2015 Jets Training Camp
Team Moves Past 2014 Choke Job
The New York Jets opened up their Training Camp today, but before we get to the descriptions of the activities of Training Camp, let’s reflect on the season that just passed. The team had high expectations and was a preseason pick to win the AFC East, but things didn’t start out so hot when they lost their first three games of the season. A one point nailbiter in Lambeau to start the season that the Jets certainly could have, and maybe should have pulled out. A last second loss to the Chiefs and another close loss against the Vikings had the team doubting itself and the fan base up in arms.
The next 8 games were a completely different story. The defense started showing up and shutting down opposing offenses, and the Jets’ offense was sparked by the return of Tom Brady after a season ending injury to Hunter Cantwell. Carnell Williams was showing that he still had a little in the tank and Jason McCourty was growing into a great compliment to Tracy Porter. Much of the success during the 8 game winning streak could be contributed to the easiness of that stretch of schedule. This may have been proven when the Jets hit another losing streak, this one of 4 games, against the Bills, Raiders, Patriots, and Chargers. They gave themselves a chance with a Week 17 win over the Tennessee Titans, but the tiebreakers fell the wrong way and left the team on the outside of the playoffs.
2014 Team MVP
RT D’Brickashaw Ferguson
122 Pancakes : 4 Sacks Allowed
Ferguson was a beast in his transition to Right Tackle and helped keep the rest of the line anchored. He led the way for Cadillac Williams to rack up another 1,000+ yard season and reach the top of the RZL Career Rushing list with 11,866
2014 Rookie of the Year
LT Ronny Hodge
84 Pancakes : 1 Sack Allowed
The much maligned 5th overall draft pick from the 2014 draft played extremely well in his first year on the line. He was great getting to the 2nd level and taking on linebackers. The Jets have their successor to D’Brickashaw Ferguson, and he’s not even close to done progressing.
2015 Jets Draft Class
Two 1st Round Picks Introduced to Media
The New York Jets went into the 2015 RZL Amatuer Draft with some needs, mainly at Running Back, Wide Receiver, Center, and Safety. The team addressed some of those needs better than others, picking up a feature back with their first pick of the draft and then addressing the Center position all the way at the end of Round 2. Without further pomp and circumstance, here is the 2015 New York Jets Draft Class.
1.15 HB Ben Tate 
94 SPD, 77 STR, 51 AWR, 72 CAR, 74 BTK
With the deterioration of Carnell Williams, the Jets need to look to the future at Running Back. General Matt Spencer could be seen swearing in the war room when Toby Gerhart came off the board to the Denver Broncos, but he was delighted that Ben Tate was selected with the 15th pick. Tate has the top-end speed, along with great strength to be a back that does a little bit of everything.
PROS: Strong and Fast. Has the ability to run over weaker defenders and also outrun many defensive players in the open field.
CONS: His technique in breaking tackles could use some work as the more sound tacklers in the league, and stronger linebackers will not be bowled over by his brute force. Needs to work on ball security and field awareness.
Projection: Williams was brought back on a 1 year deal. Does that mean that Tate won't see the field? We project Tate to win the starting job in Training Camp and if he stays healthy, start 16 games for the Jets.
1.18 CB Jonathan Cook 
6’0”, 93 SPD, 90 ACC, 55 AWR, 66 CTH
The Jets chose not to address any of their glaring needs with their second 1st Rounder, instead going with a guy that solidifies their secondary for many years. Jonathan cook is a 6 footer with speed to burn and great hands. The Jets may have had aspirations to land one of the Cunningham, Peterson highly rated Cornerbacks, but to get Cook to develop behind their starters may be a smart move.
PROS: He has the height that most teams covet to go along with good speed. His ball-hawking skills are on par with some of the best players in the NFL.
CONS: Like most rookies, he’ll have a steep learning curve, but if he adjusts well to the RZL, he’ll be a premier Corner. He must work on his tackling technique as more agile Wide Receivers may give him fits in trying to bring them down.
