E-Boland & Gang Green

By Tom Rock

I’d forgotten about one of my favorite training camp traditions: the silly question.

Of course, I’ve been known to uncork a few of them myself, but training camp seems to bring out crowds of reporters who may not be as intimate with the goings on of the Jets, and it sometimes leads to funny/irritating moments. There were two such today.

The first came during Pete Kendall’s session in which he was saying over and over how he did not want to be a Jet and he couldn’t understand why he was here and he was ticked off that he had to come to training camp. After a series of questions about his decision not to hold out and his desire to be elsewhere, one reporter asked: “Can you talk about Thomas Jones and the impact you think he can have for you guys?”

Pete chuckled. Probably the only thing he cares about Thomas Jones’ impact is how he’ll run against whatever team Pete winds up with when this whole situation is resolved. But he gave a polite answer: “I think he’ll be a nice addition to the team.” He did not say “our team” but “the team.”

The second non-sequitor question came in the Mangini presser. The first question was, predictably and rightly, about Kendall. But the follow-up was whether Mangini had received any feedback from coaches around the league regarding his cameo on the penultimate episode of “The Sopranos” and if he approved of the way the series ended. The second question of the season, and already we’re off the football track!

It reminded me of last year when the Jets had just traded for a running back. I think it was the day they made the doomed Lee Suggs deal, but it could have been the Kevan Barlow acquisition. Anyway, we all heard about the transaction during practice and surrounded Derrick Blaylock, who was the de facto starter at the time, to get his reaction. Only thing is one reporter opened the session by asking about him learning the new offense or something else. It was an eye-rolling moment.

I’m not writing these to offend those who ask the questions – like I said, I’m sure I’ve put out my share of doozies and I won’t name names – but I thought some of you might like a peek into the infrastructure of covering a team through the grueling summer.