Green Machine

An eventful OTA day

Plenty of ups and downs and human drama today at the Jets' OTA, the eighth of 11 such sessions. Here goes:

As I noted in the previous post, RB Thomas Jones was here but didn't talk to reporters. RB-KR Leon Washington was still a no-show.

FS Kerry Rhodes deflected questions about the rape that is alleged to have taken place in his townhouse in Morristown, N.J., near the Jets' training facility. "It's a pending legal matter and I can't talk about it," he said numerous times. The Morris County Prosecutor's office has said that Rhodes is not a "target" of the investigation.

 

"I appreciated that," Rhodes said. "When the prosecutor's office made that comment about the matter, I was very happy about that."

 

LB David Harris took a helmet in the mouth when Jim Leonhard collided with him while running at full speed and trying to field a punt. Harris left practice and didn't return, but Ryan said he didn't lose any teeth and was fine.

 

QB Kellen Clemens went 8-for-14 with one INT during 11-on-11 drills, but dashed from the field shortly before practice ended to be with his pregnant wife, about to deliver their second child. Kellen and his wife, Nicole, already have a daughter, 1-year-old Kate Elizabeth.

Jones shows for practice, doesn't show in locker room

RB Thomas Jones was at the Jets' OTA today, but did not show up in the locker room when the media was there. So we don't know how unhappy Jones is at the present time. He had skipped all voluntary practices and conditioning until yesterday. He is seeking to renegotiate his contract.

FS Kerry Rhodes was in the locker room, but deflected questions about the alleged rape that is alleged to have taken place in his townhouse in Morristown. 'It's a pending legal matter and I can't talk about it,' he said numerous times.

One TE out, one TE in

The Jets were awarded tight end Martrez Milner on waivers from the Giants, who let him go six days ago. The Jets have been searching desperately for a blocking TE. Milner actually has some NFL experience, as the University of Georgia product was drafted fourth by the Falcons two years ago and had eight receptions for 50 yards for Atlanta in 2007. The Falcons waived him last September and then the Giants signed him to their practice squad.

The Jets waived two undrafted free agents, TE Rob Myers and OL Kyle Link.

T.J. returns; Leon still a no-show

As promised by agent Drew Rosenhaus last week, unhappy RB Thomas Jones is at the Jets' complex today for the seventh of their 11 OTA sessions. Equally unhappy RB-KR Leon Washington again is not. 

The media will have access to tomorrow's OTA, and it will be interesting to see what Jones has to say about his contract situation. To review, he is scheduled to make a mere $900,000 this season after signing a front-loaded contract after being traded from Chicago in March 2007. As per the terms of that contract, he was paid $13.1 million over the past two seasons.

The one thing I can understand about Thomas' unhappiness is the fact that he's due a $3 million roster bonus next March, and the pattern with the Jets in recent years is to release the player before that bonus is paid. That's what happened to both TE Chris Baker and RG Brandon Moore this past winter, although Moore was re-signed to a very fair new contract after the Jets were rebuffed by Pittsburgh UFA Chris Kemoeatu.  

Morris County authorities say Rhodes not a suspect

The Jets just released this statement regarding the allegations of a rape being committed at FS Kerry Rhodes' townhouse in Morristown:

'The Morris County Prosecutor’s Office has stated that Kerry Rhodes is not the target of any criminal investigation. We refer all further questions regarding this investigation to the prosecutor’s office.'

Report: woman alleges she was raped at Rhodes' home

According to a report in the New York Post, a woman has claimed she was raped at the Morristown townhouse of S Kerry Rhodes. Here's the AP summary of the alleged incident:

New Jersey police are investigating a woman's claim that she was raped by two men at the home of Jets safety Kerry Rhodes.
The New York Post reported in Monday editions that the woman, a Canadian tourist, said she met Rhodes and another man at a Manhattan nightclub before being taken to a home in Morristown, where Rhodes owns a town house, according to authorities.
Rhodes, in a statement released through a Jets spokesman, said he was not one of the accused.
"I briefly talked with police on Saturday regarding an incident that allegedly took place at my home. The police confirmed to me that I am not the subject of this allegation."
Morristown Police Lt. David Ackerman told the Post the investigation is ongoing but declined further comment.
A spokesman for the Jets said the organization was "gathering information," according to the Post.

From Baghdad to Florham Park

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, so I thought it would be appropriate to share some 'outtakes' from my colleague Andrew Gross' terrific story about Jets' assistant coach Ben Kotwica. Kotwica, who played LB at Army under then-head coach Bob Sutton [also currently a Jets' assistant], flew combat missions as an Apache helicopter pilot in Iraq earlier this decade. Because of space limitations, not all of the quotes from Kotwica and Sutton could make it into the story. So here are some of the best of those other quotes.

As a 5-10, 200-pound LB at Army, Kotwica realized he wouldn't be playing in the NFL, and thus he wanted to coach: 'I knew playing would eventually end for me. I always looked toward coaching, even in the military, there’s a lot of coaching. You're coaching, you're teaching.'

 

When asked about the worst things he saw in Iraq, he replied, 'you see a lot of things over there, probably a lot of things you see in war movies. Those things happen over there. ... Obviously West Point is the premier leadership institute in the country, but even with that, even with the training you have flying your helicopter, not all that can prepare you for the reality. ... You see heroism, you see bravery, you see cowardice, you see fear. Those are the realities of the war. As a commander, in charge of 18-, 19-year-old privates, 40-year-old sergeants, you see the same scared look in a 40-year-old sergeant as a 19-year-old private.

