The Jets did live tackling in practice Monday, something that is a rarity in the NFL.
And the drills were a hit.
“I love it because there’s a fine line,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said. “Everybody is worrying about getting hurt, and you know, this is football. But I told the coaching staff, the defensive guys, you see the first two, sometimes three games, guys are losing because of that — missed tackles. Alright, they’re doing too much, the communication.
“So, [coach Aaron Glenn], once again, I said he’s doing a hell of a job because he’s trying to prepare us for exactly what we are going to see. So, I don’t know how you can go through the process, particularly when some guys may not even play in preseason, and then all of a sudden, when you get to the season, think they are going to be ready to tackle. So, I love it.”
It figures that defensive guys enjoyed tackling, but what about the offensive coaches?
“I firmly believe that, with all my heart, that what we’re doing is the right thing to do,” offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand said. “Explosive plays, we talk about that, right? We talk about getting explosive plays.
“Well, one of those is run after catch and making people miss in space, and we have players that can do that, and the best way to get good at something is to do it, so it would be negligent upon the coaching staff to not do that, in my opinion.”
Engstrand praised rookie right tackle Armand Membou.
“[He’s] a smart football player,” Engstrand said. “So, he’s going to take his lumps as a rookie, and he’s always going over there against Will [McDonald IV], which is going to be a challenge in and of itself. But if you want to talk about mental errors or those types of things, not really having that going on, which is really good.
“We got a lot of offense [installed] right now. We got almost the full installation kind of out there, and he’s handled it really, really well, in addition to the other guys.”
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One of the highlights of Thursday’s practice was a one-on-one receiving drill in the red zone.
WR Garrett Wilson and CB Sauce Gardner matched up twice, with each winning one rep.
Wilson scored a touchdown in the front corner of the end zone despite tight coverage on the first play.
Gardner broke up the pass on the second one.