Panthers ‘D’ earns early edge over Jets in first joint practice
SPARTANBURG, S.C. — NFL teams use joint practices to measure where their teams are heading into the regular season.
If Wednesday is any indication, the Jets offense has a lot of work to do.
In their first real test against a different opponent, the Jets offense struggled against the Panthers defense, especially during red-zone drills. Aaron Rodgers completed his first pass in the day’s final practice session, but the offense couldn’t move the ball any further as Rodgers finished 1-of-3 on the drive. Gang Green’s offense wasn’t much better with Zach Wilson under center during red-zone drills. He was 0-for3, throwing an interception to
Panthers linebacker Kamu Grugier-Hill to conclude practice.
“Not good enough today,” Jets wide receiver Corey Davis said. “It was a rough day, myself included.
“It was good to come out here and get in front of some new bodies to see where we are at. We have a lot to clean up.”
The day did start out well for Rodgers and the offense as he completed 5-of-7 passes in 7-on-7 drills. That included three passes to wide receiver Allen Lazard, one for a touchdown.
However, the Jets receivers dropped several passes during the session. The mistakes continued during 11-on-11 drills as the Panthers pass rush constantly harassed Rodgers. There were at least three instances in which Rodgers would have been sacked if it had been an actual game. Rodgers finished the day 8-of13 during 11-on-11 drills.
When the Jets offensive line wasn’t allowing pressure during 11-on-11 drills, they were called for five holding penalties.
“It could have been better,” center Connor McGovern said. “It could have been different. This was the first time we’ve seen this type of a read style, they were firing off.
“They’re a good team, they came out playing hard . ... We gotta finish better than that. That’s 100% on the O-Line and the protection on that two-minute drive.
“It’s going to be good things, it’s going to be bad things. The good thing is it’s practice and it’s a lot of stuff we can fix.”
The Jets haven’t had their complete offensive line since the start of training camp. Left tackle Duane Brown has worked out individually but not during team drills since he has been on the physically unable to perform list after offseason shoulder surgery. The Jets also want Brown to work on his conditioning before he starts participating in team drills. Billy Turner and Max Mitchell have each rotated at left and right tackle in his absence. Burns got around Mitchell for an easy sack and Rodgers was upset with how quickly the play ended.
Even when Brown does return, there will still be significant questions at right tackle. Mitchell and Turner have been inconsistent throughout the first three weeks of training camp.
“With Duane, he’s going to play well,” Rodgers said. “We got to figure out who the first five is going to be. So, a lot of guys in competition right now.
“It seems like they’re switching the tackles left and right, just about daily with Max (Mitchell) and Billy (Turner), just looking for consistency with those guys. I feel like the interior has been a bright spot, pretty consistent for us both the first and second group. We just need a little more consistency on the edge.”
One positive on the Jets offensive line has been the recent play of tackle Mekhi Becton. He had another solid day of practice including a play in which Becton blocked linebacker Eku Leota into the ground.
Gang Green is taking it slow with Becton, who is returning from a right knee injury that has kept him out much of the last two seasons. If he keeps practicing well and Turner and Mitchell continue to struggle, it is fair to wonder when the Jets will give Becton a chance to start at right tackle.