With IK Gone, It's Reilly's Chance to Shine

[JetBlue]

Reports are he has been having a good camp and if he continues, he should be a lock to make the team.  I always liked his versatility and smarts.  I think he and Mauldin could be a real nice tandem in the future.  

 

Check out this article on Reilly: 

 

 

Trevor Reilly's Motoring  for A Roster Spot

 

One LT was at the Jets' Monday training camp practice — LaDainian Tomlinson actually returned to the Atlantic Health Training Center, the place he called his home for the final two years of his sensational playing career, to record some interviews for NFL Network.

 

But Trevor Reilly, the Green & White's second-year linebacker, had the other LT in mind. Yes, Lawrence Taylor.

The conversation began with a question about Reilly's relentlessness, praised a couple of days ago by head coach Todd Bowles.

"Here's the deal," Reilly told me after Monday's practice. "As an edge player, you can make a lot of plays on the back side. If you want to be a great one, ability has a lot to do with it, obviously. But in my opinion, if you want to stick, you've got to be the guy that's willing to do the dirty stuff, take on the blocks, try to run things down on the back side. So that's the attitude I take.

"The greatest of all time was LT, probably," he added. "He had the ability and the motor. I don't think I have that kind of ability, but I can choose to have that kind of motor."

 

That's exactly the kind of player Bowles has been noticing.

 

"Trevor comes off the ball. He plays hard," the coach said. "He has only one speed, and the way he comes off the edge is the way I'd like to see all the backups come off the edge."

 

A problem for the 27-year-old second-year man from Utah is whether he has enough ability and motor to prevail in the numbers game at outside 'backer. Third-round rookie LB Lorenzo Mauldin also has shown a superb burst off the QB during blocking drills.

And the unofficial depth chart just released by the Jets ahead of Thursday night's preseason opener at Detroit shows 12th-year veteran Jason Babin also vying for an OLB spot.

 

"Yeah, that's up to the coaches and the front office," Reilly said. "All I can do is play the best that I can and put film out. Hopefully, it's meant to be."

VIEW GALLERY | 7 Photos

Trevor Reilly Photos

 

The tiebreaker for Reilly may well be his special-teams dimension. "That's my baby, man," he said. And that's a good thing, since the Jets teams have to replace some top performers from a year ago — Nick Bellore left for the 49ers as an unrestricted free agent, and leading tackler Zach Sudfeld and Antonio Allen both suffered season-ending injuries.

 

"I think if I'm here when the season starts, that needs to be my role. I'd probably be on all four [units] if I'm here," he said. "The key about special teams is desire. Most guys don't play 'em in college. So it comes down to attitude. If you have the attitude to be great and you do your best  and do your assignment, then you can be a special teams player."

 

So to review, Trevor Reilly's got the motor, he's got the attitude, and he's got the beard ... oh, yeah, the beard, which is probably a story for another day. For now, Reilly's focusing on ripping off the edge on defense and providing production and leadership on special teams, and he'll take this year's numbers battle to the next level against the Lions in two days.

 

http://www.newyorkjets.com/news/article-randylangefb/Trevor-Reillys-Motoring-for-a-Roster-Spot/31e69704-7a0b-48eb-98b0-7aba1d3dc79d

[Jet9]

Was actually thinking that some LBs must be showing something good for the Jets to sign a CB to replace a LB on the roster.

[JetBlue]

Was actually thinking that some LBs must be showing something good for the Jets to sign a CB to replace a LB on the roster.

Interesting point...