Justin Fields had his moments — good and bad — at Jets-Giants joint practice

New York Times

2 days ago

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Once upon a time, Giants and Jets joint practices brought a little feistiness, the kind that saw Jeremy Shockey trying to take on half the Jets roster, and Tom Coughlin yelling at Jets defensive coordinator Donnie Abraham. They'd take shots at each other in the press, and talk trash on the field.
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The teams met again on Tuesday, and it was … mostly pleasant. There were a couple of moments — Jets defensive tackle Phidarian Mathis got into it with some Giants offensive players during 11-on-11 drills — but otherwise there wasn't a whole lot of drama. It was a straightforward football practice where the defenses, for the most part, won the day against offenses with some question marks.
Often, it's easy to walk out of joint practices with a good feeling about which team is (or will be) better. Tuesday felt fairly even. Wednesday's joint practice will take place at the Giants' facility in East Rutherford.
Here are some observations from Tuesday's practice that stood out to me from a Jets perspective…
There's an obvious aspect to the Jets offense: They will lean on the run. As I've said, it would not surprise me if the Jets led the NFL in rush attempts this year, after coming in last with a year ago. And the Jets showed what that might look like during Saturday's preseason game against the Packers.
But something I've noticed, especially recently, is that the Jets seem to mostly be playing it safe in the passing game — or at least Fields has been. If the Jets tracked air yards in practice, Fields' number would be low; it's been a lot of quick slants, dump-offs, screens and the occasional throw to the intermediate area. There haven't been many shots taken down the field — and that was true on Tuesday too. That's not necessarily a bad thing, just something I've had my eye on, curious to see if the Jets are going to limit the amount of risk Fields takes on. It was an 'up and down' day for Fields on Tuesday, head coach Aaron Glenn said — and I would agree with that assessment.
He was solid during seven-on-seven drills, completing seven passes in a row, and the eighth pass only fell incomplete on a nice breakup by Giants safety Jevon Holland, intended for Josh Reynolds. The first run of seven-on-seven included a perfectly executed wheel route by running back Braelon Allen, and Fields did a good job of selling that he was going to throw it to the opposite side of the field before turning at the last second and connecting with Allen.
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In 11-on-11, Fields connected on a perfect throw on the move to Tyler Johnson at the sideline, who made the catch with two defenders nearby — though Fields might have been lit up for a sack by Abdul Carter if the defense was allowed to hit. Fields completed his first five passes in 11-on-11, then wasn't as successful for a stretch. He had a pass batted down at the line of scrimmage, was sacked at least two or three times, missed Johnson on a slant, threw an incomplete pass intended for Garrett Wilson and threw the ball away as Dexter Lawrence chased him.
In red zone 11-on-11 drills, it looked like Fields might have been sacked on the first play by Brian Burns, though he did complete the pass to Breece Hall. He closed out the day with a perfect side-arm laser to Jeremy Ruckert in the back of the end zone for a touchdown.
All told, I had Fields completing 7 of 12 passes in 11-on-11 drills and 7 of 8 during seven-on-seven — including three straight passes to Garrett Wilson at one point.
The rookie tight end missed a little over a week with a high ankle sprain, which can often knock players out for much longer than that. Taylor picked up right where he left up on Tuesday, catching a few passes from Fields but really standing out on a sliding catch he made on a pass from Adrian Martinez. Glenn raved about that grab after practice, calling the play 'outstanding,' highlighting the way Taylor was able to maneuver his feet to stay inbounds.
'Those are the things I expect from him in the passing game,' Glenn said. 'It's nothing new. He just has to make sure that he comes along at the right pace so we don't re-injure that ankle again, but he's a fighter. He wants to be out there … I thought he had a hell of a day.'
The starting offensive line had a dominant performance against the Packers on Saturday, and they flashed some of that on Tuesday. Though the Giants' pass rush will give even the best of offensive lines some trouble, and it did that on Tuesday. It doesn't get much more fearsome than the trio of Burns, Carter and Lawrence, and all wreaked their own level of havoc — Burns, in particular, was moving around the formation and giving trouble to rookie tackle Armand Membou. Carter bowled over center Joe Tippmann for a sack at one point.
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Olu Fashanu, to his credit, held his own against Kayvon Thibodeaux both in the run game and pass game. Fashanu has been one of the Jets' best and most consistent players throughout the summer. Carter also had his way with the Jets' backup offensive line, beating left tackle Max Mitchell for a sack at one point.
The way the Jets' practice field is set up, reporters essentially have to choose whether they want to watch the Jets offense versus the Giants defense, or the Jets defense versus the Giants offense (at least until the scrimmage period at the end of practice). I opted to watch Fields and the offense — but reporter accounts on the other side indicated that the Jets defense was dominant, especially against Russell Wilson. Micheal Clemons and Jay Tufele — building on a stellar preseason performance — both had sacks, and Wilson struggled to complete passes against the Jets secondary.
I did see the Jets defense in red-zone drills and they were a little less effective in that area — Wilson hit tight end Theo Johnson in double coverage in the back of the end zone, beating Andre Cisco and Tony Adams. Then Wilson beat Adams again on a touchdown to Darius Slayton a few plays later.
The Jets got some good news and some not-so-good news on the injury front on Tuesday. The good: Taylor, defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, guard John Simpson, wide receiver Xavier Gipson and defensive end Jermaine Johnson all returned to practice. This was Johnson's first practice since being activated off PUP — the Jets are easing him back into things even though, as Johnson said, he feels ready to be a full-go.
On the flip side: Quarterback Tyrod Taylor had his knee scoped and, Glenn said, he'll miss the rest of the preseason but is expected to be ready for Week 1. Wide receiver Allen Lazard (shoulder) will miss a couple weeks. Running back Isaiah Davis (ankle) sat out Tuesday's practice, as did defensive tackle Byron Cowart (ankle). Quarterback Brady Cook hurt his ankle and limped off the field on Tuesday but Glenn said he'll be fine. That leaves the Jets with only two healthy quarterbacks, in Fields and Martinez.
• Wide receiver Brandon Smith continues to make plays with the backups as he pushes for a roster spot. He made a nice diving catch on a Brady Cook pass during team drills.
• Same goes for wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett, who is pushing Gipson as a returner too. He made multiple impressive catches in team drills, though he did muff one punt, the first time he's done so in camp. The undrafted rookie still has a shot to stick though.
• Defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III — another standout from Saturday — had a dominant one-on-one rep against Giants offensive lineman Jimmy Morrissey, which hyped up the Jets entire defensive line group. He's feeling safer and safer for the 53 as camp progresses.
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