Tag: Jets special teams

4 reasons why Jets could improve on special teams in 2021

Between Braden Mann entering his second season and a healthy Sam Ficken returning, the Jets figure to be improved on special teams in 2021.

Just like the rest of the roster, Gang Green’s special teams unit left a lot to be desired in 2020.

Robert Saleh opted to retain Brant Boyer, though, giving him a chance to prove he can once again produce an elite special teams unit in 2021. Thanks to improvements made across the board throughout the offseason and some additional in-house help, there is a good chance Boyer achieves just that this upcoming season.

Here are four reasons why the Jets could look a lot better on special teams in 2021 than they did in Adam Gase’s final season at One Jets Drive.

Brant Boyer was ‘ecstatic’ when Jets signed Justin Hardee

Justin Hardee has been one of the NFL’s best gunners over the past few seasons.

Brant Boyer’s unit got some much-needed help this offseason when the Jets signed Justin Hardee.

According to Lineups.com, Boyer’s special teams unit ranked 31st in opponent punt return yards, allowing 446 of them in 2020. Punter Braden Mann bailed out the Jets’ gunners on multiple occasions, as he recorded four tackles in his rookie season. However, with Hardee aboard, there should be some stability to the gunner position.

That’s why Boyer was giddy when he heard about the signing back in March.

“I was ecstatic on that one, I have to be honest with you,” Boyer said Thursday. “We played 13 different gunners last year, so it was a real struggle. He’s been fantastic, and what he’s done is he’s taken over a leadership role in the room, and that’s what the biggest thing we needed in our room especially losing a bunch of our core guys and things like that… He’s done a great job. I expect big things out of him. Now we just need somebody to emerge at that other gunner, so they can’t double him every time and things like that, and we’ll see what happens, which I fully expect someone will do.”

Hardee has been one of the NFL’s best gunners over the past few seasons with the Saints. He ranked seventh in the NFL with 32 special teams tackles from 2017-2020. The Saints also allowed the fewest punt return yards last season (46), and Hardee played a big part in that with eight total tackles.

As a result of Hardee’s strong play with the Saints, the Jets gave him one of the top contracts in the NFL for a special teamer. New York signed Hardee to a three-year deal worth $5.25 million with $1 million guaranteed.

Boyer has high expectations for Hardee in his first season with the Jets, and rightly so. The Jets wouldn’t have signed Hardee if they didn’t think he could help improve their special teams unit. We’ll see what happens throughout the 2021 season, but Hardee should be a difference-maker for the Jets in that facet of the game.

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Jamison Crowder, Tarell Basham among Jets’ Studs & Duds in Week 16 win over Browns

Here are the Jets’ Studs and Duds in their Week 16 victory over the Cleveland Browns.

The Jets finally reclaimed their turf after losing their first seven home games of the season.

New York won its first game at MetLife Stadium this season with a 23-16 victory over the Cleveland Browns. It certainly wasn’t a pretty game, but Sam Darnold played well enough to give his team a chance to get the win. The Jets defense, meanwhile, made it difficult on the Browns offense all game, forcing two turnovers and stifling their running attack.

The win clinched the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft for the Jets. That means no Trevor Lawrence and a whole lot of questions about the quarterback position entering the offseason.

For now, though, let’s take a look at the Jets’ Studs and Duds from their Week 16 win.

Jets release kicker Brett Maher, leaving them with Sam Ficken

With Brett Maher’s release, Sam Ficken has won the Jets’ kicking competition.

The Jets’ kicking competition has come to an apparent close.

Brett Maher was released on Monday with the Donte Moncrief signing becoming official. That means Sam Ficken has won the kicking competition and will be the Jets’ place kicker in 2020.

Ficken was the Jets’ kicker for all but one game in 2019. He was 19-27 on field goal attempts last season. Ficken was strong from 20-39 yards out, only missing one field goal on 10 attempts. However, beyond 40 yards is where Ficken struggled.

Ficken was 7-11 on field goals between 40-49 yards and 3-6 on field goals from 50+ yards out. His longest make last season came from 54 yards out. On extra points, Ficken was 23-26.

