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"It doesn't even feel like Camp"


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'It doesn't even feel like camp'

August, 9, 2011

Aug 9

2:14

PM ET

By Rich Cimini

They're not in Cortland, N.Y. There are no two-a-days. There are no dorm rooms. There's no after-hours team bonding. This training camp is ... well, listen to Antonio Cromartie.

"Honestly, it doesn't even feel like camp," he said Tuesday.

Such is life in the post-lockout world. Because the lockout lasted into July, the Jets had to skip their annual trip to Cortland. Instead of training for three weeks in a small town in upstate New York, they're conducting camp at their year-round facility in Florham Park, N.J.

It has its pros and cons. Rex Ryan prefers Cortland.

"All you have there is football and each other," he said. "It's more of a bonding thing and you don't have that as much here."

In Florham Park, the rookies and young vets are required to stay in a nearby hotel. But the older vets are allowed to go home every night, usually around 10 p.m. Nick Mangold said this is the first time in 10 years that he hasn't packed a bag to training camp.

"It's a little different," he said.

The last two years, the Jets credited the Cortland experience with developing team chemistry. Not only are they missing that, but they didn't have the get-acquainted time during the offseason because, well, there was no offseason due to the lockout.

On the plus side, the Jets have access to their state-of-the-art facilities in Florham Park. In Cortland, they had to deal with a makeshift weight room. Not here.

Because two-a-days are prohibited, per the new CBA, the Jets are having "meetings on top of meetings," according to Ryan. They also have a daily walk-through for 60 minutes. Ryan admits the walk throughs are tedious, but he said the team is accomplishing a lot from a mental standpoint.

But the togetherness aspect is missing.

"I miss that part of it," Ryan said.

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