On a refreshingly cool, gray morning to start August, Jets HC Aaron Glenn scripted a training camp practice loaded with game-like situations that his team will encounter in September. Quarterback Justin Fields was up to the challenge, playing his best ball of camp.

"I thought practice was one of our better practices," Glenn said. "And the reason why is we had a number of situations that are very critical for us especially on the offensive end of understanding exactly how you have to operate in those situations. I thought our offense did a really good job of that -- not saying the defense was bad. But I thought our offense executed the way they need to execute and we're going to continue those things."

Situation 1: 26-20, First-and-10 at the Plus-41, :31 Seconds Remaining in the Fourth Quarter
After securing the snap, Fields moved right, squared up and threw across his body to WR Tyler Johnson. The connection went for 25 yards and was followed by a timeout. On the ensuing play, Fields surveyed the landscape and found rookie TE Mason Taylor in the middle of the field. He delivered a perfect ball and Taylor secured the catch to complete a two-play drive with time to spare.

"Command, understanding exactly where the ball needs to go," Glenn said of Fields' performance. "And probably more than anything, understanding the situation in those situational periods and making sure he gets the ball out of his hands so we can get some points."

Situation 2: 23-20, First-and-10 at Plus-48, :44 Seconds Remaining
In a groove, Fields displayed his touch with a pass to WR Josh Myers and quickly got the offense on the move again. Already in field-goal range, Fields threw short to WR Garrett Wilson and the receiver was stopped by LB Jamien Sherwood. After RB Breece Hall picked up a few yards following an inside handoff, Fields delivered a sideline rope to Jeremy Ruckert and the tight end got his feet down before going out of bounds. Then on first-and-goal from the 8, Fields couldn't find an open receiver before throwing it away. With just a couple of seconds on the clock, K Nick Folk came on with the field-goal unit for a simulated chip shot.

"He's a competitor," Ruckert said of Fields. "I've been seeing it since we were back at Ohio State. He's a competitor, he wants to win and he likes being counted out. He likes the challenge of going against a defense like this. He's calm, he's poised. But at the end of the day, he's a competitor and he wants to win in everything he does and that's kind of what you want in a quarterback and rally behind that, be where he wants you to be and make those plays for him."

Situation 3: 27-21, Third-and-10 at the Plus-17, :24 Seconds Remaining
Rookie WR Arian Smith immediately won off the line and QB Tyrod Taylor recognized the opportunity immediately. Taylor put it on the money and Smith got the rock before rookie CB Azareye'h Thomas could close. One play and the offense had the lead.

Final Situation: 10-10, :13 Seconds Remaining in Second Quarter
The defense pushed back as S Andre Cisco recorded a PD, nullifying a Fields attempt to Reynolds. Then Fields went back to Reynolds but CB Sauce Gardner made a nice read, jumped in front of the veteran wideout and nearly recorded an INT.

"I think focusing on those situations is only going to help us offensively and defensively," Ruckert said. "I thought we did a pretty good job offensively. Obviously, there are things to clean up but working on these things now when we're tired and it's physical and it's hard is going to make it less to think about and less to worry about when it's real and the bullets are flying. I thought we did a good job. Like I said, there are things to clean up but overall executed pretty well. The stuff is making sense to us. We're understanding what they want from us, and the situations are clear. Playing situational football is what the NFL is all about, getting in those high-stress situations and executing is all you really want to do right now."

Injury Updates
DT Quinnen Williams (calf), LG John Simpson (back) and rookie S Malachi Moore (oblique strain) did not participate in practice. HC Aaron Glenn told reporters that Williams and Simpson are expected to miss a week or two.

"He's actually had this injury before," Glenn said of Williams. "So, he understands exactly how he has to operate and make sure he goes through the process of getting it healed. He'll be just fine."

Second-year RB Braelon Allen, who had missed the previous two practices with knee soreness, returned to action and had a busy morning with several rush attempts.

Arian Smith and Qwan'tez Stiggers Step Up
In addition to his late touchdown, rookie Arian Smith was on the receiving end of 60-plus -+yard pass from Justin Fields. While Fields probably would have been sacked on a blitz, he threw a beautiful moon ball over Smith's shoulder, and he hauled it in as Sauce Gardner closed for the PD. There was a post-whistle lesson as well as the Georgia product was flagged by an official excessive celebration.

"I thought he really did a good job," Aaron Glenn said of Smith's production. "And he's continuing to improve. He's not where he needs to be, but he's doing a really good job for us. Obviously, you speed out there with that player but the thing that shows up to me more than anything is his ability to catch the ball in traffic and also his ability to understand exactly who he needs to attack when it comes to blocking and being pretty physical when it comes to that aspect."

Tyrod Taylor, one of the best long-ball throwers in the NFL, lofted a long spiral that rookie Quentin Skinner hauled in for a 50-plus-yard score in a team session. In his first late-game situation, Taylor drove the offense down inside the 10 and faced a fouth-and-1 with just 6 seconds on the clock. The defense applied immediate pressure, Taylor retreated and got the ball into the end zone, but CB Qwan'tez Stiggers sealed a win for the defense with an INT.

"He has really good coverage ability," Glenn said of Stiggers. "He's tough, he understands where he needs to be in zone and man, you just see him mature from OTAs through now. It's been really good and I told him that the other day actually that he's really improving and don't rest on your laurels right now. Someitmes when you hear the head coach come and tell you that you are doing well -- that's when you think you made it. I want those guys not to think like that at all. You still have more to do. He's still a young player, so we're looking forward to see how he progresses through camp."

Jetcetera
During the second team period, S Jaylin Simpson was in perfect position to intercept a Brady Cook pass intended for WR Malachi Corley and return the ball for a pick-6, but he was unable to come down with the ball. … DL Micheal Clemons and S Tony Adams had would-be sacks of QB Justin Fields, while CB Kris Boyd had a would-be sack of Cook.

The tight ends got involved in the receiving game with Stone Smartt, Jeremy Ruckert, Mason Taylor and Neal Johnson all recording receptions. … QB Adrian Martinez fired a 50-plus-yard pass to WR Jamaal Pritchett who made an impressive grab with DB Tanner McCalister in coverage. … DL Rashad Weaver continued his strong training camp performance, chasing down Fields on a scramble during the first team period and later batting down a Tyrod Taylor pass attempt.

The Jets return to the practice field Saturday morning for their annual Green & White practice. "It will be a pseudo-scrimmage where it's going to be move the ball," HC Aaron Glenn said. "We might have a couple of live periods in there, but it will be the first group going against the second group, the first group going against the first group, threes against the threes. But I'm going to try to make it more game-like as we can. We need to make start making sure we get into that mode."