throw fade to Marshall for the 2-point conversion.
That wraps up today’s notes, check back with JetNation.com tomorrow when we’ll be at camp once again.
