07/24 — The standout play in what was a pretty mundane morning practice of training camp (hey, it’s the first one) was a Danny Woodhead run.

Woodhead, the rookie running back, took the handoff and shot through a hole off left guard for a couple of yards before being wrapped up. In those drills, which are meant to be slightly more physical than a game of two-hand touch after school, the play usually ends once the ballcarrier is corralled. But Woodhead kept plowing forward and wrenched his body from the grasp of two defensive linemen, losing his helmet in the process.

A little overzealous maybe, but coming out of Chadron State and being 5'7", that’s the kind of grit that has gotten him this far and the kind he’ll have to continue to show. Well, that and his 4.35 40 speed.

“I tried to hit the hole as hard as I could and wanted to keep the legs driving,” said Woodhead, who idolized Barry Sanders. “It got a little physical, but you’ve still got to be a football player.”

He succeeded in turning heads, which is a good start.

The standout play on defense, if you’re wondering, was an Eric Barton interception of a Kellen Clemens pass over the middle.

A Rookie on his First Day

Tight end Dustin Keller, the second of the Jets’ two first-round picks, didn’t distinguish himself in practice — “He looked like a rookie on his first day,” coach Eric Mangini said — but he showed his versatility and looked comfortable running routes.

Keller, who was arguably the Jets’ biggest off-season addition to the offensive skill positions, was used at tight end, in the slot and out wide. He wasn’t thrown to much, but he ran good routes. He was billed as an athletic, dynamic tight end, and that’s what he looked like.

“I’m bouncing around here and there, so it’s important for me to learn a lot of stuff,” said Keller, whom the Jets traded up to 30th overall to select. “I like being split out because I’ve got the strength advantage over a [defensive back] and I also think I’ve got an advantage with speed when I’m lined up with my hand in the dirt.”

His blocking, which was a highlighted weakness coming out of college, was spotty at times, and he admitted as much.

“Blocking is definitely the biggest thing I have to get better at,” he said. “It’s coming along and I’ve been spending a lot of time with Bubba Franks and [Jason] Pociask, trying to pick their brains for tips.”

Rhodes Throws His Weight Around

Kerry Rhodes, in attempt to improve his leverage and be more stout, added 10 pounds of muscle in the off-season, bringing him up to 220.

The strong safety had five interceptions and 10 pass deflections last season but felt he needed to bulk up to become a more solid tackler and better defend the run in eight-man fronts. In that regard, the extra muscle should help him get better at shedding blocks.

It also helps when he’s covering Bubba Franks (6'6", 270) in practice. Rhodes had him in single coverage a couple of times and played him tight, once swatting a pass from behind on a quick out route.

He assured that the added weight wouldn’t come at the expense of any speed.

“You don’t want to get bigger to just be big,” said Rhodes, adding that he also wants to improve in coverage and get more interceptions. “I did a lot of workouts to maintain the speed.”

He actually threw out a number for the interceptions: nine. If he’s able to improve his tackling and haul in nine picks, there’s no way he could be denied a Pro Bowl selection again. Maybe.

It's Miller Time Again

Justin Miller, returning from a knee injury that had him shelved for 14 games last season, looked good in practice. He was thinner and showed the speed that made him a Pro Bowl kick returner in 2006. On one pass play, he locked up Laveranues Coles on a go route. Miller was stride for stride with the receiver and forced him toward the sidelines (there was contact, but not enough for him to get flagged had it been a game).