Another Day At Camp 'Fun'

[SoFlaJets]

Another day at camp 'Fun'

By RC

April 17, 2009

There were some weird and scary sights on the practice field this morning in Florham Park, N.J., (more on that later), but the big story is the emergence of Kellen Clemens as the early (let me stress "early") frontrunner in the quarterback competition.

Brett Ratliff picked up his play after an underwhelming opening day, but Clemens once again was the better player. This time, he earned unsolicited praise from Rex Ryan.

"I thought he looked outstanding today," Ryan said. "He did a decent job the first day, but I really like how he took charge of that offense today and really brought that unit out. They had a lot of spark. He made some good decisions and he showed poise."

Ratliff?

"Ratty made some great throws," Ryan said. "He's got a talented arm. He still made a couple of mistakes. I'm sure that will be going back and forth as we look at these guys."

For those scoring at home, here's how they fared this morning:

7-on-7 drills:

Clemens (first team) -- 7-for-8, 66 yards, no interceptions.

Ratliff (backups) -- 8-for-12, 105 yards, no interceptions. He was victimized by two drops, but he also had a potential interception dropped by CB Marquice Cole.

11-on-11 drils:

Clemens (first team) -- 4-for-6, 50 yards, no interceptions.

Ratliff (backups) -- 4-for-4, 34 yards, no interceptions.

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, checking out practice from the sideline, made a keen observation, saying Clemens seemed more decisive and more animated than in previous years. He theorized that Clemens is more confident now that he's emerged from the Brett Favre shadow. Sal Pal might be on to something.

* * *

WR Wallace Wright and LB Kenwin Cummings crashed into each other at full speed, a frightening collision that stopped practice for a couple of minutes. Here's what happened: They were in separate, one-on-one passing drills, but instead of running the drills in the same direction on the field, the coaches ran the drills toward each other.

In a perfect-storm kind of situation, two long passes were thrown at the same time, both landing around midfield. Wright was going for a long ball on his guy, Cummings was defending his own guy. They never saw each other and ... crash. The whole place fell silent, and a couple of players, including Clemens, ran over to them

They were wearing helmets, but no pads. I happened to see the whole things, and it sounded as bad as it looked. Both players got up very, very slowly, Cummings may have suffered a concussion, according to Ryan, and Wright hurt his lower left leg. But neither injury appears serious, Ryan said.

After that, they changed the direction of the passing drill. Smart move.

* * *

Showing his fun side, Ryan ran down field a few times with the kickoff-coverage unit, as did other coaches. Let's just say I don't think Ryan is ready to challenge David Clowney in a 40-yard dash.

"Change of direction, suddenness isn't quite there," Ryan joked.

Never saw Eric Mangini run in practice. Herm Edwards, yes. Mangini, no. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

* * *

Other practice observations:

TE Dustin Keller, back after missing yesterday with a cold, had a drop. So did WR Brad Smith ... Converted TE Kareem Brown made a juggling catch ... Clowney continued to impress. Ryan said Clowney has been one of the biggest surprises in camp. "Very impressive," Ryan said ... Former Patriots LB/special teamer Larry Izzo on joining the Jets after years on the other side of the Border War: "It's not like I walked into a Taliban training camp." ... Ryan likes what he sees from OLB Vernon Gholston, who is getting a lot of work with the first sub defense ... NT Kris Jenkins isn't just a nose tackle anymore. He's moving around the line, making it harder for teams to double team him -- in theory. Ryan joked about Jenkins' weight, hinting that he's not close to his reporting weight. Ryan, smiling, said Jenkins will be 370 pounds by the time camp starts.

* * *

Quote of the day comes from Paolantonio, commenting on the difference in the Ryan and Mangini atmospheres in the building: "It's like going from Alcatraz to Dorney Park."

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/jets/2009/04/another-day-at-camp-fun.html

[DMaynard]

Another day at camp 'Fun'

By RC

April 17, 2009

There were some weird and scary sights on the practice field this morning in Florham Park, N.J., (more on that later), but the big story is the emergence of Kellen Clemens as the early (let me stress "early") frontrunner in the quarterback competition.

Brett Ratliff picked up his play after an underwhelming opening day, but Clemens once again was the better player. This time, he earned unsolicited praise from Rex Ryan.

"I thought he looked outstanding today," Ryan said. "He did a decent job the first day, but I really like how he took charge of that offense today and really brought that unit out. They had a lot of spark. He made some good decisions and he showed poise."

Ratliff?