 

When asked what it was like to have to kill the enemy, he said: 'I wish I could do a better job of it. That's what you're trained to do it. ... When I pulled the trigger, it's not like I said, 'OK, somebody is gonna lose their life. It's more they did something to us and now we've got to do something to them. It's a situation where you're going down to save your brothers on the ground.

'Multiple people have that post-traumatic stress syndrome. Some don't even know they have it. For me, I don't think I have it. I'm about five years removed from it. I haven't had a moment where I've woken up in the middle of night screaming. Not from Iraq.

 

'Now that loss in Seattle last year. . .'

 

Rough day for Sanchez

GQ model Mark Sanchez didn't have an easy time of it today at the Jets' sixth OTA and his third with the veterans since arriving this week. He was harassed early and often by the blitzing defense and threw an interception to veteran S Eric Smith.

Coach Rex Ryan compared Sanchez' week to an old Western, noting that the rookie's performance on Tuesday was the 'good,' his performance on Monday was the 'bad' and his performance today was the 'ugly.'

Still, Ryan was pleased that Sanchez appears to be absorbing the offense quickly, even though he is having problems deciphering the complicated, shifting schemes of Ryan's defense. Even Sanchez admitted as much, saying, 'today was a good day' and quickly adding with a half-smile, 'for the defense.'

He also admitted to being harassed in the locker room for his GC photo shoot, saying that some players called him David Hasselhoff but added that it was all in good fun, and that he fully expected it. Sanchez said he did the shoot two months ago and admitted it was 'kind of a bucket-list thing' and basically said, hey, if you get a chance to do a photo shoot with a supermodel, why not?

Honestly, I can't argue with that reasoning. Ryan didn't seem to have a problem with it either, and indicated he is impressed with Sanchez' studious nature as a QB.

As for other news, Ryan was most upset with numerous dropped passes in the red zone. 'You can't have drops in the red zone,' he said, noting that tipped passes in the red zone often become interceptions because there are more defenders in a smaller vicinity.

He said he hadn't spoken to RB Thomas Jones recently. Jones' agent, Drew Rosenhaus, Tweeted Tuesday that Jones will report for next Wednesday's OTA, the next one. Ryan said, 'I hope he does [return]. I'm excited about that if that's the case.'

The Jets could use the help in practice, considering third-round pick, RB Shonn Greene, is battling a hamstring injury. FS Kerry Rhodes wasn't in attendance. He was excused for personal reasons and Ryan said it's not a big deal.

Jets sign Slauson, waive Brackenridge

The Jets announced today the signing of offensive lineman Matt Slauson, the team's sixth-round draft pick last month. Terms of the contract were undisclosed. The Jets also waived reserve cornerback Tyron Brackenridge.

 

As for other news, the team held its second OTA of this week today. Both QB Mark Sanchez and RB Shonn Greene participated. I'll be at camp Thursday to report on how the Sanchez vs. Kellen Clemens QB competition is shaping up in the early going. Also, sources indicate that RB Leon Washington's agent, Alvin Keels, will be meeting with GM Mike Tannenbaum this week to talk about a contract extension. Washington is scheduled to make $535,000 this season in the final year of a four-year deal, but I think his people and the Jets will be able to resolve this.

 

And here's an interesting update from agent Drew Rosenhaus' Twitter page: he tweeted that RB Thomas Jones will attend the Jets' OTA next Wednesday. Jones has skipped all voluntary practices and conditioning this spring because he is unhappy with his current contract.

The QB competition begins

Later today, the Jets will have their fourth OTA of the spring, and it is expected to be the first one at which new QB Mark Sanchez, the fifth overall draft pick from USC, will be participating. So now both Sanchez and Kellen Clemens will be practicing at the same, unlike last week, when only the veterans were in the OTAs.

I still believe that if it's close, Sanchez will have the advantage over Clemens, but it is not a fait accompli. Sanchez must demonstrate that he can handle all the reads of coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's complex system, and deal with all the shifting and motion that goes with it. Remember, a Hall of Fame icon [that guy who wore No. 4] didn't like dealing with all the pre-snap motion last year, so Schotty had to junk that stuff. Not so this year.

I still believe that the organization would like to see Sanchez earn the opening-day nod, partly because, yes, it could make it easier to sell PSLs. And when a franchise trades up to draft a QB fifth overall only three years after drafting the other QB in the second round, it's a clear indication of how they feel about Clemens.

Still, Sanchez has to do it on the field. And that is the one knock on him I've been reading lately. It's not that he isn't talented and can't do it on the field, but it's rare that a prospect, especially a QB, rises so quickly AFTER the season ends. It's not hard to see why he did--Sanchez comes across as polished yet genuine, confident yet not cocky, and intelligent but not overbearing. Again, it was easy to see why the Jets' brass was impressed after meeting him.

Media won't be at the first two OTAs this week, but we will be permitted to watch the third one. And the one next Thursday and the Thursday after that. So while I certainly will give my interpretation of how both Clemens and Sanchez look in action Thursday, it would be unfair to say who has the advantage because we, the media, won't have all the evidence. That won't be the case at next month's mandatory mini-camp and at training camp in the summer, where we will be allowed to watch everything and thus will be able to pass judgment with more of the evidence [although we still don't know what exactly a play was designed to do, if the QB made the correct read, etc.].

And as much as I'm not a fan of Eric Mangini, pardon me for borrowing some of his material, but I have a little housekeeping to do. First, I'd like to say goodbye and good luck to Newsday's Erik Boland, who has moved on to cover the Yankees. E-Bola began his Yankee tour of duty this weekend and I'm sure he'll do just as fine a job as he did on Gang Green. 

I'd also like to welcome Newsday's new beat writer, Rod Boone, a fellow Long Island native. Rod's a terrific guy and I'm sure he'll do well.