EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The last time the Jets and Giants locked horns for a joint practice was in 2005 in Albany. The legend goes that Herm Edwards had his team boarding buses on Long Island (where the Jets were headquartered then) before dawn that day and, some three hours later, they arrived an angry team. And thus, an enormous fracas with the Giants broke out. The teams, despite the convenience factor, haven’t practiced together since. Until, that is, Thursday, and this one went off without a hitch. It went so well, in fact, I bet they’ll be back out there again next year. And for the football part of it? Here’s what we saw from the Jets …
1. Joe Flacco is the quarterback for now, and he’s been a godsend for the Jets and Zach Wilson—the coaches drove the decision to keep him this year because of what he’s meant to both the team collectively and Wilson individually. This offseason, as we wrote in the spring, Flacco tried to impress on Wilson that he didn’t need to know every last thing happening on every play before every snap, and to just focus on his job. It worked in getting Wilson to play faster in OTAs, minicamp and the early parts of training camp, and the hope is that it carries over when the quarterback comes back from his meniscus injury. Bottom line, things were pretty up and down for Wilson last year. He even battled a case of the yips (which is why John Beck was hired midseason), and his confidence absolutely needed restoring. Flacco helped him get there, and there’s great value in that. And there’s great value, too, in the Jets getting to turn to Flacco through September while Wilson heals up.
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2. Safety Jordan Whitehead, imported from the Bucs, has been a revelation through camp for the Jets. He’s got the championship under his belt, of course, and he’s bringing the requisite leadership from that experience. On the field, he looks instinctive and fast, and should be an impact presence on the back end for Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich.
3. The upgrades at the skill spots are obvious. Breece Hall has shown off his gifts the last four weeks and will have a role in the offense. Corey Davis is healthy and reported significantly lighter than where he was a year ago, and the Jets are now getting to see his route-running ability as a result. Then, there’s new tight end Tyler Conklin—whom the ball has seemed to find during training camp. If there’s a fantasy sleeper on the offense, it’s probably him.
4. The two top-10 picks, Sauce Gardner and Garrett Wilson, bring freakish ability to the table (the former with his stick coverage and flexibility at 6'3", the latter with his go-go gadget arms, ball tracking and run-after-catch acumen), and both are going to play plenty this year. But both are also in need of a full offseason in an NFL strength program, and they’ll get that … five or so months from now.
5. Quinnen Williams has probably had his best camp as a Jet. He showed up in excellent shape (last year, injuries prevented that) and hit the ground running as a disruptive force in the middle of Saleh’s defensive line. He’s been a little nicked, but was back out there for the practice with the Giants.
