By Tom Rock
After working to bolster the position, the Jets are without two running backs today. Curtis Martin is away from the complex for personal reasons which Eric Mangini insisted were non-medical, while Kevan Barlow is getting some much-needed shut-eye after a long two days in which he got no sleep before arriving in New York. So basically, the Jets revert to last week's tailback rotation and fans at training camp will have to wait until Wednesday to get a glimpse of Barlow in action (though he did run a few drills and take some light snaps on Monday afternoon).
That Barlow passed his physical on zero sleep must mean Lee Suggs was in bad shape.
Mangini said Barlow’s day off does not preclude him from Friday’s game against the Giants, but the coach said he will be cautious in using the running back. Imagine the ramifications of Barlow missing a blitz pick-up because of unfamiliarity with the schemes, allowing a clean hit on Chad Pennington that re-injures his shoulder. Better off keeping Barlow on the sideline (or just letting him play when Ramsey is on the field!).
Today’s practice will focus on the Giants game. Mangini said he is using preseason as a way to install all of the regular-season processes. He said he even spent a portion of practice going over how to execute a scout team. The game-planning isn’t so much about beating the Giants, but getting used to the program that will be in place when the regular-season starts.
Just a few other tidbits: Mangini said he has no philosophical problem with a rookie being the No. 2 quarterback, and he also said that Ramsey’s extended contract signed before training camp will play no role in determining the quarterback pecking order. That’s good news for Kellen Clemens fans … Adrian Jones, who began training camp playing left tackle with the starting unit, has been moving around while Anthony Clement has taken over the right tackle job. Mangini said Jones gets shuffled because of his versatility at other positions – left tackle, guard – and he doesn’t want Jones to be thrust into a different position without being able to reference some work there from training camp. Still, the Jets were able to run the ball more effectively on the right side against Washington with Clement over there than they did against Tampa Bay with Clement … Tui Alailefaleula spent some time on the sideline yesterday after he had his “bell rung” in the trenches. Mangini said that’s part of the learning curve … Islip HS product Darrell Adams looked like he was headed for prison with his wrists handcuffed and his ankles shackled. All that was missing was the Hannibal Lector facemask. But Adams was just doing extra work on the heavy bag with coach Bryan Cox, and the rubber handcuffs and elastic leg straps were there to keep his form consistent ... Mangini's usual 11:40 press conference was supposed to be moved to 12 noon, lending a spark of speculation that something was up behind the big green door, but it turned out he was just going over some third-down strategies with the team and actually walked into the press room at 11:43. He apologized for being late, but he was actually early and caught nearly everyone off guard.