Aaron Rodgers Reveals Training Camp Goal
The New York Jets have some important work to do during training camp, especially on offense.
The preseason practices provide an opportunity for the team to become acclimated with its new starting quarterback and offensive coordinator. In order for that to happen, however, all of the key pieces need to be available for the daily sessions at 1 Jets Drive.
"We have a ton of guys, who are going to play time for us, who just aren’t a part of what we’re doing, or weren’t in the Spring, so we've got to figure out a way to streamline things," said future Hall-of-Fame field general Aaron Rodgers following the team's first official training camp practice on Thursday.
Rodgers, a four-time NFL MVP from his days with the Green Bay Packers, highlighted the amount of teaching required to implement Nathaniel Hackett's offensive system.
"This is really Hackett’s offense that I’ve been able to collaborate with him on and I love it, but there’s a lot of teaching, for sure," said Rodgers. "The other part that’s that makes camp even more important is Mecole [Hardman] has been out, Mekhi [Becton] has been out. [Tyler] Conklin is out, Corey [Davis] hasn’t been here a lot. We got to assimilate all those guys into what we’re doing, and we will."
READ Jets Place Four on Active/PUP List
Starting running back Breece Hall and veteran receiver Randall Cobb are both unavailable for practice since landing on the Active/PUP list. The former is working his way back from an ACL tear suffered in Week 7 last year while the latter underwent offseason foot surgery.
According to Robert Saleh, Cobb is expected to receive clearance in the "next few days" as the third-year head coach attempts to fit all the pieces into a cohesive unit.
"It’s important, you’ve got a new play caller, you’ve got a new o-line coach, you’ve got a new receiver coach, you’ve got a new quarterback, new o-line, new receivers," said Saleh. "There’s a lot of moving parts on the offensive side of the ball, there’s new verbiage, new language, that kind of stuff, so continuity is going to be the focal point in terms of trying to get these guys to gel as one so we can hit the ground running Week 1."
Rodgers reported progress after Practice No. 1, specifically mentioning the Jets' new slot receiver and the starting tight end.
"Today, it was good to have Mecole [Hardman] get some get some opportunities. Conklin had a nice catch on a pressure alert," said Rodgers. "We had a lot of guys who weren’t with us for a while."
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