Sanjay Lal is in his first year as the Jets wide receivers coach. Things have not been easy for him during training camp.
Lal has watched receiver after receiver drop with injuries. Though none seem serious, all of them have prevented him from getting a clear picture of what he has in his position group.
“I don’t know,” Lal said when asked if he can assess what he has. “It’s still early. We’ve played only one game, but I’m still seeing who will rise.”
Three of the team’s top four receivers have missed significant time during training camp. Santonio Holmes (ribs/back), Jeremy Kerley (hamstring) and Chaz Schilens (ankle) will miss tonight’s game with the Giants. Rookie Jordan White (knee) also may be held out tonight.
“That group over there is a M.A.S.H unit, there’s no doubt about that,” coach Rex Ryan said.
The one benefit to the injuries at the top of the depth chart has been extra reps for those at the bottom of the roster.
“There’s no substitute for reps whether it be the starters or the backups,” Lal said. “What they’ve lost, the backups have gained. It’s experience they never would have got, so it’s been invaluable for those guys.”
* The Jets allowed five sacks last week. Now, they face the fierce pass rush of the Giants.
Ryan said he never game-plans for the first two preseason games. But did he do a little just to make sure Jason Pierre-Paul and friends are not in Mark Sanchez’s face?
“You don’t do game planning,” Ryan said. “What you do really is you work, if there’s pass protections things, you put your base rules out there, whatever the protection is, and you go against the different looks. Sometimes that’s a good thing. Obviously, we have to protect the quarterback going against the New York Giants whose pass rushers are probably better than any team in the league. Obviously, we’re going to know that going in, but specific game planning, no, we don’t do that. “
* Ryan said he might limit right guard Brandon Moore more than the other starters. Moore had double hip surgery last year, but Ryan said it’s not related to that.
“I’m not really worried about him,” Ryan said. “He’s just a veteran player. He’s tough as a mule, but sometimes you want to back those guys down a little bit, and just be smart. Just like we are backing down [LaRon] Landry for a different reason, you have to do the same thing there.”
Vlad Ducasse has been getting a lot of reps in practice at right guard with Moore resting.