Camp Battles NY Sun by Michael D. Smith

[Kentucky Jet]

The Jets open training camp Friday with a roster not much different than the one that earned a playoff berth last year. But training camp will determine, at several positions, which players start and which players sit. Today we examine the major position battles at Jets camp.

INSIDE LINEBACKER

CONTENDERS: David Harris, Eric Barton

The Jets traded up to choose Harris, who led the team in tackles his last two seasons at Michigan, in the second round of this year's draft. Although Jets coach Eric Mangini is reluctant to praise rookies before they prove themselves in the NFL, he definitely sees the addition of Harris as a big part of building his 3–4 defense. Jets linebackers coach Jim Herrmann previously worked at Michigan and spent two years coaching Harris.

To start as a rookie, Harris needs to beat out Barton, who started all 16 games last season. Barton is a nine-year veteran and a smart player who didn't appear to have any trouble learning Mangini's schemes last year, but he's more suited to the 4–3 defense that the Jets ran under coach Herm Edwards when Barton joined the team in 2004.

VERDICT: If Harris has as good a training camp as the Jets expect, he'll start the opener, and the Jets might release Barton rather than keeping him as a backup.

DEFENSIVE END

CONTENDERS: Kimo von Oelhoffen, Kenyon Coleman

Mangini had big plans for von Oelhoffen, who has a wealth of experience in the 3–4 defense, when the Jets signed him to a threeyear, $9.2 million contract last year. Although he started all 16 games, von Oelhoffen was a disappointment, and at age 36, he doesn't have much gas left in the tank.

This year the Jets signed Coleman to a five-year, $20 million contract, and although they haven't said so explicitly, they see signing Coleman as an opportunity to correct the mistake of bringing in von Oelhoffen. When training camp opens, von Oelhoffen will probably be ahead of Coleman on the depth chart, but Coleman will have every opportunity to show he's a better option.

VERDICT: Coleman will win the job, and von Oelhoffen might not even make the roster.

BACKUP QUARTERBACK

CONTENDERS: Kellen Clemens, Marques Tuiasosopo

At last year's training camp Chad Pennington's shoulder was the Jets' biggest concern. That's a minor issue after Pennington got through 2006 unscathed, but the Jets still need to feel comfortable that their second-string quarterback can play effectively if Pennington gets hurt.

Last year's second-round draft pick, Kellen Clemens, heads into camp as the favorite to back up Pennington. Clemens threw just one pass as a rookie, but when he was in college at Oregon, the Jets loved his ability to stand in the pocket and deliver accurate passes all over the field.

Tuiasosopo, who signed as a free agent from the Raiders in March, has spent six years in the NFL but has started just two games. He's a more mobile and more experienced quarterback than Clemens, but the Jets signed him to a oneyear deal and don't expect him to play a big role in the future of the franchise.

VERDICT: Clemens will win the battle to be the second-string quarterback, and the Jets will give him plenty of preseason playing time to get him ready to start in case Pennington gets hurt.

LEFT GUARD

CONTENDERS: Pete Kendall, Adrien Clarke, Adrian Jones

On paper, the Jets look like they should be set on the offensive line, with all five starters returning, including Kendall at left guard. But Kendall is unhappy with his contract, and he's even suggested that he might not show up when his teammates report to training camp. If Kendall refuses to play — or if his complaints become such a distraction that the Jets send him packing — the Jets will have a big hole in their offensive line.

That hole would be filled either by Clarke, who started four games for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005 but didn't play at all last year, or Jones, who started all 16 games for the Jets in 2005 but was demoted to backup status last season. Clarke is a more natural fit at guard and would likely beat out Jones if it becomes a two-man battle for the left guard spot, but the Jets hope it doesn't come to that.

VERDICT: Kendall won't be happy with his contract, but he'll live with it, and he'll play well for the Jets this year.

PUNT RETURNER

CONTENDERS: Tim Dwight, Darrelle Revis, Leon Washington, Chansi Stuckey

Punt returns were the weakness of the Jets' otherwise strong special teams last year, and Revis's talent as a punt returner is one reason the Jets drafted him in the first round. But Revis will also be expected to play cornerback as a rookie, and Mangini might worry that asking him to do both is throwing too much at him.

Last year Dwight and Washington split time returning punts. Dwight was the better of the two, but he has a foot injury and won't practice at the start of camp. The Jets want to find a role for Washington, a talented athlete who won't play much at running back now that Thomas Jones is in the mix, but last year he rarely looked like he had a feel for returning punts.

The wild card is Stuckey, the Jets' seventh-round pick. Stuckey is a lot like Dwight — small with blazing fast speed — but he's also like Dwight in that he is often hampered by nagging injuries.

VERDICT: The Jets' coaching staff is in love with Revis, and they'll give him the responsibility of turning around the punt return game as well as getting plenty of playing time as a starting cornerback on defense.

[JetCane]

VERDICT: Clemens will win the battle to be the second-string quarterback, and the Jets will give him plenty of preseason playing time to get him ready to start in case Pennington gets hurt.

that works for me.