So it begins. On Monday, New York Jets training camp graduated to full pads, which means one critical thing…
Now it’s football. Well, sort of. With professionals, it’s always tricky.
The raw emotion and excitement of lower-level camps (high school and college) are nearly impossible to replicate in the NFL, as avoiding injury is always of the utmost priority. Nonetheless, full gear at least allows a football simulation to take shape.
Without pads, blocking really isn’t … blocking. Offensive linemen have nothing to actually block when shoulder pads aren’t a part of the equation. Even if things aren’t “to the ground,” blocking is legitimate, and tackling fundamentals can take place.
Despite those realities, Monday’s session didn’t exactly get off to the most raucous start.
Sluggish start in the rain
The sun never snuck through during the entire practice, yet it didn’t pour either. Save for a 10-20-minute chunk of the session, a consistent drizzle plagued the day.
Interestingly, practice started a bit sluggish and quiet. While the pace wasn’t terrible, the overall feel was anything but energetic during positionals.
Head coach Aaron Glenn praised his team after practice, but whether or not he’d agree that the start was a bit sluggish remains a mystery.
“I think our guys are really understanding exactly how we want to practice,” Glenn told the media after practice. “We have three tempos when we practice: We have a jog tempo, which is really a walkthrough. We have a, I call it a clean competitive tempo, (where) we’re in jerseys and just shells, where I don’t want anybody on the ground, and then today was thud-competitive tempo, and I thought our guys did a really good job with that.”
It was the team sessions that may have saved the day.
Demario Davis gets the party started
Early in team sessions, defensive leader Demario Davis helped raise the energy by meeting a running back near the line of scrimmage with physicality, along with other Jets defenders.
Davis and his teammates got loud, letting the offense know that the misdirection-type rushing concept fooled nobody.
A few plays prior, Minkah Fitzpatrick picked up an easy interception as a two-deep cover man. Geno Smith sailed one over Mason Taylor’s head, but it was Davis’s excellent depth, in his responsibility, that forced the Jets quarterback to fit one in a tighter window, helping force the overthrow.
The first play of 11v11 teams resulted in plenty of space for Breece Hall off the right-side edge. Yes, it was David Bailey’s side, but I’m not sure what the defensive call was, so it’s impossible to point the finger at anybody.
At the very least, there’s still plenty of work to do from an overall team run-fit and gap-integrity perspective.
The three big fellas inside will make it tough for opponents to move the ball between the tackles on quick-hitting concepts, but the sideline-to-sideline edge hits and misdirection concepts to the weakside will be the main item Glenn will be forced to contend with this season.
David Bailey watch
Speaking of the rookie No. 2 overall pick, David Bailey’s day was largely consumed with Armand Membou domination. The Texas Tech product found it difficult — much like Saturday when the pads weren’t on — to find much success.
His heavily praised day late last week — training camp practice No. 2 — featured more 1v1 situations in which he could just … go. He didn’t have to worry much about his keys and reads. Instead, on a day that seemingly featured more third-and-passing situations, he was afforded the opportunity to use his quickness to get the quarterback any way he wanted to.
That’s his wheelhouse. Add in the fact that no pads were a part of the equation, and you better believe a guy as quick as Bailey — whose one-track mindset is all about getting to the quarterback with any path possible — will shine.
The give-and-take with the Jets coaching staff and this rookie will come down to balance. Nobody should be the least bit concerned about Bailey doing damage in the pass-rush game; he has that covered. It’ll come down to getting to the quarterback while simultaneously doing the right things for his teammates (staying true to his overall responsibilities).
One early play in teams did feature Bailey beating Membou with a quick move to the inside. It was impossible to see if it would have resulted in a sack (from our angle), but it was at least a pressure.
Other news and notes
Rookie quarterback Cade Klubnik wasn’t great on this day. He seemed a bit stiff and frantic. On one particular play, the defense made the right call, but the danger was immediate, yet Klubnik reacted stiffly.
Instead of just free-flowing and reacting, his robotic nature showcased plotting feet, with his eyes downfield. There are times in this league when a quarterback simply has to react naturally, and that was one of them.
At other times, Klubnik seemed to aim his passes. One example saw him almost push a late pass into the flat during 7v7 drills.
Brandon Stephens enjoyed a nice bounce-back effort after getting tormented by AD Mitchell in front of the fans on Saturday.
On the play where Bailey nearly hit home, Geno targeted Garrett Wilson a bit inside the seam, but Stephens was sticky throughout, knocking it away near the ground with his inside hand while trailing and underneath.
He also stuck with Mitchell on a vertical down the left sideline, remaining completely attached and not relying on an underthrown ball.
The New York Jets will be right back at it, in full pads again, on Tuesday morning.
