“Reading the ball off of the foot is just like reading the ball off of the bat.”

That’s how Jim Leonhard views punt returning.

“I give a lot of credit to growing up playing baseball,” Leonhard said from the Jets locker room on Friday. “You develop that hand/eye coordination and you get comfortable catching the ball on the run during baseball. That’s helped my returning skills.”

“Ground and Pound” has become a common Jets phrase since Rex Ryan came on board back in January. But just a few days before kickoff, Leon Washington asked about the slogan’s origin.

“Who came up with that?” he said.

When Washington was told it was the rookie head coach himself, he smiled. The Jets’ most explosive weapon is eager to see how the philosophy will be implemented in the club… More

In the Routine Excellence Department, Leon Washington had another strong showing in the preseason victory over the Giants. Before it gets lost in the buildup to the Thursday night Meadowlands visit by the Philadelphia Eagles and a certain backup quarterback, we wanted to give Leon kudos for his 174 all-purpose yards on Saturday night.

Since 1990, just five Jets have registered 170 or more APY in… More

The Jets held their annual Green & White Scrimmage at SUNY Cortland tonight, and while head coach Rex Ryan’s defense is still ahead of his offense, a surprisingly large crowd of 6,100 came to the grass field outside the college’s stadium to watch a QB competition even further.

“The quarterbacks showed some poise in there and delivered the ball,” Ryan said after his first big event of training… More

No fisticuffs at this afternoon’s special teams practice, just a lot of focus on special situations that could arise during the season.

But first, two transactions.

The Jets announced they have acquired tight end Kevin Brock on waivers from Carolina, and consequently the team has released TE Richard Owens.

Brock, another Rutgers and New Jersey product — he played with LBs Jamaal Westerman and… More