Wet and wild
By Tom Rock
Brett Ratliff did such a convincing job of impersonating Eli Manning for today’s scout team, he even ripped Tiki while trotting off the field.
Just kidding. And while I’d like to take credit for the line, it was actually from Jets PR guy Dave Tratner.
Hope Jerry Mackey had enough home cooking because the Freeport product was traded to the Bucs today. Tampa Bay, which had signed Mackey and released him in the spring, recently put two of their LBs on IR. They gave the Jets an undisclosed draft pick, probably a conditional that won’t be much higher than a 6. Still, considering the Jets picked Mackey up off the street, it’s a nice cash-out for them.
Just came back in from the raining practice. It was pretty miserable out there. The only sunshine was in the sadistic smile Mangini wore. He even made his family stay out in the rain after practice. The man knows no limits!
Two of the top blog topics here – injuries and Pete Kendall – merged today as the Jets backup center, backup guard was sidelined for the second half of practice with his right shoulder taped up. He rode the bike. He was definitely not faking because the only thing worse than practicing football in the rain is not practicing football and riding the stationary bike in the rain. By the end of the workout he had the wrap taken off.
The Jets also had Andre Dyson sidelined with a pretty significant limp. Dyson hasn’t been 100 percent healthy all camp, and although he had worked his way back to the starting unit, he always looked a little dinged up. His absence left the door open for Darrelle Revis to take snaps with the first unit. More on that in tomorrow’s paper.
The Jets may not be so thrilled with Mike Nugent, given that they held an open tryout at his position yesterday. Actually, it was one of those little contests Mangini has every so often and LB Eric Barton was able to put a 20-yarder through the uprights to win some sort of team enticement. Probably a few less meetings or something. Nugent said he gave Barton a few quick pointers before his kick. They must have worked.
On the last regular series of practice, Ray Ventrone missed an interception he should have had and made an interception he shouldn’t have. First the former Patriot who Mangini touted as a special teams bomber earlier in the week dropped a Kellen Clemens pass that would have ended the two-minute drill and the workout. Later, on the final snap with time running out, Ventrone seemed to catch the ball in the end zone and then dropped it in an attempt to look as if he had knocked it down. The officials called it an incomplete, but it sure did look a lot like an interception and a fumble. So much so that G Adrien Clarke picked the ball up in the end zone and spiked it for what could have been the game-winning touchdown.
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Comments (2)
Just a comment on the Kendall situation. I just don't understand the mentality of Eric. You have an O-line of mostly young, in-experienced players (a 2nd year vet is not that experienced), and 1 veteran who pretty much has seen it all... and you treat him like a hated step-child. Why? Kendall could very well be the heart and soul of this O-Line in a very positive and productive way, yet they chastise him for a lousy 1 million that he very well deserves. But... you go and pay all sorts of cash to some Rookie in Revis that you have no idea will handle the NFL. It makes no sense. Now the Bender deal, shifting a Rookie who has never played the position, sending another message to Kendall? Why? The O-line is the single most important unit in the game of Football. You need top players to open holes and protect your QB, and we look as if we missed that point somewhere.
I just don't understand this team, or Mangini. I hope Jones can run REALLY fast, because there's going to be a lot of opposite color jersey's in his face this year.
Good job at camp this year, T-Rock! I just read your post from after the Vikings game and the idiotic rip job some fans did on your criticism of Chad's throwing. It's not that he threw poorly in a meaningless game; he throws that way in meaningful games too, everybody!
Look at it this way: When an opponent has the ball on the Jets' 10 yard line, there's always a feeling that they could score with a quick slant to the tight end, or a thread-the-needle pass over the middle to the back of the end zone, or with a roll-out and then a short bullet pass by the running QB. When the Jets have the ball on their opponents' 10, you know the only pass Chad can possibly throw successfully is the fade/jump-ball to the corner or the end zone. Other teams know this too. They also know the Jets can't run it in from the 10. I hope that this year we'll see Brad Smith as the QB every time the Jets get to the opponent's 10. His versatility keeps the pressure on the defense. Chad is a nice guy, but he just doesn't measure up as a top-flight NFL QB. Since he isn't talented enough physically to lead the Jets to win the Super Bowl, he really should be benched as soon as possible, for the long-term good of the team.