Projection: Cook has the ability to step in and start from day 1, but he won’t be fed to the lions early. He has a great veteran in Tracy Porter to learn from and an up and coming star in Jason McCourty to challenge him. He will most assuredly see the field in the Nickel package as he develops into a stopper.
2.32 C Zachary Carter 
After trading away Nick Mangold for a 1st Round Draft Pick during the 2014 season, the team needed to find the replacement of the future. All the way at the end of the 2nd Round, the Jets selected Carter with a pick they acquired from Tampa Bay in exchange for OG Mike Fladell. Carter has the strength to be a force in the middle, he will have to make up for a lack of size though.
PROS: Great strength and quickness off of the snap. His blocking technique is RZL ready and will handle smaller opposing Defensive Tackles with ease.
CONS: Not fast enough to be super effective when pulling. Undersized and may get overwhelmed by behemoth Nose Tackles. Will have to adjust to RZL and increase field awareness.
Projection: Unless something changes in free agency, Carter will be the man snapping the ball back to Hunter Cantwell in the 2015 season.
The following picks were made to add depth to the roster and none are expected to contribute much on the field in 2015.
3.18 FS Gerald Murphy 
6.18 LG Richard Washington 
7.18 RE Terrance Mendoza 
2015 Post Draft Free Agency
Jets Add More Veterans to the Mix
The New York Jets announced the signing of 3 veterans today.
QB Rex Grossman -
1 Year, 6 Million Salary, 1 Million Bonus
With Cantwell and Reid already in the mix and Marco Lofton being groomed as the 3rd Quarterback, this signing comes as a surprise. Grossman was coveted in trade negotiations before the Bears cut him in the offseason leaving the Jets the option of acquiring him for just monetary considerations. The team has a cruel history of injuries at the Quarterback position, so that may be on the front office's mind. Grossman certainly will not be happy playing 3rd, or even 4th, fiddle after a season spent on the bench in Chicago.
CB DeAndre Jackson -
1 Year, 5 Million Salary, 1 Million Bonus
The Jets seem to be stockpiling talent at two very important positions. Adding Jackson to the mix at Cornerback to go along with Tracy Porter, Jason McCourty, and Jonathan Cook, may be another signing that has more to do with overall depth than with any impact the player may make if everyone stays healthy. Jackson has good height standing at an even 6 feet tall. He still has some speed in his legs and will make a good Dime corner when called upon.
RG Vernon Carey -
1 Year, 7 Million Salary, 1 Million Bonus
Here's a signing that makes a lot of sense. With a big question mark at OG after the departure of Mike Fladell, the Jets bring in a veteran that if the youngsters don't work out, Carey can step in and the team will know what kind of production they will get. He still has able mobility and his veteran presence may help some of the younger players along the front 5.
Rumors have it that the Jets are still in the running for bringing in Adam Pacman Jones, but that it's a 3 team race as of now.
2015 Training Camp Workouts
Younger Players Getting Shot to Prove Their Worth
The New York Jets have opened their Training Camp at Hofstra University today, and we had a chance to sit down with General Manager Matt Spencer and Head Coach Dean Pees to get an outlook on the activities planned for this season’s camp.
Q: Let’s start with what is on everybody’s mind. Competition at Quarterback?
A:
Spencer: Absolutely not, Hunter is our man and Bobby understands that completely. Bobby got a chance to play in Tampa last season and he was at first upset that he had been traded to a team with a proven starter already, but we’ve been able to talk him through that and, as witnessed last season, we may have to rely on our 2nd guy for a period of time.
Q: Where do you see the biggest need for improvement?
A:
Pees: Well, last year our offense was anemic at times, so we’re going to try and get back to that Jets style of football that saw us throwing the ball all around the field. Hopefully we are in for a full season of dominance by Hunter, CJ, and Jonny Orr.
Q: Mr. Pees, what areas will be the focal point in Training Camp?
