NOTHING SPECIAL
Kicking, return units let down Gang Green again
The Jets’ special teams unit was in midseason form Friday night. Unfortunately, it was their 2017 form, when they had one of the worst groups in the NFL.
In the first half alone, coach Brant Boyer’s unit allowed a punt return for a touchdown and a 35yard return. It fumbled a kickoff return, committed four penalties — some of which put the offense in poor field position — and missed an extra point in a 22-16 loss to the Giants at MetLife Stadium.
In other words, it was a disaster, emblematic of the poor special teams play in recent years.
Last season, Pro Football Focus, the analytics web site, rated the group 22nd in the league, and FootballOutsiders.com had them 25th. And that was with quality kicker Chandler Catanzaro, who left via free agency for the Buccaneers, and valuable special teams performer Rontez Miles, who has a torn meniscus and potentially could miss the entire season.
Catanzaro’s replacement is unknown at the moment, after Cairo Santos was released this week, unable to kick because of a nagging groin injury.
“Disappointed in the fact that there were some people who had a chance to shine and try to make this team,” Jets coach Todd Bowles said. “They had an opportunity and given the opportunity ... some of them didn’t fare too well.”
It began rocky, when Hunter Sharp took a low Lachlan Edwards punt 55 yards to the house in the first quarter and had to break just a single tackle. But Bowles didn’t fault Edwards’s kick or blame him for the Giants averaging 20.7 yards on seven punt returns.
“It doesn’t matter how you kick them. We have to cover them,” Bowles said. “We’ve got 10 guys out there to cover. We’ve got to cover kicks and everybody has to be where they need to be. You make this team by [playing] special teams, so you have to make tackles. It has nothing to do with the punt.”
On the ensuing kickoff, a holding penalty on Josh Martin backed the Jets up inside their own 20-yardline. Early in the second quarter, following a Sam Darnold to Terrelle Pryor touchdown pass, a Jonotthan Harrison false start nullified Taylor Bertolet’s extra point, and he missed the following attempt.
It didn’t get better from there. Rookie Trenton Cannon’s struggles holding onto the ball continued — he has also muffed two punts this preseason — as he was drilled on a kickoff return and coughed it up, leading to a Giants field goal. Following that field goal, another special teams penalty on a kickoff — a 15-yard unnecessary roughness on Eric Tomlinson — pinned the Jets deep again.
The Jets avoided any major gaffes in the second half. Of course, they had several weeks full of them in the first 30 minutes.