Hack, Petty & Josh snap to it
Todd Bowles is maintaining a patient approach to his quarterback competition.
The Jets kicked off training camp Saturday afternoon in Florham Park, and Josh McCown, Christian Hackenberg and Bryce Petty all shared snaps under center over the 2.5-hour practice. Bowles said all three quarterbacks continue to have an equal shot at winning Gang Green’s starting job — despite McCown earning the first series of each 11-on-11 period and receiving by far the most reps of the trio. During his post-practice news conference, Bowles was pressed on how he will divide the snaps up over the next month. In response, the 53-year-old head coach uttered some variation of “sort itself out” or “work itself out” five times when referencing the QB battle. “We don’t have a starter,” Bowles said. “Regardless of who goes first, who goes secthey’ll ond and who goes third, all get a chance to play. We got a lot of evaluating to do.” The big initial step for the quarterback triumvirate comes Monday, when the Jets put on pads for the first time. Bowles has repeatedly pointed out the difficulty in dissecting his players’ performances when they’re wearing only “shorts and a t-shirt.” “They’ve been working hard. They’ve all been learning and studying,” Bowles said. “Just got to see them play.” In minicamp, Bowles said he hoped to name a starter after the third preseason game against the Giants on Aug. 26. But he changed that notion Saturday, stating “I don’t have a timetable on it.” McCown finished the day 10 of 13 passing with an interception on
22 reps in 11-on-11 drills. Hackenberg garnered the second-most reps with 14 and completed 6 of his 11 attempts. Petty received 13 reps and completed 7 of 11 passes with an interception.
It was a generally sluggish day for the offense and quarterbacks. Hackenberg played the best of the three, largely because he avoided a turnover, but he misfired on a couple easy throws, including a short wide receiver screen to the left side.
Nonetheless, the second-year signal-caller out of Penn State is starting to find his way in OC John Morton’s West Coast offense.
“I definitely feel more comfortable,” Hackenberg said. “I think that’s just a natural progression. I try not to compare years to years. I think it’s just part of growing up, man, and being in a situation where you’re continuing to grow.”
McCown’s interception in 11-on-11 was an ugly one. He missed badly on a 10-yard crossing route to his left, and first-year Jet cornerback Morris Claiborne jumped in front of the receiver and picked off the throw. The 38-year-old nearly tossed another interception earlier in practice when he underthrew tight end Austin Seferian Jenkins down the seam, and rookie safety Jamal Adams knocked the ball away.
Petty threw his interception in 11-on-11 when a ball was deflected at the line of scrimmage and cornerback Marcus Williams hauled in the floating pigskin. He returned it untouched for a touchdown.
Petty said he feels “without a doubt” that he has a fair shot at winning the battle.
“We all do, and that’s what’s great,” Petty said. “Everything that we do is a competition, and I love that, because if our room is competitive, that makes the offense better and that just sets us up as a team better.”
Bowles admitted it’s nearly impossible to give the quarterbacks equal reps on a daily or even weekly basis. But he hopes by the end of camp, the number of snaps will be around the same for each player.
“You got to make plays at the position like any other position,” Bowles said. “So once we see everybody play, it will work itself out.”