USAT: Jets Wire audio clip

USAT: Jets Wire

Feb 4, 2022

Robert Saleh is focused on the mental side of football as he evaluates players at the 2022 Senior Bowl. - He and the Jets have been coaching the National Team this week. Saleh is intently watching to see how these draft prospects respond to two things: learning a new playbook and dealing with adversity. - “The biggest thing is going to be mental – [the players’] ability to absorb the playbook,” Saleh said Wednesday. “So, we bring in a playbook that’s not so hard that they can’t get it – because you only get a week – but we also don’t want it to be so easy where you don’t get the information you need with whether or not they can absorb the information you’re giving them.” - Saleh compared Senior Bowl week to that of a typical NFL week: the game plan fluctuates as the players learn the strengths and weaknesses of their opponent before final decisions are made before the game. So, while the team prepares for a game, Saleh and his staff will look to see which players take in more information and then put it into practice on the field. - Not everything will go according to plan, which is the other side of the mental coin Saleh wants to see from the prospects. What will a player do when something goes wrong? Will they wilt under the pressure or step up and correct their mistakes? - “There’s going to be adversity for these kids this week. Someone’s going to drop a ball, they’re going to miss a block,” Saleh said. “I mean, think about the pressure that’s on all these young men to perform their job. And under this light, under this pressure, when they make a mistake what do they look like, how do they respond?” - Physical attributes and fundamental development are easy traits to observe and understand. Game and practice tape explains most of that pretty plainly for coaches. But the mental side of the game is what intrigues Saleh the most, and this is the perfect week for him and the Jets to get in the weeds with players they could draft at the end of April. - - List - - What have Jets' impending free agents said about potential returns? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Email - - - - - Sign up - - - - - - - - Like this article? - Sign up for the Jets Wire email newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning - - - - An error has occured - - - Please re-enter your email address. - - - - - - Thanks for signing up! - - - You'll now receive the top Jets Wire stories each day directly in your inbox.

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