 |
 |
 |
|
Jets: Camp tour | 
Judge
HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- Observations from the Jets training camp:
1. The biggest question outside of the starting quarterback is just who becomes the team's third wide receiver. After Laveranues Coles and Jerricho Cotchery there's a crowd, with holdover Brad Smith leading the parade. But Smith -- who played quarterback at Missouri -- is part receiver/part running back/part quarterback and a guy some think can and will be passed on the depth chart. The question is: By whom? The candidates are Wallace Wright, Chansi Stuckey and rookie Marcus Henry -- with Stuckey, who missed all of last season with a foot injury, the frontrunner.
2. Say goodbye to Hofstra. The Jets will in September when they move their headquarters from Hofstra University to Florham Park, N.J., where the club has a 224,000-square-foot complex (including a 5,500-square-foot locker room) on 27 acres.
3. It's too soon to call a détente in the Chris Baker standoff, but it looks as if the ice is melting. Baker, the tight end who is unhappy with his contract, said he expects to come off the team's PUP list shortly. "I'm ready to get out there with the team," he said. "I'm working hard, and I will be on the field pretty soon." That is good news for the Jets, who signed free-agent tight end Bubba Franks and drafted Dustin Keller -- more of a pass-catching tight end than a blocker.
4. So far so good with defensive tackle Kris Jenkins. The club lists him at 6-4, 349, and Jenkins looks like a perfect fit in the middle of the team's 3-4 defense. And "fit" would be an accurate description, with Jenkins warned to keep his weight under control. "We talked about all that stuff before we traded for him," coach Eric Mangini said. "He's held up his end of the bargain, and he has come back in really good shape. I think he looks good." Asked how he liked Jenkins in the Jets' 3-4, Mangini said, "He makes it a 3-4-and-a-half."
5. Time to start tracking Darrelle Revis. The team's first-round draft pick a year ago, he's beginning to look like one of the game's brightest young prospects. He is the Jets' best cornerback and, the club believes, one of the top cornerbacks in the league -- with some predicting a Pro Bowl in the near future. Revis, who led the Jets secondary in tackles last year, was the team's first rookie cornerback to start on Week 1 since Ray Mickens did it in 1996.
