NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS. May 19, 2015 Table of Contents

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1 NEW YORK JETS DAILY CLIPS May 19, 2015 Table of Contents ESPN NEW YORK... 1 W2W4: New York Jets set to begin OTAs without Muhammad Wilkerson (Rich Cimini)... 1 NJ ADVANCE MEDIA things to watch during Jets organized team activities (Darryl Slater)... 2 NFL power rankings 2015: Not much improvement for Jets (Dom Cosentino)... 3 Which Jets made Pro Football Focus Top 100 for 2014? (Dom Cosentino)... 4 MONDAY S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS... 6 ESPN NEW YORK W2W4: New York Jets set to begin OTAs without Muhammad Wilkerson (Rich Cimini) ESPN New York May 19, On Tuesday, the New York Jets begin their organized team activities, better known in the NFL vernacular as OTAs. A few quick thoughts: 1. What's an OTA? This marks the beginning of phase three in the offseason. Each team is allowed to have 10 OTA practices, followed by a mandatory minicamp. The OTAs are non-contact and include 11-on-11, 9- on-7 and 7-on-7 drills. The Jets will have three practices this week, three the following week and four in the final week. Only the Wednesday practices are open to the media. It's important to remember this still is a "voluntary" portion of the offseason, so perfect attendance isn't likely. 2. No Mo: Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who skipped the first six weeks of the off-season program, won't participate in OTAs. He will continue to stay away, working out on his own. Wilkerson is heading into the final year of his contract, due to make $6.97 million, and he's not happy with the pace of negotiations. The Jets have said they'd like to extend him, but they drafted Leonard Williams in the first round, clouding Wilkerson's future. He won't show up until next month's mandatory minicamp, if then. 3. Medical report: Several key players are nursing old injuries and will be limited in OTAs, likely sitting out team drills. Those players are quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick (leg), running back Stevan Ridley (knee), cornerback Dee Milliner (Achilles'), cornerback Dexter McDougle (knee) and safety Marcus Gilchrist (shoulder). 4. Latest on Geno: This is a critical time for quarterback Geno Smith, who's had six weeks of exposure to Chan Gailey's playbook. This is a chance for him to take what he has learned in the classroom and bring it out to the practice field. With Fitzpatrick still recovering from a broken leg, Smith will get the bulk of the reps with the first team. It's probably a stretch to say he can create separation in the quarterback competition, but it never hurts to impress a new boss. At David Harris' charity golf outing last week, which drew about 20 teammates, Smith spent a lot of time beforehand hanging out with quarterbacks coach Kevin Patullo. I thought that was interesting. 1 P a g e

2 5. Integrating the rookies: Rookies are allowed to participate, and it'll be interesting to see how many get a chance to work with the starters and/or various sub packages. Will Williams be inserted into Wilkerson's spot with the starters? That would be interpreted as a message to Wilkerson that life goes on without him. Will wide receiver Devin Smith get a chance to work with Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker in threereceiver packages? Naturally, we'll be looking to see how much quarterback Bryce Petty is used in relation to Matt Simms and the new walk-on, Jake Heaps. 6. Coordinators speak: On Wednesday, Gailey, defensive coordinator Kacy Rodgers and special teams coordinator Bobby April will meet the media for the first time since being hired by Todd Bowles. The spotlight will be on Gailey, who returns to coaching after two seasons out of the game. NJ ADVANCE MEDIA 5 things to watch during Jets organized team activities (Darryl Slater) NJ Advance Media May 19, The Jets on Tuesday begin organized team activities a 10-day portion of their offseason workout program that is spread across a period of three weeks. This week, the Jets have OTAs from Tuesday through Thursday. Next week, it's Tuesday through Thursday again. The following week, OTAs conclude with four-day stretch from June 2-5 (Tuesday through Friday). These are all voluntary workouts. Nothing is mandatory in the Jets' offseason program until their June 9-11 minicamp. So defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, who wants a new long-term contract, can't be fined for skipping OTAs, just as he couldn't be fined for skipping the Jets' voluntary veteran minicamp last month. So what can happen during OTAs? Live, full-speed contact is not permitted, according to the collective bargaining agreement. But 7-on-7, 9-on-7, and 11-on-11 drills are allowed. With that in mind, here are five things we'll be watching during OTAs, when reporters' access to watch practice is limited to the Wednesday of each week: 1. How does Geno Smith look? Regardless of what Smith, the Jets' incumbent starting quarterback, does during OTAs, we should be careful to not draw too many conclusions. After all, this isn't full-speed, livecontact stuff we're talking about here. But with Ryan Fitzpatrick still limited as he recovers from a broken leg, Smith will get almost all of the first-team work during 11-on-11 periods. He has more weapons to work with this year (namely, wide receiver Brandon Marshall). Can Smith start to take the much-needed next step in his development from shaky young quarterback to productive, steady starter? 2. Will Leonard Williams perform well against veterans? Williams was impressive earlier this month in the Jets' rookie minicamp as he should have been. The Jets drafted the Southern California defensive end sixth overall. He might end up being the best player in this year's draft. So, naturally, he was going to take advantage of the less-talented offensive linemen he faced during the rookie minicamp. How will he look during OTAs, as he matches up against NFL veterans for the first time? 3. The Brandon Marshall-Darrelle Revis matchup should be fun. They had a neat little jump-ball situation (which Marshall won) during the Jets' three-day voluntary veteran minicamp late last month. How Marshall performs against Revis, and vice versa, really doesn't have much bearing on what happens with 2 P a g e

