After the punches were thrown, Todd Bowles didn't pull any back.
"A little sluggish, a little sloppy," Bowles said of his team's Monday workout. "Hard, but not smart."
A skirmish erupted during a team period as OLB Lorenzo Mauldin, returning to full participation, squared off against LT Kevin Beachum. Punches were thrown, but there was no damage to either man with helmets covering their heads.
"It's football. There are a lot of guys pushing each other around, so I just got a little frustrated and we paid for it by running gassers," said Mauldin.
Bowles wasn't about to let things escalate. He ordered all his players to line up and run after Mauldin and Beachum were separated.
"They need to know why they're running. They need to take onus on themselves," he said. "If they have energy to scuffle, they have energy to run. If you have energy to scuffle and run, then you should have energy to practice."
The paced picked up from there, but Bowles was not happy with the overall execution following the off day. Beachum noted this was the second time the Jets had come out slow following a day off.
"Guys have to come in more focused, understanding what's at hand, understanding what's the urgency right now," he said.
But there will be no hard feelings as the Green & White continue to move ahead.
"It's part of training camp. It is what it is," Beachum said of the fisticuffs. "We have to go back in the locker room and get into the cold tub together, so we'll be just fine."
Top Snapshots from the First Practice Following the Preseason Opener
Forté Taking It SlowVeteran RBs Matt Forte (hamstring) and Bilal Powell (neck) participated in individual drills but were again held back in team situations. Bowles said both are expected to do a little more on Tuesday if there are not setbacks.*
"It's feeling good. Not good enough to be in full practice yet, so I'm just kind of going through what the trainers tell me and easing back in. I don't want to go back out there immediately and injure it again," said *Forté, who was slowed by a tight hamstring to the same leg last year. "Hamstrings are tricky. I had one last year and came back out to practice and ended up injuring it. That's why it took multiple weeks to let it heal, so I guess that was something to learn from. This year, I have to definitely let it heal up all the way so I can get out there and not have any setbacks."
Ground GainsAfter being held to* *56 yards on 31 carries vs. the Titans, Beachum said the Jets have to be more effective on the ground.
"It's really just being more efficient in the run game, kind of let guys slip off here and there," he said. "We could have done a better job of sustaining blocks. We have to find a way to run the ball more efficiently."
Et CeteraTough break for S Doug Middleton as Bowles confirmed he has a torn pectoral muscle and will be out for some time…WR-KR Lucky Whitehead left practice early with a foot injury… While OLB Freddie Bishop, who started Saturday vs. the Titans, watched the workout with a stinger, rookie outside 'backer Dylan Donahue returned to the fray… The Jets used simulated crowd noise for the first time in camp. Bowles wants the quarterbacks to get ready for the inside environment of Ford Field in Detroit… Rookie CB Derrick Jones intercepted Bryce Petty and also got an assist on another Petty pick as one ball bounced right of his hands into the arms of fellow rookie Connor Harris… The defense dominated most of red zone action, but Petty threw back-to-back TDs to Chris Harper and Myles White… Bowles said the QB reps will even themselves out over time. McCown worked first again, but Christian Hackenberg continued to get work with the ones and Petty was third in the rotation.
