The Jets couldn’t have asked for nicer weather for Tuesday morning’s practice. Their fifth practice of camp and second consecutive day with pads covered two hours, making it their longest workout yet. Sunny skies, slight breeze and balanced competition on both sides of the ball.
“I really liked what we did at today’s practice because today was more third-and-2 so the advantage was for the offense today,” head coach Aaron Glenn said. “I thought our guys did a good job and I’m looking forward to this off day [Wednesday] for the guys so they can recover and then going into the next week when we start doing our third-and-7-plus.”
The Jets played three team periods, and the offense and defense each had its highlights.
Working off Monday’s momentum, the defense started fast and forced a turnover in the first offensive series. LB Kiko Mauigoa punched the ball out and S Andre Cisco recovered it after an offensive screen play to rookie WR Omar Cooper Jr.
“Everyone knows the key to success with takeaways, it just eliminates so many things,” Cisco said. “We have so many guys that have a history of taking the ball away that it’s so natural. It’s beautiful to see the guys that have a knack for it making plays on the field right now. I think it’s going to stack up nicely for us.”
One of those players is CB Brandon Stephens. He had a strong performance on Monday, forcing several pass breakups, and Glenn said he wanted Stephens to be consistent throughout camp heading into the season.
Well, Glenn didn’t have to wait long.
In the second team period, LB Jamien Sherwood tipped Geno Smith‘s pass and Stephens was in prime position to catch the ball for the interception.
“We all know that throughout his career the one thing that he’s always wanted to work on was his ball awareness and understanding where the ball is and ball placement with his hands,” Glenn said. “And I think throughout the offseason, he did a really good job of working on that.”