very possible candidate: http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2016/01/first_possible_candidate_for_jets_special_teams_co.html Keith Armstrong played at Temple with Bowles. Jets were interested last year, but were denied permission to speak with him by the Falcons, where he has been ST coordinator since '08
I was on the kick team, kick return team, and punt team on JV in high school. Makes me more qualified than April.
Look, I'm not going to get too buried in the, 'what if' debate but... I have to believe we would have clinched a playoff spot by week 15 with decent special teams play. Being genuinely nervous having to punt or kick off every time is torture. The reverse of that is knowing I can take a piss every time the Jets were set to receive; knowing full well there was a better chance of Obama joining the NRA than Kerley taking one to the house.
Why would they give us permission this year? And it said the Falcons ranked only three spots better than us WITH Hester (albeit out of his prime... I'm a bit confused here. I'd love to see us steal a page out of the Ravens playbook and hire a kicking game coach. They're still the only NFL franchise that employs one and hmm big surprise they have one of the best kickers and punters in the NFL.
I recall Hester taking one home against the Jets. I couldn't even get mad...it's Hester. Edit: just remembered it was the preseason.
Kerley took one back 58 yards and was 14th in the NFL at 8.6 yards per return (2nd in the NFL in punt return yards at 411), only 3.4 yards behind the league leader. For everyone who was up his ass about fair catches, he had 8 more returns than anyone in the NFL. The hate he gets is ridiculous. I'd consider him in the upper echelon of the league in terms of returners because there is 0 chance he's going to drop the punt or fumble. C'mon guys.
Jim Leonhard was also good at that,He was also never gonna take one to the house either.We need a guy who's an actual threat
Do we? How many teams have a threat at punt returner every year? 4 to 6 teams? It's not something we should spend a ton of resources on. If a guy is there late than you certainly take him like the Seahawks did with Lockett or look for an UDFA. It's not really imperative for a great team to have though.
While I can see why you presumed what I wrote was a dig on Kerley it wasn't. You won't find a bigger advocate for him than me. I think he's a fantastic receiver. My post was intended to point out the failure at special teams as a unit. It was never exciting to watch the Jets return. The blocking and possibly scheming from April is partially to blame I'm sure.
April was actually special teams coach of the year in 04 and 08,Not sure if it was a depth thing or what but April was suppose to be one of the better special teams coaches.I don't like staff changes every year so I hope this isn't gonna be a yearly trend like the Rex era.Woody seems to feel the need to have a scape goat every year,I wonder who made this call Bowles or Mac
So much for wanting Westhoff back lol Guy just ripped the coaching staff: "A day after the organization fired special-teams coordinator Bobby April after one season, the former assistant coach expressed zero interest in returning to the Jets’ sideline. “No, I don’t. I really don’t,” Westhoff said Thursday during an ESPN New York radio interview. “I told a general manager who offered me a job two years ago . . . Forget it, I’m not coming back. Thanks for asking.” On Thursday, Westhoff took a shot at the Jets for using April as a scapegoat. “I don’t like the fact that only after one year you would fire Bobby April,” he said. “I know him, but it’s not like this is a friend of mine. I’m very disappointed in the fact that happened. Frankly, I’ll tell you exactly how I feel. I think it’s cowardice. And that’s a one-word synonym for the two-word phrase I really think.” The TV-radio analyst also said the Jets had other issues, namely on defense, that contributed to some of their key losses. “You can’t let Buffalo beat you twice, guys, if you think you’re good enough to play in the playoffs. You can’t do that,” Westhoff said. “But anyways, what [April’s firing] says to me is: ‘Well, we’ve got to blame somebody. So, let’s blame these guys.’ Yes, they did have a tough year. It wasn’t a good year. “But nonetheless, they made tremendous moves as a staff when they came in and how they fortified this football team . . . They made a lot of moves and they did a good job. But they didn’t do anything with special teams. They did nothing. Zero. So why would you think it’d be that good? “Maybe if there were some things we don’t know, maybe some mandates that they asked and didn’t get done. Well, then I understand that. But you know, you gave the guy a chance, you gave him one year and you didn’t do anything to help him out. What makes you think all of a sudden they’re going to be pretty good? It’s not going to happen.”
Armstrong's contract is expiring with the Falcons, so he's essentially a FA now. i don't know anything about him really, so hard to say if it would be an upgrade. what do the Ravens have, a dedicated kicking coach? we had Louie Aguiar here a couple years ago as asst ST coach.. i assume he was focused on the kickers. agreed with it being a good idea.
http://www.baltimoreravens.com/team...46f6-98a3-6df1e7e31e81?qwr=fullsite_temporary Apparently he's also the mayor of Evesham, NJ which from what I'm gathering is a town in southern jersey. Justin Tucker's kicking career speaks to it... AND he's got a hot ginger wife.
