Palladino: Jets May Be Talking A Good Game, But It's Early
By Ernie Palladino
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The only Jet firing shots in the media during last week's offseason practices was Sheldon Richardson.
Admittedly, he's not the best person to mouth off about anybody. But at least he attended the sessions and delivered his salvos at departed wide receiver Brandon Marshall in person. From a pure optics standpoint, that's a lot better than what Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham did when he retweeted someone else's 140-character comment ripping head coach Ben McAdoo from afar.
So from that standpoint alone, let's say the Jets went one up on the Giants.
That doesn't mean they're off to a roaring start. A month after the draft, they know only a couple of things, and one of those isn't even a certainty.
They know they'll have a new safety alignment, thanks to the drafting of first-rounder Jamal Adams and second-rounder Marcus Maye. Perhaps Calvin Pryor, their former first-round safety, had a similar thought, since he decided to become the Jets' highest-profile no-show to the so-called voluntary workouts.
MORE: Report: Jets Will Not Pick Up Fifth-Year Option On Safety Pryor
The difference was that Pryor's absence created not a ripple in the locker room or the executive offices. And why would it? He's probably a goner, anyway, since the Jets declined to pick up the fifth-year option on his rookie contract. And when he did show up for Tuesday's OTA, Todd Bowles had him running with the third unit.
It all adds up to his days in green being numbered; another first-round bust in the making.
They also think they know that 2017 will be better than 2016.
That's a lot more dubious than the safety situation, although they did set the bar low enough last year at 5-11.
Six wins and they're good. No playoffs again, but hey, they've got to start somewhere.
Here's the big problem, though. They don't have a quarterback right now. All anyone knows at present is that Josh McCown, another journeyman in the image of the departed Ryan Fitzpatrick, took a load of first-string snaps last week while Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty fell into backup mode.
MORE: Silverman: Competition Is Nice, But Expect McCown To Be Jets' Starter
Media reports indicated McCown showed the huddle presence and enthusiasm one should expect from a 15-year veteran. But how the 37-year-old throws the ball won't become evident until the team trades its pajamas of the offseason program for training camp pads in August.
Ditto for Hackenberg and Petty. The latter, who threw seven interceptions, three touchdowns, and took a physical beating in his four-game debut last year, told the media after the team's fourth OTA Tuesday that he thinks he can win the job from McCown.
Hackenberg, the second-rounder of 2016 who didn't play a down as he tried to iron out a laundry list of mechanical problems, has moved ahead of Petty in the sentimental vote thanks to Joe Namath's public endorsement three weeks ago. But the fact that the Jets are moving to a West Coast-type offense will hurt Hackenberg, as will his inexperience.
Until somebody steps forward, assume the Jets have no starting quarterback. Situation normal, right?
What they know or don't know at this point is irrelevant, which is a good thing for Bowles and general manager Mike Maccagnan. Nothing ever gets settled during the offseason program.
The Jets won't really know anything until late August when positions and expectations get nailed down.
Until then, they know nothing for certain, even if they think they do.
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