Ficken has bounced around the league since going undrafted out of Penn State in 2016. He spent time with Jaguars and Chiefs in 2016 and 2017 before joining the Rams from 2017-2018. In Los Angeles, he was 3-6 on field goals.

Ficken then moved on to the Seahawks and Packers in 2019 before joining the Jets after they released Kaare Vedvik following their Week 1 game.

As for Maher, he kicked in Dallas in 2018 and 2019. He was 49-66 on field goals before ultimately getting released.

Adam Gase loves that Braxton Berrios’ play doesn’t match his size

Adam Gase thinks Braxton Berrios is a competitor despite being one of the smallest players on the team.

Despite being one of the smallest players on the Jets’ roster, wide receiver Braxton Berrios plays like he’s one of the big guys.

Berrios stands at 5-foot-9 and 190 pounds. He’s tied with Javelin Guidry, Frank Gore and Jamison Crowder for the shortest players on the team. Berrios’ weight is tied for the fourth lightest on the roster. And yet, Adam Gase said that Berrios plays like a big receiver.

“He’s a competitor, man,” Gase said this week. “He plays like he’s 6-4, 230. He gets after it every day.”

Berrios isn’t afraid of taking a hit on the field. He’s the type of player who will make sure he can rack up extra yards before going out of bounds or to the ground. Berrios only had 115 receiving yards last season — he saw most of his action on special teams — but 87 of those yards were after the catch.

The 24-year-old could have an increased role on offense this season. New York is extremely thin at wide receiver due to injuries, so Berrios could see a lot of snaps there. He got jusrt 85 offensive snaps last season. Berrios is also more than likely going to be the Jets’ punt returner and he’s in competition with Ashtyn Davis at kick returner.

Obviously, the Jets like Berrios for his speed. He ran a 4.44-second 40-yard dash at his Miami pro day. But he’s got other attributes that Gase and the Jets like, including his competitive fire.

We’ll see if that translates to more opportunities for Berrios in 2020.

Jets officially cut Chandler Catanzaro after 2019 retirement

The Jets have cut Chandler Catanzaro from reserve/left squad list.

Roughly a year after Chandler Catanzaro moved on from the Jets, the Jets are finally moving on from Chandler Catanzaro.

The Jets cut the kicker from the reserve/left squad list this week, thus making him a free agent, according to Dov Kleiman. Catanzaro announced his retirement last August after a tough summer with New York. The Jets originally placed him on the exempt/left squad list before moving him to reserve/left squad list.

Catanzaro, also known as Catman during his time in New York, kicked well for the Jets in 2017. He went 25-30 on his field goal attempts and was a perfect 29-29 on extra points. Catanzaro also owns the longest field goal made in Jets history at 57 yards.

Catanzaro went on to sign a three-year contract with the Buccaneers prior to the 2018 season, but he didn’t perform well there. He missed four field goals and four extra points in just nine games in Tampa Bay. The Panthers took a chance on Catanzaro for four games and he made all of his field goals attempts and made all but one extra point. Catanzaro then returned to the Jets last offseason before retiring.

The 29-year-old went undrafted out of Clemson in 2014 before being signed by the Arizona Cardinals. He spent three seasons in Arizona and was 78-92 on field goals and 123-132 on extra points.

Jets sign Braden Mann to rookie deal

The Jets have signed Braden Mann to his rookie deal.

The Jets have locked up their punter of the future.

According to the Daily News’ Manish Mehta, Braden Mann has agreed to the terms of his rookie contract. It’s a four-year deal worth $3.47 million. Mann’s 2020 cap charge is $654,000.

Mann was taken in the sixth-round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M. He was the first of two punters taken in the draft.

Mann was one of the nation’s best punters while at Texas A&M. In 2018, he won the Ray Guy Award for being college football’s best punter. Along with that award, Mann was a unanimous All-American, First-Team All-SEC and the SEC Special Teams Player of the Year. Mann was also First-Team All-SEC in 2019 as well.

Mann averaged 47.1 yards per punt in college. Of Mann’s 109 total punts, 13 of them were for touchbacks and 46 of them were inside the 20-yard line. His longest punt was 82 yards, which came in his junior season.

