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Jets coach Todd Bowles already in damage control mode – and there's still hefty QB issues

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – When someone informed New York Jets coach Todd Bowles on Saturday that his oft-maligned quarterbacks had yet to throw an interception in training camp, he playfully stepped on it.

"Shhhhh," Bowles said in a near whisper. "Don't say anything."

Don't jinx Bowles. He doesn't need it. Not now. It's been only a few days in camp, and he's already well ahead of the preseason quota on headaches. From Sheldon Richardson's July arrest, to rookie Devin Smith's injuries, to Muhammad Wilkerson's contract and tweaked hamstring, to a right guard situation that's up in the air, Bowles has been engaged in a troubleshooting marathon.

Sheldon Richardson may get more games tacked on to his four-game suspension. (AP)
Sheldon Richardson may get more games tacked on to his four-game suspension. (AP)

Oh, and lest he forget, there's the whole quarterback situation, which needs to get a whole lot better – quickly.

Mercifully, the Jets have a coach who seems to have endless patience (at the moment), not to mention some experience with the unexpected. He had a front-row seat during his last two years as the Arizona Cardinals' defensive coordinator, when he watched All-Pro linebacker Daryl Washington flunk drug tests in back-to-back seasons. Those failures cost the player four games in 2013 and the entire 2014 season, a span that also included Washington being arrested and eventually pleading guilty to the aggravated assault of his ex-girlfriend. So yeah, Bowles has dealt with some chaos.

"I got a full flux of it in Arizona the past two years," he said. "With Daryl Washington [getting suspended] the first year, and the second year, losing a lot of guys on offense and defense as well as two quarterbacks. So these are things you adjust with. That's why you have to make sure everyone on the roster is ready to play."

That's what the Jets are trying to do right now, first shuffling the defense to deal with the loss of Richardson, who may have a significant number of games attached to his current four-game substance abuse suspension. There are clearly some trust issues lingering, after Richardson was charged with resisting arrest and multiple traffic violations after allegedly being clocked driving his Bentley 143 miles per hour. Richardson also had a 12-year-old in the car, which police said smelled of marijuana, and a loaded handgun.

If that wasn't bad enough, Richardson didn't tell anyone with the Jets that the July 14 incident happened. Sixteen days later, they found out anyway when a St. Louis media report hit the Internet. You can imagine how that goes over with your head coach and general manager when something falls out of the sky about one of your already-suspended cornerstone players, and it contains the quartet of an insanely speeding car, a child, a loaded gun and an indication of drugs having been present.

Oh, and the news breaks the day of your first training camp practice.

Todd Bowles is entering his first season as Jets head coach. (AP)
Todd Bowles is entering his first season as Jets head coach. (AP)

"That was something that was disappointing, very disappointing," Jets general manager Mike Maccagnan said. "… There is a degree of trust that has been broken, but we are supportive of him and there are a lot of resources in this building that we want to make available to him. Our doors are always open. There definitely has to be a better line of communication between Sheldon and us, but we are going to do everything in our power just to help him not just as a football player develop, but make sure he's doing the right things off the field."

That's a remarkably compassionate reaction to a ridiculously embarrassing situation. One that was fully endorsed by Bowles, who has a distinct calmness about himself with the New York media. Certainly, the issue remains unresolved, but the Jets and their brain trust disarmed the situation about as best they could.

That might be what is as impressive as anything else with the Jets right now. It's too early to know how most of their problems are going to shake out. The quarterback situation won't have a real temperature until they play a few preseason games. Right guard? Maybe the team will find a number that works with free agent Evan Mathis. Smith? It's a tough rookie injury that you deal with. Wilkerson? They'll keep working on the contract, right up to the regular season. The offense is maybe 40 percent installed, and the defense is right there with them.

That's a lot of unknowns. But what we have seen is how Bowles and Maccagnan have dealt with a rough start to the preseason – with total composure. Richardson was demoted to second-team snaps and will be extended as much help as he wants in his personal life. Wilkerson will be handled with kid gloves as the two sides work to get something done. Smith? You move the next man up for 1-2 months and do your best to get the rookie back on the field.

And quarterbacks Geno Smith and Ryan Fitzpatrick? No interceptions in camp?

"I don't know how impressed you're going to be [with that]," Bowles said. "You know, it's nice, but you aren't going to sit there and fly the flag."

Perfect answer in an imperfect start. And lest anyone get too alarmed that maybe Bowles is looking too laid back, he's got some assurances about that, too. Just give it time.