A:
Pees: We definitely want to get our young guys some exposure to the RZL practice regimen. Get them acclimated with the intensity of practice as well as the conditioning required to compete at this level. We will be doing a ton of conditioning this offseason as we prepare for 2015. Last year we kind of wore down near the end of the season, and I think you could see that with our 4 game losing streak that cost us a chance at the postseason. We’ll be sure to kick their asses around the field and make sure something like that does not happen again.
Q: Can you elaborate on which players will be getting some hard nosed one-on-one time with the coaching staff?
A:
Pees: Of course. We want to start getting some of these kids up to speed. A few of them are really close. Ben Tate, man this kid is a beast. We will surely be working with him, running him through a gauntlet of players trying to strip the ball from him.
We’ll form 2 lines of players facing each other 1 yard apart. The QB will hand the ball off to the runner who will run between the 2 lines. The runner will align at a depth and area he normally runs from. The players in the two lines will try to strip the ball from the runner. The runner will explode through the lines and sprint 10 yards past the last defender.
The main coach points we want to emphasize with Ben are; Correct hand off pocket, Proper ball carrying in traffic, Body balance, Fighting through tackles, Keep legs pumping, Low center of gravity, and Run behind your pads.
Our other 1st round talent, Jonathan Cook, will be getting some work on his tackling technique as well as other areas needed to excel as a Defensive Back in this league. Ball carrier breaks at 45 degrees, Defensive Back takes cutoff angle, Get head in front of ball carrier, Keep elbows in, Run "Up Through" ball carrier, Wrap arms and grab cloth, and Don't "recock", keep head up.
Other players to get more focused attention from the staff than the veterans include the following; DE Darrell Burgess, MLB Clint White, LT Ronny Hodge, and OG Bart Sinquefield. With the defenders we will be concentrating more on tackling techniques. Our guys coached correctly to be in the right position at the right time, we just need to get them to make clean tackles and ensure that we limit yards after contact. With our Offensive Line, we will be working on overall physical abilities, with strength conditioning and some agility training.
2015 Projected Starting Lineup and Outlook
Jets Will Look to Take Back AFC East
QB: Hunter Cantwell | Bobby Reid | Marco Lofton
RB: Ben Tate | Carnell Williams | Aaron Brown
FB: Levi Brown
WR: Calvin Johnson | Jonathan Orr | Quinten Lawrence | ____________ | ___________
TE: Kellen Winslow | Benito Kane | ___________
LT: Ronny Hodge | George Bussey
LG: Mike Jones | Richard Washington
C: Zachary Carter | Raymon Chang
RG: Bart Sinquefeld | Reggie Conley
RT: D’Brickashaw Ferguson | Dace Richardson
LE: Darrell Burgess | Aaron Maybin
DT: Evander Hood | Corvey Irvin | ____________
RE: Robert Henderson | Terrance Mendoza
LOLB: Deandre Levy | ___________
MLB: Jonathan Vilma | Clint White
ROLB: JD Folsom | Weston Dacus
CB: Jason McCourty | Tracy Porter | Jonathan Cook | Kendall Veal | Jarius Byrd
FS: Pat Watkins | Gerald Murphy | Luigi Vinson
SS: Antrel Rolle | Guadalupe Kidd
K: Mason Crosby
P: Michael Koenen
Season Outlook
The Jets will look to put the 2014 collapse behind them with a healthy Quarterback and fresh legs at running back. Only 2 new starters will be in the lineup in 2015 from the team that finished 2014. Ben Tate will most assuredly be the feature back and there will be a new face at Right Guard where Mike Fladell was traded. The defense comes back with all 11 starters, and the unit performed well last season. A couple of players are trying to stave off regression and get some more mileage out of their careers. With Pat Watkins, Antrel Rolle, and Jonathan Vilma all in probably their last seasons as starting caliber players, there will be a do or die attitude from the Jets’ defense. Will the minor tweaks be enough for the Jets to get back to the postseason? Only time will tell, and that time is coming.
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6th Round Pick
3rd Round Pick
6th Round Pick
