Erik Boland: Inside the Jets

Ladies & gentlemen, please welcome Stephen Haynes back to the blog:

By Stephen Haynes

After a so-so rookie year, D’Brickashaw Ferguson put forth a lot of effort in the off-season in hopes of not being the next Robert Gallery.

“It’s a matter of analyzing where you erred and then improving in those and other areas,” said Ferguson, the fourth overall pick in 2006.

He said that his off-season workouts were geared towards improving strength in the core area, squatting 300 to 400 pounds every day. He also spent hours studying film of himself, looking for flaws in his game, which probably weren’t too hard to find.

Lauded for being a great pass-blocker in college, he gave up a third of Chad Pennington’s career-high 30 sacks last season. And the Jets backs averaged just 2.78 yards per carry running behind him (granted, the running back situation wasn’t good), which ranked 29th among left tackles. Looking to improve those numbers, he’s worked with former offensive tackle Lomas Brown on the technical aspects of blocking.

“It’s great to learn from a guy like that because he used great technique to achieve his goals,” said Ferguson of Brown, who played at 275 pounds but was a 7-time Pro Bowler. “With better technique and improvement in other aspects of the game, I should be better.”

In addition, Ferguson has added 10 pounds to his sleek-for-a-lineman frame, which he thinks will help his run-blocking.

“They serve some great meals over here at the facility, so I just try to take a couple extra portions,” he said. “Coach [Eric Mangini] is losing weight and I’m gaining weight, so whenever we can find a common ground, it’s good.”

And for confirmation, Mangini, who spoke glowingly of Ferguson’s progress, said a lot of the same things. Nothing quote-worthy, but you know the usual adjectives.

(Tangent: Tom wasn’t exaggerating, Mangini has lost a lot of weight. So there goes the penguin and man-boob jokes.)

Ferguson’s season wasn’t that bad, considering tackles take a while to develop, but the instant success of Marcus McNeil made a lot of fans jealous. McNeil, who went to San Diego 46 picks after the Jets took Ferguson, gave up just five sacks and was selected as a Pro Bowl alternate. Maybe D’Brick can take that step this year.

In practice today he looked solid. Didn’t do anything spectacular, but he didn’t stink. He held his own in the 2-on-1 drills against Na’Shan Goddard and Dominic Moran and did a good job of blocking Shaun Ellis in the scrimmages. He also cleared a big hole for Leon Washington on a halfback screen. But he didn’t get much push when run-blocking and he whiffed on a blitzing Victor Hobson.

A movie-like storyline (maybe)
It seems that every year in every camp, there’s an undrafted local guy who has a slim chance of making the team but everyone roots for. Admit it, if you remember Ian Smart, you’ll remember that you loved him. This year’s hometown favorite is Joseph Villani from Wantagh.

The 6-4, 300-pound guard/center was a late addition to the roster. He was picked up last Sunday -- after impressing the coaches in rookie camp -- and got the phone call from Mangini while at the movies in Pittsburgh (he’s a Pitt graduate).

“I was going to see ‘I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry,’ but I only got 15 minutes into it,” said Villani, who rushed out of the theater and hopped a plane to New York. “This is an opportunity of a lifetime, and I’ll get the movie on DVD.”

He said that center is his more natural position, but he’s willing to do whatever the team asks of him (including play wide receiver). During the scrimmages, he played guard with the second team and center with the third team, but he might start seeing some more time at center, though. Wade Smith, the second team center, had two high snaps that turned Kellen Clemens into David Lee.

“He’s been rolling,” said Mangini of the former St. Anthony’s High School standout. “Really doing a good job at both center and guard.”

In practice, he looked OK. He showed good strength, but needs to work on his technique. He plays too high and will have to bend his knees more to get leverage against a real in-game pass rush. But it’s a small sampling, so it’s tough to determine what he’s capable of.

Making the team would be a dream-come-true for Villani, who grew up a Jets fan and admits to getting star struck in the locker room. And with the Pete Kendall situation unlikely to be resolved soon, the Jets could use some depth on the offensive line (read: the afore mentioned slim chance).

And look at that face. He’s root-for-able (journalists have the right to invent words); looks like the goofy kid you sat behind in 10th grade chemistry class.

Project Pellot-Rosa

Jesse Pellot-Rosa was unimpressive in his second practice with the Jets. The undrafted wide receiver hadn’t played football since prep school, and it showed. He didn’t get much action -- he only ran drills -- but was sloppy in his routes and didn’t look like a natural pass-catcher. He missed the first few practices with an undisclosed hand injury and didn’t get on the field until last night.

The 6-4, 195-pounder played basketball at Virginia Commonwealth, which doesn’t have a football program. If you recall, VCU was the “Huh? Never heard of ‘em” school that bumped Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament. He averaged 13.3 points and 4.5 rebounds, if you’re wondering.

Pellot-Rosa is very athletic and it’s very early, but from the looks of it, his basketball-to-NFL route might go the way of Jai Lewis rather than Antonio Gates. The good news for him is that the Jets understand he’s raw and are just looking for progress. For him, there’s nowhere to go but up.