New York opened the way for Mann to be their starting punter by not re-signing Lachlan Edwards. The Jets don’t have another punter on their active roster, so unless Mann has an atrocious training camp, then he’ll be the punter for the Jets’ opener against the Bills.

Jets special teams coach loves Ashtyn Davis’ ‘dog mentality’

Brant Boyer praised Ashtyn Davis for his speed and ability to fight for extra yards.

Jets special teams coach Brant Boyer has a Swiss Army Knife on his unit in Ashtyn Davis.

Davis was selected in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft by the Jets out of the University of California. Davis can play almost anywhere in the secondary on defense as well as a returner and gunner on special teams. Boyer, after watching Davis’ film, was impressed with his ability to keep plays alive no matter how many defenders are in front of him.

“A lot of people that I watch on tape, those returners will run out of bounds right there and they won’t fight for extra yards,” Boyer told the Jets’ website. “There is no quit in this kid at all and that’s what I really like about him.”

Davis, who was a walk-on with the California track and field team and football team, awed Boyer with his speed and tenacious play style.

“He is really fast. And I’ll tell you what else I like is his toughs,” Boyer said. “I would have loved to have played next to this kid.”

Davis was unable to participate in the NFL Combine due to an injury and then missed out on his Pro Day because of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, as a member of the California track and field team, Davis was known for running hurdles. His best time came in the 110-meter hurdles at the Pac-12 Championships, where he had a time of 13.50 seconds. It was good for third-best in the school’s history.

Davis officially joined the California football team in the spring of 2015 but didn’t play until 2016. Over Davis’ four years in the program, he recorded 166 total tackles, seven interceptions, 12 pass defenses, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. As a kick returner, Davis had 1,604 total yards and averaged 22.9 yards per return.

Boyer noted that it takes a “dog mentality” to make that kind of impact on special teams and defense.

New York didn’t have a set kick returner last season, so Davis could slide into the position right away. Based on what Boyer has said about Davis, he should have every opportunity to win the job in camp.

Jets ranked among NFL’s worst in ESPN’s Football Power Index

The Jets are ranked 25th in ESPN’s football power index.

The Worldwide Leader doesn’t expect much from the Jets in 2020.

ESPN released its Football Power Index and it has Gang Green ranked as the 25th team in the NFL heading into the season. The index projects the Jets to have 6.8 wins next season and gives them a 24 percent chance to make the playoffs.

ESPN’s Football Power Index is based on what Las Vegas thinks each team’s win total will be for the given year. It also includes each team’s statistics on offense, defense and special teams from the previous season, as well as how many returning players there are, any changes to a coaching staff and quarterbacks.

First and foremost, the Jets have a brutal schedule in 2020. They have the second-toughest schedule in the league based on their opponents’ win percentages from 2019.

In terms of how the Jets did on offense, defense and special teams last season, there was some good but also a lot of bad. Adam Gase’s offense was dreadful in 2019, as the Jets ranked 31st and 32nd in total points scored (276) and total yards (5,170), respectively.

The defense was one of the few bright spots of the 2019 Jets, as they were second against the run and middle of the pack against the pass. Special teams had its issues, especially on field goal attempts. Jets kickers missed a combined nine field goals and four extra points.

As for coaching staff changes, there weren’t many made by the Jets. A couple of small name assistants here and there, but nothing of note. The quarterback room is slightly different than last season with the acquisitions of James Morgan and Joe Flacco, but Sam Darnold is still the starter.

Jets waive punter Ian Berryman

The Jets have waived punter Ian Berryman after officially signing Joe Flacco.

The Jets have cleared the way for Braden Mann to be their punter in 2020.

The team announced Wednesday that it has waived punter Ian Berryman after officially signing Joe Flacco to a one-year deal.

Berryman went undrafted out of Western Carolina in 2019 before signing with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He kicked in all four of the Steelers’ preseason games, totaling nine punts for 412 yards. Berryman averaged almost 46 yards per punt during the preseason.

However, that wasn’t good enough to make the Steelers roster. Berryman was cut right before the start of the regular season. The Jets signed him to a reserve/future contract following the conclusion of the 2019 regular season.

This move all but indicates that Mann will be the punter for the Jets next season.