3 the Jets' offense (or retooled secondary) this season. But it does spice things up to see these two marquee players go against each other. So we'll watch it and enjoy. 4. The offensive guard rotation. This isn't a sexy topic, but it's an important one for an offense that hopes to upgrade in 2015 and for an offensive line that has some question marks. We know James Carpenter, a free agency pickup, will be one of the Jets' offensive guards. Who will occupy the other spot? Veteran Willie Colon? Or a younger player like Brian Winters, Oday Aboushi or Dakota Dozier? And where will rookie Jarvis Harrison fit in? Winters is still recovering from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his knee. The Jets unsurprisingly split right guard reps between Colon and Aboushi during last month's minicamp. Carpenter worked at left guard. How will the positions (and sides of the line) be divided up during OTAs, with a new player, Harrison, now in the mix? 5. Rookie adjustments. Just as we all need to guard against reading too much into what Smith does during the spring, before Fitzpatrick truly enters the quarterback competition in training camp, a "grain of salt" approach is also important for observing rookies at this time of year. Besides Williams and Harrison, outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin, wide receiver Devin Smith, and quarterback Bryce Petty are getting more thrown on their plate during OTAs. Yes, they all might have looked strong at times during the rookie minicamp, particularly Devin Smith with catching deep balls. That doesn't mean a whole lot now, with the competition level increased. But neither do their expected struggles as they practice alongside NFL veterans for the first time. None of the Jets' rookies are going to be pressed into starting immediately. Remember that. And give them time to develop, regardless of what happens as they work through the ups and downs of their first OTAs. NFL power rankings 2015: Not much improvement for Jets (Dom Cosentino) NJ Advance Media May 18, tml On paper, anyway, and in the middle of May, it would seem the Jets improved themselves after last year's 4-12 splash into the dunk tank. But on paper, and in the middle of May, a number of national experts still think the Jets have a long way to go. It's true the Jets have infused their much-maligned secondary with talent, most notably by bringing back Darrelle Revis, the prodigal cornerback and this offseason's biggest free-agent prize. It's also true the Jets have added a much-needed weapon to their receiving corps by trading for Brandon Marshall. And new general manager Mike Maccagnan also seems to have calked a lot of the cracks in the roster by packing it with low-priced depth at just about every position. But the most important position of all quarterback remains the Jets' most open-ended question heading into Same as it ever was. New head coach Todd Bowles brought in a new offensive coordinator in Chan Gailey; and Ryan Fitzpatrick, the new quarterback, is set to compete with holdover Geno Smith this summer for the title of Most Likely To Get Booed. Perhaps Gailey can harness the talent Smith wasn't able to find in his first two seasons. Or perhaps Fitzpatrick can replicate some of the effectiveness he had when he and Gailey worked together with the Bills from But on paper, and in mid-may, not too many people are counting on it adding up to many more wins for the Jets this season. It's not an unreasonable assumption, even if an overwhelming majority of our readers are optimistic the Jets will win more than 7.5 games, which Vegas has pegged as their over-under. 3 P a g e

