FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — Tyrod Taylor launched a pass down the field against his old teammates and Jason Brownlee came down with it in the end zone, another win on a day when the New York Jets offense mostly dominated the Giants defense.
As Brownlee celebrated, Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner walked out to the middle of the field, waved to the Giants sideline and blew them some kisses.
“It was a little goodbye, not going to sugarcoat it,” Gardner said. “That’s what it was.”
These Jets-Giants joint practices used to get… tense. Just ask Jeremy Shockey. There were no fights on Wednesday, but there was some trash talking.
“Guys were throwing it around like: Who’s the team in New York?” safety Chuck Clark said. “We definitely heard that today.”
So who’s the team in New York?
“We are,” Clark said.
And when Gardner was asked about Giants quarterback Daniel Jones, he smiled through his entire 45-second response: “He’s a… he’s a… he’s a… good quarterback,” Gardner said. “I thought I was about to pick him off today (on one rep) … but he kept it. I mean …” [Long pause.] “The competitive periods were very competitive. It was great. I had fun out there today. I don’t really know what to say.”
Here’s Sauce Gardner smiling through an answer about Daniel Jones… pic.twitter.com/KTzy6MuSJJ
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) August 21, 2024
If that’s not enough: Breece Hall celebrated a touchdown catch by checking a Giants defender’s ankles to make sure they weren’t broken.
The Jets, clearly, are feeling themselves. This was a much better practice — for both offense and defense — than last week’s joint practice against the Panthers. The offense, a couple days after its worst performance of training camp, had one of its best days of the summer. Aaron Rodgers was dealing, Garrett Wilson was dominating and the Jets looked like a team moving with some confidence a couple weeks out from the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers.
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The Giants probably won’t be a playoff team this year, so what transpired on Wednesday shouldn’t be over-emphasized. But it is notable that the Jets had one of their best practices near the end of training camp.
Here are some observations from Wednesday’s battle of New York:
Not enough Sauce vs. Nabers
The main event on Wednesday didn’t amount to much. That is: Gardner versus Giants rookie wide receiver Malik Nabers, who had been dominating in Giants camp. During 11-on-11 drills throughout practice, the two were rarely lined up across from each other.
Nabers’ only target against Gardner — a catch — came during seven-on-seven drills. In total, Nabers was targeted six times and had three catches, with one unfortunate drop. In the move-the-ball period at the end of practice, Nabers burned Jets cornerback D.J. Reed but dropped a pass that hit his hands. Jones underthrew him and Nabers had to adjust back to the ball, but he should’ve caught it.
Gardner was complimentary of Nabers after practice: “He’s nice. He’s sudden when it comes to getting in and out of his breaks. He reminds me of Ja’Marr Chase a little bit, a little Justin Jefferson.”
As for Gardner, Nabers didn’t take offense to him waving goodbye at the end of practice: “They can do that. I mean, they won on the day. Their defense came out, executed well. We beat ourselves today.”
As for the rest of the Jets defense against the Giants offense: Brian Daboll was mostly running a risk-averse passing offense — or at least Jones was playing that way. Most of Jones’ completions were short and he rarely took shots downfield. SNY’s Connor Hughes had Jones completing 12 of 18 passes, and only two of those completions were for more than 10 yards. He was sacked twice — by Javon Kinlaw and a combination of Jermaine Johnson and Will McDonald — and failed to go anywhere in that move-the-ball period at the end of practice, though Nabers should’ve caught that long pass.
The Giants went four-and-out in that final period. Also of note: I thought defensive tackle Quinnen Williams had a dominant afternoon against the Giants offensive line.
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Jets offense enjoys a great day
On Monday, Rodgers had his worst day of practice as a Jet, completing only 11 of 27 passes in 11-on-11 with an interception.
On Tuesday, Rodgers said he was happy the offense had such a bad day, calling it an “anchor point,” or something they can look back to for reference as things happen this season.
OnWednesday, it seemed the Jets learned all the proper lessons from Monday’s stinker. Rodgers came out firing, first completing a pass to Wilson and then connecting on his second pass to Xavier Gipson down the field during seven-on-seven, with Gipson making a nice play on the ball against Giants corner Darnay Holmes.
