General manager Joe Douglas and head coach Robert Saleh at the New York Jets Rookie Camp, held at their practice facility in Florham Park, NJ on May 6, 2022. The New York Jets Held Rookie Camp At Their Practice Facility In Florham Park Nj On May 6 2022
For those of you who had a chance to check out the always informative JetNation training camp reports this week, an interesting name appeared on the day 1 standouts. It wasn’t a player who caught the eye of JetNation’s own “KRL”, who has been writing our reports for close to a decade, but offensive line coach Keith Carter.
This is a big year for Carter who was raked over the coals this off-season by fans, players and media alike.
In fact, things got so bad for Carter that head coach Robert Saleh had to address and acknowledge that there were some problems with the way Carter communicates with his players. He wouldn’t delve into specifics, but on multiple occasions said that with Carter, “sometimes the message gets lost in the tone”. An acknowledgement that players may have been tuning Carter out because of the way he spoke to them.
Saleh added that it’s something Carter was “working on” this offseason, but again did not offer any details.
So on day one of camp, what jumped out? More “live bodies” when going over technique and hand placement in place of using only pads. Linemen were also asked to work on posture by incorporating wooden sticks that were balanced on their shoulders. Additionally, players worked with sandbags to improve hand strength.
These are of course physical changes that may or may not work, but the truest test for Carter will be how receptive his players are to his teachings and how long it stays that way.