The Jets had a light practice Tuesday as they prepare for their final joint practice Wednesday against the Giants.
QB Aaron Rodgers, LB C.J. Mosley and LT Tyron Smith all had rest days. The starters did not take any team reps coming off a heavy workload Monday. QB Tyrod Taylor led the second team in the two team periods as the players were without pads.
"You know, we've done a lot of things differently this year with regards to reps and practice and all that," HC Robert Saleh said. "I feel like we're in a really good spot. We just got to finish off strong."
Saleh spoke earlier in camp about the team's new approach. He didn't detail the changes, but said it resulted in more reps for the starters. Rodgers has been a fan of the new structure.
"I had a little insight coming into camp that that's what Robert wanted to do," Rodgers said. "I think it's been good for us. There's a lot of different schools of thought. There's always people you can scapegoat as far as injuries and different things, but I think some of the older guys enjoy the, to steal a coaching word, the callous part of training camp where you're kind of grinding. Some people believe that although it puts more strain on you in training camp, it actually gets you more ready to play when the season starts and then some people believe the opposite.
"I give Robert a lot of credit because he, from the start of the offseason, said it'll be a tough training camp. I think it's been a lot of reps for the ones. He told me the other day we were somewhere in the neighborhood of 300 more reps at this point in camp than last year and it feels like it, but it's good. I think it's going to allow us to maybe be a little more ready."
Look Ahead to Practice with the Giants
Wednesday will be the second time the Jets and Giants will practice with Robert Saleh and Brian Daboll coaching the teams. The Giants hosted the Green & White two years ago, Daboll's first with New York.
"I have a great appreciation for Daboll and his staff," Saleh said. "You're always going to compete the same, but the most important thing is that we get good, clean work together and we're productive in that manner. It's fun going because you see them so much. But far as like a rivalry and competitive edge, unless it's a regular season game like it was a year ago, they it may not count it, but it matters. But they all matter."
Wednesday will be a good litmus test of the Jets offensive line. The Giants DL is led by Pro Bowl DT Dexter Lawrence and a pair of talented young pass rushers in Kayvon Thibodeaux (11.5 sacks last season), drafted No. 5 overall in 2022, and Brian Burns (8 sacks), who was acquired via trade from the Panthers in the offseason.
"Just want them to compete," Saleh said of his new look OL. "The Giants have a really good front. Felt like they did a really good job in the game against us last year. Just compete, strain, do the best you can and whatever the result is, that will be the result."
The matchup to watch on defense is if Jets All-Pro CB Sauce Gardner and Giants first-round pick rookie wideout Malik Nabers, drafted No. 6 overall out of LSU, line up against each other.
"I'll be honest with you, we're not game planning the group," Saleh said. "We're just working our techniques, our fundamentals. They do have a really good group, much improved over a year ago. I know Nabers just from studying him in the draft. He is a dynamic football player, but we're looking forward to competing with those guys straight up to see what we need to coach off of."
