The new coaching staff of first-year head coach Aaron Glenn continues the fine-tuning of their units, and offensive coordinator Tanner Engstrand, a naturally optimistic fellow, is happy with how the Jets offense has been developing after a strong game in the win at Green Bay and one more inconsistent showing in the loss to the Giants.
"We're making progress," Engstrand said before Wednesday's final practice of training camp before wrapping the preseason schedule against Philadelphia. "We feel we're in a good spot right now. Guys are really responding to what we're asking them to do every day, and so we feel really good about that. We're excited about our players and looking forward to Friday night to see those guys perform."
And when the Jets are talking about seeing offensive players performing, No. 1 on that list is No. 7. Justin Fields may or may not see action against the Eagles, but Engstrand has the same positive feeling about how his starting quarterback is internalizing the new scheme.
"His mind is like a steel trap," Engstrand said of Fields. "We tell him something once and it's locked in there. He doesn't forget it and he knows it. I didn't know him before we got here, and that's something that has been really impressive to me."
Which means that the OC is pleased with introducing wrinkles into the scheme that perhaps the QB hasn't executed before in his four previous pro seasons.
"We're always going to do what the players do best, what they excel at," he said. "But there are also things in our system that Justin may or may not have done before, or that I know he hasn't done better, that we're challenging him to see if he can do them. So far, he's shown he can do that."
And Engstrand is also good with something that Fields has of course done before and that all NFL quarterbacks, regardless of their running skills, need to master, which is the dropback game.
"I really like where Justin's at right now with the dropback passing concepts," he said. "He understands what we're trying to do, what we're trying to attack, where the ball needs to go. And I think every day we're showing progress, from Justin and the other quarterbacks and then just everybody being on the same page with the passing game. So I think we're good."
Good can be a relative term for any offense going up against defenses of differing quality, not to mention playing in the often rookie-scrimmage feel of a final preseason game. But whether the starters go or not vs. the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, the twos and threes will be the ones doing the heavy lifting as they make their final arguments for earning a spot on the Jets' final 53-player roster. The OC's counsel to his young players:
"Don't do anything out of the ordinary. You just have to do what the play asks of you, because when you start trying to do a little bit too much, things can maybe go a little bit sideways."
And for all the Jets' offensive players in their dress rehearsal for Sept. 7 and opening day against visiting Pittsburgh, a last word would be to continue to display those traits they've been working on since the start of OTAs.
"We want to be a tough, physical, violent football team, and that's what we want to show on offense," Engstrand said. "We want that to show up every day. We're really going to try to put our players in the best positions possible to do the things they're really good at, and that's what you're going to see, I think, on a weekly basis. But it's going to start with that physical attitude that we want to show."