4 Your roundup of post-draft NFL power rankings, and where each one stacks the Jets among the league's 32 teams: USA Today: No. 21 They've improved as much as any team in the league over the past two months but still have ground to close on rest of AFC East. ESPN: No. 25 Rex Ryan is gone but defense is still the priority. The Jets drafted DE Leonard Williams sixth overall after adding Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine, Marcus Gilchrist and Stephen Bowen this offseason. Detroit Free Press: No. 28 New York Jets (4-12, last time: 28): That defense could be really good. But it doesn't change how anemic the offense has been. Plus, I mean, it's the Jets. Pete Prisco, CBSSports.com: No. 30 They should be really good on defense, and they've made some solid additions on offense, but it's all about the quarterback. Do they have one? Walter Football: No 25 Picking redundant players like Leonard Williams might be good for the future, but it won't help the Jets win any games this year. But that begs the question: If New York is building for the long haul, why sign Darrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie, when both talented corners will help the Jets win enough games to be out of Christian Hackenberg/Cardale Jones contention, but not enough games to make the playoffs? Dan Schneier, Foxsports.com: No. 23 The Jets used their premium draft picks to select the best overall players after addressing key needs in free agency. With concerns at quarterback and the offensive line, the Jets might still be one year away from making a run. Then again, we've seen Ryan Fitzpatrick excel in Chan Gailey's system before. Which Jets made Pro Football Focus Top 100 for 2014? (Dom Cosentino) NJ Advance Media May 18, ml Pro Football Focus, the analytics website that admirably seeks to quantify the performance of NFL players, has been rolling out its Top 100 players of 2014 in recent days. Four Jets made the cut well, three, since one of them played for another team last season but has since joined the Jets this offseason. But we're including him anyway. PFF's Top 100 is based entirely on the cumulative grades every player earned for every game during the 2014 season, and all positions are treated equally. All four of the Jets on PFF's list are ranked in the Top 32, and none should be all that much of a surprise, even with the Jets having skidded into a ditch with a 4-12 record last year: Center Nick Mangold, No P a g e

5 Cornerback Darrelle Revis, No. 29 Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson, 24 Defensive end Sheldon Richardson, No. 15 Mangold, who had been unranked by PFF in 2013, was selected to his sixth Pro Bowl in nine seasons, all with the Jets. PFF had him with the highest Pass Block Efficiency rating (PBE) among all centers, and the top grade among centers overall. PFF's take: Back to his best, the longtime benchmark for center play in the NFL would finish the regular season our top-ranked center. An excellent run blocker it was his pass blocking that pushed him over the edge, where he allowed only seven hurries all year. Revis, who spent 2014 winning a Super Bowl with the Patriots after a year with the Bucs, is back with the Jets, for whom he played from PFF sparked a bit of a A Thing this offseason by arguing that Revis who turns 30 in July has begun slowing down. But their assessment of him in their Top 100 was somewhat more charitable: Revis got the Super Bowl he so coveted, but this year didn't match the best he can do. Indeed, a slow start to life as a Patriot looked set to keep him off this list, but a fantastic second half of the year meant he couldn't be ignored. Was as good as any cornerback from Weeks 11 through to 14. In an attempt to prove age is catching up to Revis, PFF argued that when Revis got beat in 2009 his best season he still had a tendency to be blanketing receivers, whereas PFF said Revis was flat-out getting beat at times last year. But getting beat happens to all corners (as PFF acknowledges), and Revis' 2009 season was arguably one of the best by any cornerback, ever. To use that year as a benchmark, then, is a bit unfair. Also, PFF's coverage grades should be viewed with a modicum of skepticism, since it's not always clear to anyone who knows the coverage assignments where a player is supposed to be on a given play. (For what it's worth, Jets head coach Todd Bowles answered with a flat, "No," when asked at the NFL's annual meeting back in March if he had any concerns about Revis' age. And general manager Mike Maccagnan, who gave Revis $39 million guaranteed, similarly dismissed any such concerns. Revis, for his part, thinks he's better than when he was younger, though it would probably be a bigger story if he didn't feel that way.) Revis had been 18th in the PFF rankings in Wilkerson has been in the news quite a bit lately because he's entering a contract year and the Jets just drafted USC's Leonard Williams with the sixth overall pick. Somehow unranked by PFF in 2013, he's established himself as one of the league's best defensive ends, and PFF's analytics rate him in the top three at the position, behind only J.J. Watt of the Texans and one of his Jets teammates. And part of the reason Wilkerson wasn't rated higher was because of a toe injury that kept him out of three games. Says PFF: Another who makes plays whatever the offense calls, it's a real shame he missed time otherwise he could very easily have finished higher. Before his injury in Week 12 he'd graded negatively just once all year and that was caused by a three-penalty display against Green Bay. And then there was Richardson, who had also gone unranked in 2013 but jumped all the way to No. 15, according to PFF, because he had graded positively in every game and never had a grade lower than minus-1.0 in any category. Richardson also got selected to his first Pro Bowl, albeit after first getting 5 P a g e

