It's another summer of getting ready for the approaching NFL season for C.J. Mosley, the 10th time in his career and his fifth in the middle of the Jets' defense. And some things never change.
"It felt good," Mosley said after Friday's non-padded training camp practice following the first week of padded practices at One Jets Drive. "You get the acclimation period going, the hype starts building up, guys get a little physical. Once you get the pads on, you get to really feel the offensive line and defensive line, the way they're blocking so you can fit up runs, and use your pads to thud up. So everything's feeling good."
As with all NFL camps for all players, there is a lot of been-there-done-that. But then there are some relatively new things to get a handle on. Mosley talked about some old and new elements when two vastly different quarterbacks were brought up in regard to different lines of inquiry: Johnny Manziel and Aaron Rodgers.
Manziel, a former first-round draft pick who was a pro QB for only parts of two seasons with Cleveland, came up in regard to a question about Mosley wearing the defensive helmet with the "green dot," meaning he's the defender who hears the calls from the sideline and communicates them to his teammates before the snap.
The green-dot helmet is an honor and a responsibility that Mosley takes pride in, and that pride goes back to his days at Alabama and to one particular game he remembered against Texas A&M and Manziel.
"It really started at Alabama and Coach Smart [Kirby Smart, then the Tide's defensive coordinator]," Mosley recalled. "We were playing Texas A&M. Once they went empty, Manziel just went crazy in the backfield. Coach told me that week, if you see this empty formation, give the defensive line the 'Omaha Iso' call. I did it in that game and it felt great, because we got the sack and I ran to the sideline and he was hyped and I was hyped. Those are the type of plays and those moments that just building your confidence as a linebacker."
Fast-forward a decade or so and Mosley is the Jets' calm, cool, confident middle linebacker. And for the second summer in a row, so it's still somewhat new to him and the Jets' D, he's matching wits with Rodgers, now 40 years old and in his 20th NFL camp. And it's pretty hard even for an old hand like C.J. to catch an old hand like A-Rod with a defensive play call, green dot or not.
"In practice, it's a little easier because Aaron uses the [play] clock. But when we're in walkthrough, he takes 35 seconds to go through checks to try to get the perfect call," Mosley said about the banter between the leaders of their respective units. "We get on him all the time. I'm sure he's going to speed it up once the games come."
But all joking aside, Mosley said, "We're all making each other better. We're trying not to show, and he's trying to see what we're doing. And if we do get a tell, now we know what we don't need to do to not show those things. That's because he's one of the best at putting his players in the right positions."
Mosley, meanwhile, is the green-dot guru at getting his teammates aligned properly. And that includes a steadily improving group at his linebackers spot. Quincy Williams, of course, is a returning All-Pro seeking his first Pro Bowl berth. And Jamien Sherwood, the captain said, "has just been getting better and better every single year."
Head coach Robert Saleh said the same about the starting three plus returnees Zaire Barnes, Chazz Surratt and Sam Eguavoen.
"It's a really cool competition in that linebackers room," Saleh said. "You look at your top three, and traditionally we keep five or six. And every single guy in that room is providing tremendous value, not only on defense but on special teams. So that is one of the cooler competitions, because they're battling."
And the summer battles aren't just in thud drills and the physical, feisty joint practices with upcoming opponents but also the cerebral battles for all players, even a seasoned vet such as Mosley.
"The main thing is just getting the study habits back," he said. "Just watching our defense to make sure I know the players are doing the right things, that's different from when I'm trying to read the steps of the running backs or see formations a certain way, to see what an offense is trying to do with their motions and shifts.
"I think that's the biggest thing for me at camp. Getting in football shape and running to the ball and all those things, but also just getting my mind right."
