E-Boland & Gang Green

Indeed, there was a practice today. But just one. The Jets will go twice on Saturday, at 8:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. Some thoughts/highlights, none of which involved a No. 4 unless you count backup punter Joe Smith. On a related note, Greg Bishop, the Times Jets writer, was seen interviewing Smith after practice. That was probably a first for a backup punter the second day of any training camp. And with that, to the workout:

* Much improved Kellen Clemens performance today as the Jets offense spent most of the afternoon working on their red zone offense. Clemens hit Dustin Keller on a quick slant over the middle for a touchdown during an early 11-on-11, then came back to the rookie tight end for two more scores later in the afternoon, an 11-yarder – again over the middle when he lost the linebacker trying to cover him – and a 6-yarder in the right corner. Yes, Keller has been one of the offensive standouts the first two days.

Another nice Clemens throw came in the two-minute drill when he hit David Clowney deep down the right sideline in stride. Clowney had blown past Dwight Lowery at the line but Clowney, after catching the ball, did not score, knocked out at the 1 for a 59-yard pickup. The following three plays did not yield a touchdown from the 1. Lowery used the end zone sideline well against Marcus Henry on a fade – he made a nice catch but he was well out of bounds – on first down and Ahmad Carroll dropped what should have been an interception in the back of the end zone on second down. Lowery covered Brad Smith well on third down and the offense settled for a short field goal. Still, Clemens overall had a good day.

* Pennington was solid in the 11-on-11’s, twice hitting Jerricho Cotchery, who had several drops Thursday, with a pair of strong intermediate throws over the middle (10-15 yards) in his first two-minute situation. And in a 7-on-7 red zone drill, Pennington threw a beautiful timing pass to the right corner of the end zone, where Brad Smith made the catch despite tight coverage provided by Darrelle Revis. Pennington also connected with Chansi Stuckey on a 15-yarder over the middle, a ball that only the receiver had a chance to get. The Stuckey/Smith battle for No. 3 receiver is going to be a good one. Stuckey has continued what he did in OTAs/minicamp - which means catching just about everything - but Smith, limited during those offseason activities, has caught almost everything thus far as well (yes, that's a poorly constructed sentence).

* Thomas Jones looks like a beast and Leon Washington can’t seem to be tackled in the open field. If there’s a smallest of gaps in the offensive line, Jones is exploiting it. No one will benefit more – besides the quarterbacks of course – than the improved offensive line play than Jones, who looks plenty motivated. And getting Washington the ball in space, whether on screens or on dump shots over the middle, could be a nightmare for opposing teams. There’s just a burst whenever he touches the ball, whether on a swing pass or returning a kick.

* Some more on the running backs: Musa Smith and Jesse Chatman were both on the practice field after missing Thursday on the non-football injury list (basically meaning they passed their physicals). Also a Danny Woodhead update because who isn’t rooting for this guy? Woodhead again received a lot of carries and work on special teams, though he was helped off the field late in the practice by Jones and Tony Richardson. We should have an update on him tomorrow morning. Woodhead, despite taking some shots going into the line, has not yet fumbled.

* After tomorrow morning’s practice, we’ll start focusing a bit on the defense, Kris Jenkins in particular. Two days in, though, I will tell you if he stays at his current weight, Jenkins will prove to be a significant upgrade over you-know-who in the middle. And yes, Vernon Gholston was out there today, lining up as an outside linebacker with the second team. He did not have a tremendous amount of reps, though I counted twice where he lined up on the left and quickly got into the backfield.