6 passed over for the Rams' Aaron Donald, which didn't sit too well with then-jets head coach Rex Ryan. PFF's explanation: Richardson had a fantastic rookie year, but he didn't do enough rushing the passer to convince of his elite merits. Well, his sophomore season was something different, where he was fantastic rushing the passer. His grade was second best of all 3-4 defensive ends and, coupled with his outstanding run defense, propelled him to a comfortable second overall grade of all interior defenders. There are no doubts about Richardson now. MONDAY S SPORTS TRANSACTIONS BASEBALL Atlanta Braves - Placed infielder Phil Gosselin on the 15-day disabled list. Baltimore Orioles - Placed pitcher Bud Norris on the 15-day disabled list; recalled pitcher Tyler Wilson from Norfolk (IL). Cleveland Indians - Activated infielder Mike Aviles from the restricted list; optioned pitcher Austin Adams to Columbus (IL). Houston Astros - Selected the contract of pitcher Lance McCullers from Fresno (PCL); placed pitcher Samuel Deduno on the 15-day disabled list; transferred shortstop Jed Lowrie to the 60-day disabled list. Miami Marlins - Named Dan Jennings manager and Mike Goff bench coach. Milwaukee Brewers - Recalled pitcher Corey Knebel from Colorado Springs (PCL); optioned second baseman Scooter Gennett to Colorado Springs. Philadelphia Phillies - Acquired pitcher Chris Leroux from the Milwaukee Brewers for cash considerations. Toronto Blue Jays - Selected the contract of pitcher Todd Redmond from Buffalo (IL); designated pitcher Jeff Francis for assignment. FOOTBALL Arizona Cardinals - Signed running back David Johnson and tight end Gerald Christian to four-year contracts. Buffalo Bills - Signed linebacker Tony Steward. Cleveland Browns - Signed wide receiver Vince Mayle and linebacker Hayes Pullard. Dallas Cowboys - Re-signed fullback Tyler Clutts; released fullback Jed Collins. Jacksonville Jaguars - Signed wide receiver Rashad Greene to a four-year contract. Miami Dolphins - Signed quarterback Ryan Tannehill to a contract extension through the 2020 season. New England Patriots - Released cornerback Chimdi Chekwa, linebacker Cameron Gordon and wide receiver Devin Gardner; signed linebacker Brandon Spikes. San Francisco 49ers - Signed cornerback Mylan Hicks to a three-year contract and offensive lineman Justin Renfrow to a two-year contract. Seattle Seahawks - Signed wide receiver Deshon Foxx; waived/injured running back Demitrius Bronson. Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) - Signed linebacker Denicos Allen. 6 P a g e

7 HOCKEY Chicago Blackhawks - Recalled forward Phillip Danault and Ryan Hartman and defensemen Ville Pokka and Viktor Svedberg from Rockford (AHL). Philadelphia Flyers - Named Dave Hakstol head coach. COLLEGE Louisiana Tech - Named Eric Konkol head men's basketball coach. 7 P a g e