The start to 11-on-11 wasn’t perfect: Rodgers had to keep the ball on his first pass with no receivers open. On the second play, Hall was quickly stuffed behind the line of scrimmage by defensive end Brian Burns. After that, Rodgers connected with Allen Lazard against nickel corner Dru Phillips, Burns sacked him, and then Rodgers missed tight end Jeremy Ruckert.
On the next run in the red zone, Rodgers connected with Lazard on a quick screen pass, missed Gipson and hit Hall from about 15 yards out for a touchdown. (The Jets another play, a pass that hit Allen Lazard in the hands, another drop.)
This is when Rodgers really started cooking. He completed five of his next seven passes, including one where Wilson burned cornerback Nick McCloud so badly that it seemed the Giants didn’t have anyone there to cover him at all. It would’ve been a big gain in a game, possibly a touchdown. Even more impressive: Rodgers made the pass while on the run and off his back foot. Rodgers also hit Ruckert in the middle of the field, placing it in a spot where only Ruckert — who made a nice play with his outstretched hands — could get it. Wilson also had a catch against Deonte Banks.
Then in a drive starting at the Jets’ own 30-yard line, Rodgers hit Lazard on a quick screen, the Jets were penalized (twice) for illegal motion, Wilson had an uncharacteristic drop — he looked up field too quickly — and then Rodgers lobbed the next pass up sky high and landed it perfectly in Wilson’s arms. Wilson, again, had burned McCloud, this time for a 55-yard touchdown.
The final move-the-ball period went like this: Completions to Wilson — a sliding catch in the rain — and Lazard, incomplete to Wilson, complete to Wilson, Gipson and Lazard. Linebacker Bobby Okereke had an interception but it was called back due to defensive holding, and then Rodgers hit Lazard for a touchdown.
All in all, I had Rodgers completing 16 of 22 passes with three touchdowns, and Wilson had six catches on eight targets during team drills. After a completion to Wilson — I believe it was the long touchdown — Rodgers ran over and put an invisible crown on his head.
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More matchups
Early in practice I watched some one-on-one battles between Jets offensive linemen and Giants defensive linemen. For all the Giants’ issues in terms of talent, their defensive line — featuring Burns, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Dexter Lawrence — is a strength. They won most of these battles, though it should be noted that neither Tyron Smith or Morgan Moses participated.
Burns had a dominant rep against Carter Warren, and Thibodeaux didn’t have much trouble with Max Mitchell. Center Joe Tippmann held up well against Lawrence, which is nothing to sniff at. Jets guard Wes Schweitzer won his matchup with defensive tackle Rakeem Nunez-Roches, tackle Austin Deculus lost to edge Azeez Ojulari and defensive tackle D.J. Davidson overpowered guard Chris Glaser.
As for the reps in team drills: The Jets offensive line mostly held its own. Burns would’ve had a sack early in team drills but otherwise Smith won just about every battle he had with Burns and Thibodeaux, including a rep against Burns on which the pass rusher tried going under Smith, so Smith stuffed him into the ground. Most of Thibodeaux’s success came against backups like Mitchell and Warren.
Injuries and other absences
Tackle Olu Fashanu missed Wednesday’s practice with an elbow strain. Jets coach Robert Saleh indicated it wasn’t anything to worry about … Safety Isaiah Oliver, cornerback Jarrick Bernard-Converse and defensive tackle Leki Fotu will all miss the rest of training camp with injuries but Saleh expects them back for Week 1 … Cornerback Michael Carter II remains out … Wide receiver Mike Williams said this week he plans to return to team drills next week … Haason Reddick’s holdout has reached 30 days — with mandatory $50,000 fines coming each day.
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Other notable moments
• Running back Braelon Allen trucked Giants safety Dane Belton during team drills — even though the two teams weren’t tackling. Nobody seemed to be offended.
• Safety Chuck Clark decleated Giants running back Eric Gray — the second straight week Clark has taken down a running back. Clearly, the veteran is itching to get back out there, full contact, after missing all of last season. “It wakes you up, makes you feel alive, gives you that high,” he said.
• Brownlee had one of his best practices after some recent struggles. He scored on that deep ball from Taylor, burning Giants corner Mario Goodrich. Taylor and Brownlee also connected on another deep ball earlier in practice. He’s fighting for a roster spot.
(Top photo: Chris Pedota, NorthJersey.com / USA Today)
