There were certainly some people quite excited for Thursday’s joint practice between the New York Jets and New York Giants, as the last time these two actually had a joint practice together, in 2005, things got quite ugly, to say the least.
Thursday’s practice was nowhere near as ugly as that 2005 practice. In fact, it wasn’t ugly at all. It was your run-of-the-mill practice between two football teams that happen to be separated by about 30 miles.
Let’s recap some notes and observations from across the media landscape from Thursday.
Thursday was yet another reminder of the potential the Jets have with their No. 10 overall pick from the 2022 draft. WR Garrett Wilson was the star of the show Thursday on a day when the offense as a whole wasn’t quite top-notch.
Take this note on Wilson from The Athletic’s Zach Rosenblatt:
Aug 22, 2022; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (17) makes a catch in front of Atlanta Falcons cornerback Corey Ballentine (39) during the first half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Garrett Wilson had another productive day — and this time without any drops. The rookie had made a bad habit of following up highlight-reel catches with bad drops throughout camp, but he continues to make an impression with his elite-level athleticism. He had three catches and made it look easy against Giants cornerback Aaron Robinson.
Head coach Robert Saleh took some during his post-practice press conference to talk about Wilson’s day.
He’s going to be a really good football player. Obviously, we’re going to get into the games and there are going to be some situations where coverages are going to be more exotic. He’s going to be seeing the best of the best with regards to competition, so he’s going to have his moments, but at the same time, he’s consistently getting better and that’s all you can ask for.
We’ve seen flashes of Wilson thus far this preseason. And on the note about the drops, just remember another rookie also had trouble with drops during the preseason last year and wound up having a pretty good rookie season. That player, of course, is Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase.
Aug 12, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Jets defensive end Jermaine Johnson (52) against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
There were a few times the Jets held their breath for a moment as a couple of players limped off the practice field Thursday. Fortunately, none of them seem to be serious.
First, it was rookie defense end Jermaine Johnson, who had his foot and ankle checked out by trainers on the sideline. Everything checked out and Johnson was back on the practice field later in the day.
Cornerback D.J. Reed also had to go to the sideline for a right knee injury. “He jogged and stretched a few times to stretch it out and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich came over to check on him”, wrote Zach Rosenblatt of The Athletic. “He didn’t return to practice, but Saleh said Reed ‘jammed something up’ but that he’s ‘fine’. It’s unclear if this will impact his availability for Sunday’s game during which all the starters are expected to play”.
Other injury notes, courtesy of Rosenblatt, include pitch counts for defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins and offensive tackle Chuma Edoga after playing a high number of snaps on Monday against the Falcons. Offensive tackle Conor McDermott is recovering from his ankle injury suffered during the Green and White scrimmage earlier this month and was working with trainers on the side. Defensive end Vinny Curry missed practice with his hamstring injury.
By all accounts, the Jets offense wasn’t as strong as it had been in recent days. But it was still a good test for them. As ESPN’s Rich Cimini pointed out on Wednesday, this practice gave the Jets a good chance to prepare for Week 1 against the Ravens, as new Giants defensive coordinator Wink Martindale spent ten seasons in Baltimore, including the last four as defensive coordinator of the Ravens.
🚐Jets travel to #Giants tomorrow for 1 joint practice. Wink Martindale's pressure packages + man coverage will present challenge for Jets' O, which could see a lot of that in Wk 1 vs. #Ravens. Jets' D will get "Buffalo looks" w/ Daboll's spread O. See ya in East Rutherford.
— Rich Cimini (@RichCimini) August 24, 2022
New York Jets quarterback Joe Flacco (19) takes part in drills at the NFL football team’s practice facility, Tuesday, June 14, 2022, in Florham Park, N.J. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)
The Jets saw a lot of blitzing, which we already knew the Giants are going to love to do, as we saw during the Giants’ preseason game against the Patriots. That will certainly help them prepare for the likes of Calais Campbell, Odafe Oweh, Patrick Queen, et al.
“We weren’t game planning anything,” Saleh said regarding the pressures. “It was more just run our stuff. We aren’t game planning the Giants. We’re still in camp mode. For the most part, I think they did a good job. They have an exotic pressure system, so it wasn’t as much about protection as much as it was the route running, the precision of what we were trying to get done.”
Overall, Flacco wasn’t terrible. He went 7/13 on Thursday, by Cimini’s and Rosenblatt’s count, with two touchdown passes (one each to Wilson and Corey Davis).
As far as the Week 1 debate, Saleh said after practice he will wait until Week 1 to name the starting quarterback.
He had this to say about that decision:
I feel like we can wait until the week of. We’ll have all of those discussions, but you guys should know me by now. We’re going to run our stuff, so it doesn’t really matter. Not that it doesn’t matter, being transparent in those situations won’t matter.
Similar to the offense, the defense had some good moments but were up-and-down overall.
Cimini counted four sacks for the Jets defense, including two from John Franklin-Meyers and one each for Bradlee Anae and Carl Lawson. Bryce Hall, still trying to beat out Sauce Gardner for a starting role, had an interception. Hall came in for the injured D.J. Reed. Per Rosenblatt, the Giants avoided Gardner all day.
But overall, it could have gone better for the defense. Dan Duggan, The Athletic’s Giants beat writer, had quarterback Daniel Jones 14/15 on the day.
Had Daniel Jones 14–15. Lone blemish was an interception on his last throw. There were a few muddy pockets that may have been sacks, but he was efficient like in the preseason games, hitting short and intermediate throws. David Sills his favorite target.
— Dan Duggan (@DDuggan21) August 25, 2022
Overall, an okay day but certainly a good test for the Jets as they start to put an eye on the Ravens in Week 1. The Jets will practice back in Florham Park on Friday. The game with the Giants is Sunday at 1 p.m.
New York Jets defensive end John Franklin-Myers (91) walks on the sidelines during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 19, 2021, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
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News and notes from Wednesday's practice for the Jets
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