A month out from his second professional training camp with the Jets, quarterback Bryce Petty has a better understanding of Chan Gailey's offense. In order to become a successful NFL passer though, Petty knows his learning must extend well beyond his side of the ball.
"As far as my graduation process, to me it's pre-snap," Petty said. "[Last year] I was thinking about what our play was instead of just reading the defense. I think that pre-snap is that next level up and I'm getting there. I'm starting to see things a lot better, the ball is coming out a lot quicker and I just feel better about the whole process."
While a more complete evaluation won't come until later this summer, quarterbacks coach Kevin Patullo has already seen mental improvements in Petty's game.
"He's grown with the offense," Patullo said this spring. "So his knowledge of what's happening and being able to call plays and just talk through things on film of what happened on the field, just his reaction to things has grown. It's like a foreign language when you first learn it in year one, so year two you should be better – and he is."
Petty, who set 31 records at Baylor including an NCAA record 1.8% career interception rate. During the spring, Petty led the second-team offense and felt like he took a step forward.
"Really just the whole time being in there I felt way more comfortable," Petty said. "Just scripts, getting in and out of huddles, defenses, throws, knowing to expect, the whole nine yards."
