124 Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Minicamp preview April 15, 2009 by Rich Cimini, NYDailyNews.com New coach Rex Ryan opens his first minicamp tomorrow morning in Florham Park, a three-day voluntary camp that may help the Jets finalize their "need" list before heading into the draft. Some of the players and storylines that bear watching: * The New Boss. This will be our first chance to see Ryan on the field, interacting with his coaches and players. After a few practices, we should be able to get a feel for what type of coach he'll be. A hands-on coach? A yeller? The silent type? A meticulous note taker, a la Eric Mangini? Something tells me he'll be in the middle of things, mixing it up with the players. * The QB Competition. Finally, the paper battle comes to life on the field -- Kellen Clemens vs. Brett Ratliff vs. Erik Ainge -- if Ainge shows up, that is. For an unknown reason, Ainge has been skipping recent voluntary workouts, casting doubt on his future with the team. Unless there's a legit alibi -- a health reason, perhaps? -- Ainge is ruining his career by blowing off the workouts. The team is mum on the subject. In reality, this isn't that big a story, as Ainge is considered a longshot in the QB battle. A knockout performance by Clemens and/or Ratliff -- or, conversely, stinkers by both players -- could have an impact on the team's draft plans. Mark Sanchez anyone? Josh Freeman? No player is under more pressure than Clemens, who has arrived at his put-up or shut-up season. * Thomas Jones. Will he show? Doubt it. The AFC's leading rusher, unhappy with his contract, has been skipping the voluntary workouts. I spoke to an opposing GM, who had this to say about Jones: "He's being very selfish. It's crap, what he's doing." Agreed. * The Young Wideouts. The No. 1 need is wide receiver, but Chansi Stuckey and David Clowney might have something to say about that. Now that Laveranues Coles is gone, the Jets are looking for someone -- anyone -- to step up to play alongside Jerricho Cotchery. Chances are, they'll draft a wideout in the first two rounds. * Chris-miss. Is there a tight end who can block in the house? So far, they haven't replaced Chris Baker. * Lots of New Faces. Bart Scott. Lito Sheppard. Jim Leonhard. Donald Strickland. Marques Douglas. Larry Izzo. Hey, maybe Brett Favre will show up to watch -- you know, just for the fun of it. Yeah, right. * David Harris' leg. Remember, he broke an ankle in the regular-season finale. He seemed to be walking fine when I saw him two weeks ago, but he could be limited in some fashion. Wasn't it interesting that the Jets made a bid to sign free-agent LB Zach Thomas? That's according to his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. You don't pursue a player of Thomas' stature unless you plan to play him. Obviously, he wouldn't put Scott on the bench, not with a $48 million contract, which makes me wonder about Harris. Is he recovering slower than expected? Was Thomas going to be Thomas insurance? So many questions, so few minicamps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irish Jet Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 Glad we dodged that bullet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
124 Posted April 16, 2009 Author Share Posted April 16, 2009 Glad we dodged that bullet. Are you kidding me? Zach Thomas is better than anything else we've got at ILB if Scott or Harris were to miss an extended amount of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 add ILB to the draft needs list **** malalualuauluaga ? wouldn't surprise me at all if they pick him. they didn't bring him in, nobody talks about him, perfect pre-draft tactics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thai Jet Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 add ILB to the draft needs list **** malalualuauluaga ? wouldn't surprise me at all if they pick him. they didn't bring him in, nobody talks about him, perfect pre-draft tactics We're moving up totake Sanchez didn't you hear ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NFLs StepChild Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 NO MORE F*ING TRADE UPS!!! I have been in Tanny's corner since day 1, but his blatent disregard for draft picks is very disturbing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoping4ASuperBowl Posted April 16, 2009 Share Posted April 16, 2009 We're moving up totake Sanchez didn't you hear ? we won't need to. with the way sanchez is hyped up everywhere, stafford will fall to 17. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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