With camp officially opening tomorrow, Dave Hutchinson knocks it out of the park with a detailed preview.
A few tidbits:
Unless someone steps up in a big way, the Jets may have to add a proven veteran wide receiver. And the Jets have distanced themselves from ex-Giant Plaxico Burress. No one except the Jets coaching staff seems to think Jerricho Cotchery is a No. 1 receiver. There are whispers inside the organization suggesting that David Clowney was a one-game wonder (his two-TD, 163-yard preseason masterpiece vs. Cleveland).
Clowney is a total unknown at this point. Two catches in preseason don't mean a whole lot. You have to like the job he did the few times he was active. He made a great catch against the Bills and had a step on a man in Seattle when Brett Favre underthrew him. Eric Mangini barely played him at all, though. He will play a role. If nothing else, his speed can stretch the defense, which would be a nice addition. Is he a complete enough receiver to hold down a starting role, though? We don't know, and the two long touchdowns at Cleveland did nothing to show us whether he can.
Thinking ahead, the Jets drafted bruising RB Shonn Greene (Sicklerville) to be the heir apparent to Jones, and undrafted rookie LB Jamaal Westerman (Rutgers) looks like a keeper.
By all accounts, Westerman looked great in practices. Unless Vernon Gholston starts doing more, Westerman could steal his starting job.
Unsung DE Shaun Ellis, who is expected to be suspended at least one game for a marijuana possession charge, returns.
What was good news a year ago could be bad news this year. Remember how we all breathed a sigh of relief when Ellis wasn't suspended for the stretch run? The Jets really can't have Ellis missing any time. The defensive line is thin, and being without one key player, Pace, is enough.