CORTLAND – The Jets went through a rain-soaked practice Tuesday and some players fared better than others in the elements.
Quarterback Geno Smith had a strong day and seemed unaffected by the rain drops. He finished 5-of-11 during team drills and two of the incompletions were drops. Smith hit wide receiver Eric Decker for a 10-yard touchdown during a red-zone drill. Smith took 19 first-team reps.
Backup quarterback Michael Vick did not play as well. Vick took only two reps with the first team. He finished 4-of-12 and was sacked twice. He clearly had trouble gripping the wet ball.
“It was different,” Vick said of practicing in the rain. “It took awhile to get used to, and it wasn’t one of my best practices by any means, but I managed. I got through it.”
WR Stephen Hill had a terrible practice. He dropped two passes and maybe even a third, depending on how hard a grader you are. Hill has had a strong training camp, but did not have a catch in the first preseason game with the Colts and then stumbled Tuesday.
“Today, we’ve got to get that thing straight,” offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg said of the dropped passes.
Despite the rain, or maybe because of it, the Jets had their most spirited practice of camp. The Jets closed the practice to fans and moved it onto the turf field. Things got loud during a red-zone drill with the offense and defense woofing at each other.
TE Jeff Cumberland left practice with tightness in an Achilles tendon. … Rookie S Calvin Pryor delivered a huge hit on WR Saalim Hakim, a sign he is all the way back. The third-team offense had a nice series at the end of practice, ending with QB Tajh Boyd finding TE Chris Pantale for a touchdown. … Decker (quad), RB Chris Ivory (ribs) and CB Jeremy Reeves (knee) were limited in practice. … CB Ras-I Dowling (groin), CB Dexter McDougle (knee), CB Dee Milliner (ankle), CB Dimitri Patterson (quad, calf, ankle), WR Shaq Evans (shoulder) and OT Markus Zusevics (knee) did not practice.