"If you want to hear me yell and scream, you probably need to come in some of the meetings," Bowles said. "I have a Hulk-ish mentality. If I get pissed off too much, it goes over the top. Now it's [early], there's nothing to get other than corrections. You curse some on the field and get a little excited. But not too high, not too low."

With that in mind, here are some other observations from camp …

Rookie playing a role

Outside linebacker Lorenzo Mauldin. The Jets' third-round pick out of Louisville showed during blocking drills that he packs a wallop. He explodes off the snap and strikes hard. I also noticed during my visit that he was getting a solid amount of individual instruction from the coaching staff, too. No surprise there, as he has a chance to eat into the playing time of Calvin Pace, who is in the winter of his career in Year 13. There has been some scuttlebutt about Pace potentially being a bubble player if Mauldin wins the job, but that seems unnecessary with Pace's manageable salary ($2.25 million) for 2015. More likely Pace would stick around as injury insurance.

Veteran fighting for a job

Cornerback Dee Milliner. I doubt Milliner will get cut in the preseason, unless he is atrocious in exhibition games. But Milliner is certainly fighting for his 2016 salary ($675,000 base and a $1.45 million roster bonus, an additional $1.897 million will count against the salary cap as part of his prorated signing bonus). Right now, Milliner is fourth on the cornerback depth chart behind Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie and Buster Skrine. He's also coming off an Achilles injury. Milliner returned to full practice last week looking healthy and even made a play on a deep ball in his first practice. Perhaps more important, he has been glued to Revis. That's the smartest decision he could make at this stage. I'm not convinced Milliner is a scrap-heap player just yet. Injuries happen. He could still get an opportunity. And other teams are still watching. With some flashes, he could still be a trade commodity next offseason.

Key guy in a contract year

Defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson. Running backs Chris Ivory and Stevan Ridley are also playing for deals next season, but Wilkerson is the one angling for a massive payday. He tweaked his hamstring Sunday, but the Jets didn't seem too panicked about it. And it will help that he can spend all of Monday in treatment during an off day for the players. As for his contract, there's still a likelihood that something gets done before the season. General manager Mike Maccagnan said that a new deal for Wilkerson has been a priority since before the draft. The two sides are still solidly apart, and Wilkerson's intent is to play through the season without a deal if it can't be squared away by Week 1. The Jets have the franchise tag but aren't being vocal about that threat, which suggests the situation hasn't deteriorated yet. Needless to say, if Wilkerson hit the free-agent market (which he won't), he'd be an elite free agent.

Going for one extra point (OK, two …) 

1) The broken ribs and partially punctured lung suffered by second-round pick Devin Smith is a rough setback. The rookie was expected to push for the No. 3 wideout spot and could have been valuable on special teams as well. Now he'll sit 4-6 weeks, meaning he'll miss (at best) almost all of the preseason. That's crushing for a player who needs development in his game beyond the deep ball. Make no mistake, this isn't like New York Giants wideout Odell Beckham Jr. last season. Beckham lost the preseason and start of the regular season to a hamstring issue. But his game was far more developed prior to the injury.

Smith needs a lot of individual work and would have gotten the lion's share of his 1-on-1 instruction in August. Now he'll have to struggle to make up that ground in the regular season. In turn, it opens up some opportunities for veteran Jeremy Kerley and Chris Owusu. Owusu in particular made some nice plays on Saturday.

2) The person most responsible for the "CHEATERS LOOK UP" banner that flew over the opening day of New England Patriots training camp? Jason Koeppel – the president of NYJetsFans.com. The 35-year-old is about what you would expect from a diehard. His parents have had season tickets his entire life and he has missed only one Jets home game in the last 27 years.

Koeppel told Yahoo Sports that it cost less than $1,000 (maybe closer to $800) to make the banner happen. That and a little bit of planning was a small price to pay to needle your biggest rival.

"We kept it a secret because we knew that we couldn't trust any Boston-based company to pull it off," Koeppel said. "So we had our guy Ashley Chalmers from Jersey Shore Aerial fly up. It was not easy to pull off. He had to find a Boston area airport to allow him to land his plane and attach the banner. He had to promise that the message on it was nothing negative. … We saw reactions right away. People started tweeting the pics and Pats trolls lost their minds on all of our social media pages."

Without a doubt, it was a memorable moment in the rivalry between two of the NFL's most committed fan bases. And if Patriots faithful plan to retaliate, Koeppel said he welcomes it.

"We are happy to go toe to toe with them," he said. "It is fun and all a part of the rivalry. But if I were them, I wouldn't go there."