"Ratty made some great throws," Ryan said. "He's got a talented arm. He still made a couple of mistakes. I'm sure that will be going back and forth as we look at these guys."

For those scoring at home, here's how they fared this morning:

7-on-7 drills:

Clemens (first team) -- 7-for-8, 66 yards, no interceptions.

Ratliff (backups) -- 8-for-12, 105 yards, no interceptions. He was victimized by two drops, but he also had a potential interception dropped by CB Marquice Cole.

11-on-11 drils:

Clemens (first team) -- 4-for-6, 50 yards, no interceptions.

Ratliff (backups) -- 4-for-4, 34 yards, no interceptions.

ESPN's Sal Paolantonio, checking out practice from the sideline, made a keen observation, saying Clemens seemed more decisive and more animated than in previous years. He theorized that Clemens is more confident now that he's emerged from the Brett Favre shadow. Sal Pal might be on to something.

* * *

WR Wallace Wright and LB Kenwin Cummings crashed into each other at full speed, a frightening collision that stopped practice for a couple of minutes. Here's what happened: They were in separate, one-on-one passing drills, but instead of running the drills in the same direction on the field, the coaches ran the drills toward each other.

In a perfect-storm kind of situation, two long passes were thrown at the same time, both landing around midfield. Wright was going for a long ball on his guy, Cummings was defending his own guy. They never saw each other and ... crash. The whole place fell silent, and a couple of players, including Clemens, ran over to them

They were wearing helmets, but no pads. I happened to see the whole things, and it sounded as bad as it looked. Both players got up very, very slowly, Cummings may have suffered a concussion, according to Ryan, and Wright hurt his lower left leg. But neither injury appears serious, Ryan said.

After that, they changed the direction of the passing drill. Smart move.

* * *

Showing his fun side, Ryan ran down field a few times with the kickoff-coverage unit, as did other coaches. Let's just say I don't think Ryan is ready to challenge David Clowney in a 40-yard dash.

"Change of direction, suddenness isn't quite there," Ryan joked.

Never saw Eric Mangini run in practice. Herm Edwards, yes. Mangini, no. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

* * *

Other practice observations:

TE Dustin Keller, back after missing yesterday with a cold, had a drop. So did WR Brad Smith ... Converted TE Kareem Brown made a juggling catch ... Clowney continued to impress. Ryan said Clowney has been one of the biggest surprises in camp. "Very impressive," Ryan said ... Former Patriots LB/special teamer Larry Izzo on joining the Jets after years on the other side of the Border War: "It's not like I walked into a Taliban training camp." ... Ryan likes what he sees from OLB Vernon Gholston, who is getting a lot of work with the first sub defense ... NT Kris Jenkins isn't just a nose tackle anymore. He's moving around the line, making it harder for teams to double team him -- in theory. Ryan joked about Jenkins' weight, hinting that he's not close to his reporting weight. Ryan, smiling, said Jenkins will be 370 pounds by the time camp starts.

* * *

Quote of the day comes from Paolantonio, commenting on the difference in the Ryan and Mangini atmospheres in the building: "It's like going from Alcatraz to Dorney Park."

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/jets/2009/04/another-day-at-camp-fun.html

Early, but that is exciting to hear from Ryan. I think this guy is more than just a speed boy. But he has to show he can take the pounding and stay healthy.

[SoFlaJets]

Early, but that is exciting to hear from Ryan. I think this guy is more than just a speed boy. But he has to show he can take the pounding and stay healthy.

he's bigger than I thought he was too DM-a 6 footer...local kid done good, from Delray Beach-I'm rooting for him

[Thai Jet]

Early, but that is exciting to hear from Ryan. I think this guy is more than just a speed boy. But he has to show he can take the pounding and stay healthy.

Exactly. No one does the team any good on the IR.

[DMaynard]

he's bigger than I thought he was too DM-a 6 footer...local kid done good, from Delray Beach-I'm rooting for him

Yes, but he is a little on the thin side. Let's hope he bulked up a little in the offseason.

[DMaynard]

Exactly. No one does the team any good on the IR.

Brady did us some good on IR. We won one game against them.

[Thai Jet]

Brady did us some good on IR. We won one game against them.

Ya got me with that one.

[SoFlaJets]

Yes, but he is a little on the thin side. Let's hope he bulked up a little in the offseason.

I'll tell you man I was surprised to see how skinny Coles was. When we were down close on the Christmas night game down here and he got rocked in the head that night-little guy.