EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — The last time the Jets and Giants locked horns for a joint practice was in 2005 in Albany. The legend goes that Herm Edwards had his team boarding buses on Long Island (where the Jets were headquartered then) before dawn that day and, some three hours later, they arrived an angry team. And thus, an enormous fracas with the Giants broke out. The teams, despite the convenience factor, haven’t practiced together since. Until, that is, Thursday, and this one went off without a hitch. It went so well, in fact, I bet they’ll be back out there again next year. And for the football part of it? Here’s what we saw from the Jets …
1. Joe Flacco is the quarterback for now, and he’s been a godsend for the Jets and Zach Wilson—the coaches drove the decision to keep him this year because of what he’s meant to both the team collectively and Wilson individually. This offseason, as we wrote in the spring, Flacco tried to impress on Wilson that he didn’t need to know every last thing happening on every play before every snap, and to just focus on his job. It worked in getting Wilson to play faster in OTAs, minicamp and the early parts of training camp, and the hope is that it carries over when the quarterback comes back from his meniscus injury. Bottom line, things were pretty up and down for Wilson last year. He even battled a case of the yips (which is why John Beck was hired midseason), and his confidence absolutely needed restoring. Flacco helped him get there, and there’s great value in that. And there’s great value, too, in the Jets getting to turn to Flacco through September while Wilson heals up.
Chris Pedota/USA TODAY NETWORK
