Sheldon Richardson is happy to carry his teammates helmets on and off the field this week in Florham Park, but he seems to be more focused on carrying his new playbook around in his head. With Kenrick Ellis sitting out practice Ryan threw Richardson in as the team’s nose tackle and seemed to fare well. In both 7-on-7 and in 11-on-11 drills, Richardson did a good job of shooting the gaps to pressure the quarterback, but it’s the responsibilities of two-gapping that seem to be more troubling for the former Mizzou Tiger.
“I had a rough one today, put me at a new position,” Richardson told Steven Braid of Newsday. “They’re putting me in at a lot more nose [tackle] today. They moved me over from the three [technique]. It’s a slow pace for me, but I’m getting it.”
Two-gapping is a whole different thing for a guy like Richardson who spent much of his career pinning his ears back and just attacking the ballcarrier. A two-gapping defensive lineman is responsible for both the A & B gaps and his job is not to crash through the gap but to read the play, anticipate which gap a running back will choose and then clog it. A two gap defender must quickly diagnose the blocking scheme to determine which of his gaps is more vulnerable. Two-gappers are generally a little bigger and stronger than their one-gapping brethren who are generally a little smaller and quicker and one-gappers are generally better pass rushers.
“It’s a lot more responsibility, a little more heavier people in there, a lot more double teams,” Richardson said. “I just have to make sure to contain and get outside — there’s a lot of people to work through. For right now, I’m getting kind of good at it.”
Brian Bassett, theJetsBlog.com
Did Garay take any snaps there? We’ll have to check in on that. As far as Richardson, we don’t doubt that he will be a quick study. He’s a super athletic and a very versatile player but he’s going to need to change his mindset and “throttle back” on plays where he’ll be used as a two-gapper. In actual games, we’d expect that Richardson will get caught overpursuing, but we’re more looking forward to what he’ll be doing as a defensive tackle in four man fronts.
More on the QB competition.
Here’s some videos from yesterday’s media access at Florham Park:
Star-Ledger: Geno Smith talks about the QB competition
Star-Ledger: Mark Sanchez talks about the QB competition
Star-Ledger: Rex Ryan talks about the QB competition
ESPN NY: Discussing Geno Smith’s picking of Roc Nation
Here’s a quick rundown on what happened yesterday at training camp.
Race to the Bottom — The QB competition isn’t starting off well, but it’s still early. Mark Sanchez the default leader in the quarterback competition went 6-of-11 with three picks in the Wednesday OTAs and Geno went 4-of-10 with a pick as well. Ryan said Sanchez’s day was “unacceptable.”
Staying Holmes — Santonio was not present at the OTAs and it sounds like he won’t show up until he has to, which will be training camp. Santonio might still be rehabbing when training camp rolls around, but it’s going to be a concern how much he can contribute if he isn’t spending much time around the quarterbacks until he has to, and then maybe not until a bit into training camp.
Climb That Hill — Earlier this month WR Stephen Hill said he was “100 percent” ready to go, but he didn’t practice Wednesday and Rex seemed to indicate that he didn’t practice Tuesday either. Hill is recovering from the operation to repair his LCL, but the offense is going to rely on his production and he still needs to become as familiar with the NFL game, as well as Morhinweg’s system ASAP. It is still very early in the offseason workout program, but this isn’t an auspicious start.
Revamped Secondary — Aside from some of the other losses, there’s a few notable changes in the Jets secondary. Ellis Lankster and Aaron Berry might be fighting over the fourth corner spot and Antonio Allen is the safety starting alongside Dawan Landry. Allen has the prototypical size, played more snaps than Josh Bush last year and seems like he might be the better fit as the safety who plays around the line of scrimmage. Dawan might not be a perfect fit, but his familiarity with the scheme might make him the best option at the free safety spot.
Mr. Versatile — Kenrick Ellis sat out practice on Wednesday and because of this Quinton Coples took reps mostly on the defensive line. With Ellis out, the Jets played rookie Sheldon Richardson at the nose and Coples and Wilkerson as ends. We’re sure the Coples will see plenty of this back and forth, but taking work at linebacker will be big for him and his development this season.
- Do Not Blame New York Jets’ GM Idzik for Garrard or Goodson [The J-E-T Press]
- NY Jets offense facing an uphill battle [The Jets Setter]
- Rex Ryan unhappy with turnovers during OTA’s [NJ]
- JTL to Feature Coples and Smith [The New York Jets]
- Shades of ’12: Injuries at receiver [ESPN New York: Jets Blog]
- Lanier Coleman aiming for Jets roster after four-year journey [Metro]
- 18 game schedule still on the table according to Goodell [NFL]
New York Jets Head Coach Rex Ryan, 5.22
Opening remarks…
Before we get going, (there are) two things you’re probably going to ask me about, so we might as well get them out of the way initially. With the David Garrard situation, obviously there’s still some paperwork that needs to be done, we understand that he’s put in for retirement and I would like to comment on him at the appropriate time when all the paperwork is in and all that kind of stuff. No big deal, but I feel better about that. To read more of this story, click here
Rex Ryan talks about the OTAs at Florham Park today to the media, via the Star-Ledger.
So today was less than optimal for Mark Sanchez, per Connor Orr of the Star-Ledger.
[Sanchez] was picked off on an errant screen pass today by Damon “Big Snacks” Harrison during the team portion of OTA’s. Yes, Harrison is a 350-pound interior defensive lineman. Yes, these are exactly the kind of mistakes he’s hoping to avoid this season after leading the NFL in turnovers the past two seasons.
And yes, two plays later, following a draw and a false start, he tossed another interception, under-throwing Jeremy Kerley and leaving the ball wobbling in the air for Jaiquawn Jarrett to pick it off.
Brian Bassett, theJetsBlog.com
Is this the improvement that Joe Namath was talking about? Yikes.
Throwing interceptions to Dame? I love Big Snacks and all, but that’s pretty poor on Sanchez’s part. Rather than watch Sanchez throw three picks, how about giving Greg McElroy a chance to throw one?
It’s mailbag time! So send in your TJB Podcast Mailbag questions for tomorrow’s show!
You can ask Corey and Brian anything you want — whether it’s football-related or not. Whatever is on your mind, let the questions fly and you can send them to the guys any of these ways:
Twitter: @cgriffin415 and @Brian_Bassett
Email: thejetsblogpodcast@gmail.com
Or leave a comment on this thread!
Then, Corey and Brian will pick out a bunch of your questions and answer them during the show.
Geno Smith has hired Roc Nation — Jay Z’s new sports agency — to be his new agents.
“I think it’s a good move. My family is comfortable with it. I’m comfortable with it,” Smith told reporters.
Kim Miale will be Smith’s agent, according to Mike Garafolo of USA Today.
Roc Nation also represents Robinson Cano of the Yankees and Skylar Diggins of the WNBA’s Tusla Shock.
Sheldon Richardson is happy to carry his teammates helmets on and off the field this week in Florham Park, but he seems to be more focused on carrying his new playbook around in his head. With Kenrick Ellis sitting out practice Ryan threw Richardson in as the team’s nose tackle and seemed to fare well. In both 7-on-7 and in 11-on-11 drills, Richardson did a good job of shooting the gaps to pressure the quarterback, but it’s the responsibilities of two-gapping that seem to be more troubling for the former Mizzou Tiger.
