NFL

Classic Rex Ryan trend emerges, for better or worse

CORTLAND – A familiar theme is beginning to develop at Jets training camp. Like nearly every other Rex Ryan team, the defense is dominating the offense.

On Wednesday, the defense notched five interceptions against the offense. Every Jets quarterback had at least one in team drills. Geno Smith, Michael Vick and Matt Simms each had one. Rookie Tajh Boyd threw two and added another during 7-on-7 drills.

“The defense had a pretty good day,” Jets coach Rex Ryan said. “I’ve been there when it kind of snowballs into those, one play goes to another and another. Before you know it, it’s a feeding frenzy out there. That’s kind of what it looked like today, for the most part.

“As a head coach, it’s always good news, bad news. The good news is hey, you got all those turnovers and that’s what we’ve been talking about. We’ve been harping on it, to create turnovers and we did today. The bad news is we’ve got to protect the ball. That’s really what we talk about. It needs to get better.”

The defensive players who scored the interceptions were: Demario Davis, Antonio Allen, Ellis Lankster, Brandon Dixon and Steele Devitto.

Smith took 17 first-team reps to Vick’s 7 on Wednesday. Smith went 7-of-15 with the interception and two sacks in team drills. Vick was 5-of-9 with an interception and a sack.


The injuries are piling up. CB Johnny Patrick (hamstring) left practice early. Rookie S Calvin Pryor (concussion), RB Bilal Powell (hamstring), RB Alex Green (chest), WR David Nelson (groin) and S Brandon Hardin (foot) did not practice. DE Zach Thompson (shoulder) did some drills today. WR Quincy Enunwa (hip) was back out there.


Rookie TE Jace Amaro had a forgettable practice. He had a terrible drop that drew the ire of Smith and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg. He also heard it from defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson after the play. Amaro struggled running routes and Mornhinweg was all over him about it.


Davis had an outstanding practice at linebacker. His interception of Smith was a thing of beauty. On the first play of a two-minute drill, he read a screen pass and jumped it for what would have been a pick-six. He nearly had two other interceptions and was very active around the line of scrimmage. Davis looks like he is blossoming in his third season.


Things were a little chippy in practice as guys get tired of seeing each other every day. There were three pretty good fights. WR Clyde Gates and CB Dimitri Patterson got into it. In offensive line/defensive line drills, Brian Winters and Sheldon Richardson had to be separated and Will Campbell and T.J. Barnes took each other down to the ground.


NT Damon Harrison had a nice stuff on a run by Chris Ivory. … LB A.J. Edds continues to impress. But he took RB Chris Johnson to the ground one time, something the coaches don’t want to see. … OLB Jason Babin is known for his pass rushing, but made a nice run stop. He rushed the tackle and then spun off to stop Ivory from getting the corner. … NT Kenrick Ellis saw some first-team reps. … OLB Quinton Coples looked good during pass-rushing drills. … The best pass of the day was from Smith to WR Greg Salas down the sideline for about 20 yards. … Johnson looks great catching the ball and rushing to the outside. … WR Stephen Hill made a nice catch in the corner of the end zone during a goalline passing drill. He beat CB Dee Milliner on the throw from Vick. … Salas jumped over CB Darrin Walls for a touchdown from Vick. … RB Daryl Richardson has had a nice training camp, but he fumbled at the end of practice after getting hit by rookie IK Enemkpali.