Geno Smith and our offense have a few issues, but one thing that would sure help out beginning at Baltimore on Sunday is if Geno could let it fly again as he was doing in the first three games.
In that regard, here are three burning questions at wide receiver, positive answers to which would help us nail in the next panel in our picket-fence season.
What Can Get Stephen Hill Going? Rex Ryan on Monday and again today mentioned the disappointment in not being able to get Hill rolling downhill this season. Today the head coach said Hill, who's played in all 10 games, started nine, and has 23 receptions, including none the last two games, could get a reduction in playing time vs. the Ravens, but cautioned not to jump to conclusions.
"Sometimes if a guy gets X amount of snaps and all of sudden now he's not in this, he must be in the doghouse or whatever, it's really not the case," Ryan said. "We're just trying to get our guys, put them in situations where they can be successful. How many snaps that means that Stephen will take or won't take, I'm not sure. We'll let the week play out and we'll determine that."
"I just got note of it today," Hill said of a talk he had with wideouts coach Sanjay Lal. "Basically he was just straight up with me and said that some things are going to be cut down but I'm still going to get enough reps."
Hill added that the downturn in his production is not due to any pressures he's feeling, either physically or mentally.
"There's no pressing. It's just football," he said. "At this time of year everybody hurts, but I'm just taking it day by day, always making sure I'm impressing the coaches as much as I can, and doing whatever I have to do to play hard and helping out the team the best I can."
Maybe a reduction in reps — he's averaging 57 per game in all but Tennessee, when he left early with a concussion — can lead to an uptick in receptions.
Can We Get the Ball to Santonio Holmes More? The urgency here is because in and around Tone's foot rehab and his five-week hamstring rehab, he is one of the most dangerous receivers on limited receptions of the last quarter of a century.
At least that's what Holmes' 26.2-yard average on 12 catches this season might lead one to believe. That average, if it holds up for the rest of the way, would represent the highest average by an NFL wide receiver on 12 or more catches since Jesse Hester averaged 27.5 on 23 catches in 1986.
This is another case of making stats talk in tongues, perhaps, but there is no doubting that with his 33- and 38-yard catch-and-runs from Geno at Buffalo added to his five other grabs of at least 24 yards this season, Santonio's chunk plays are good for what may ail Geno and our offense.
Holmes did not participate in today's team drills, but Ryan assured that it was a rest-and-heal day and "I expect him to practice tomorrow."
Will Jeremy Kerley Return to Action? Kerley missed the Bills with his bad elbow injury against the Saints, but JK was out there today at the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center, wearing a red jersey and protection on the elbow in his limited work. No prognosis from Rex, but it would be great to get Kerley and his team-leading 28 receptions and 347 yards back if at all possible for the big bad Birds of Baltimore.
Douzable Revizited
I checked in today with Leger Douzable to see how he was holding up after being in the wrong kind of spotlight for his punt-block offsides that helped the Bills score their first touchdown. Mainly, I wanted to see if he thought he was really offsides.
"I've done enough talking about it," Douzable said pleasantly at his locker. "I just have to watch the ball, whether the guy moved the ball or not. That's just something where I felt I let some of my teammates down."
The reason I brought it up is because after watching that play about 10 times, I came to the conclusion that it was the first time in my years of football watching that I saw an entire offensive line except for the long-snapper move and the defensive guy get hit with the penalty.
LT Nigel Bradham, LG Evan Rodriguez, RG Arthur Moats and RT Ty Powell all were rocking back for the Jets' punt rush a nanosecond before Douzable appeared to move on the movement of the guards, which normally should be OK. But because he got such a great jump, ref Bill Leavy's crew hit him with offsides rather than the Bills with a group false start.
Douzable seemed to appreciate people looking out for him but he's moved on, and good for him. "I've already let it go and I'm on to Baltimore because it's a big game for us," he said.
Rex Cetera
Besides Holmes, only LB Garrett McIntyre (knee) didn't practice full today. Besides Kerley, only TE Kellen Winslow (knee) was limited. And only six other players are listed as practicing full with injuries. Our 10-player report is the shortest I-report for any day since Friday, Dec. 2, 2011, when it was also at 10 players before the game at Washington. Go here for the full Jets injury report.
The Ravens listed DT Haloti Ngata (knee) as a DNP today, with CB Lardarius Webb (abdomen) and LB Daryl Smith (thigh) as limited.
We have signed fourth-year LB Jermaine Cunningham to the active roster. He will wear No. 55. Cunningham, you'll recall, was the second-round pick of the Patriots in 2010. He played in 36 games (14 starts) and had 3.5 sacks (including a half-sack of Mark Sanchez) for the Pats from '10-12. We'll visit with Jermaine later this week for a story.
