After each game, we’ll usually be highlighting three defensive and three offensive players and looking in detail at their performance. However, the last game’s offensive performance was such a non-event, we’re going to wrap up with a focus on special teams instead:
BAH GAWD! THAT’S AUSTIN’S MUSIC
Before we assess Austin McNamara’s (impressive) performance in London, let’s review some of his numbers so far in his first season:
Net average: 5th
PFF grade: 2nd
Average hang time per PFF: Tied-1st
Average return: 3rd lowest
Clearly, he’s off to a terrific start and his performance in London added to this as he averaged over 50 yards per punt on seven attempts with just 11 return yards all day.
Four of his punts were more than 50 yards, including one that got a favorable roll, which ended up as a 58-yarder. Surprisingly, that’s his longest of the season, which underlines just how consistent he has been.
His big highlight of the day was this punt that was downed inside the five to set up the go-ahead safety in the second half.
Watching McNamara in person is even more impressive. He kicks the ball extremely high and with a range from perfect spirals to hard-to-catch knuckle-balls. His range and direction have been on-point all year too.
Nick Folk, who has paired with plenty of punters (and holders) over the course of his career, complimented McNamara and said he is there for him as a resource but doesn’t like to butt in and instead let’s McNamara come to him when necessary.
Also in the kicking game:
- Folk made all three of his field goals, the longest of which was 52 yards. Aaron Glenn said the Jets were trying to get to the 35 at the end because he hit from 58 in pre-game and they were going into the wind.
- Folk’s kickoffs were excellent this week, all inside the five but not deep enough to take a touchback. Folk noted hang time is obviously irrelevant on kickoffs now because nobody moves until it lands.
- Andrew Beck, Tony Adams and Thomas Hennessy each allowed a pressure on a punt.
- If any Jet is going to block a punt any time soon, it’s Braiden McGregor who is currently getting closest.
Kene G.
Having not played since week one, Kene Nwangwu was back at last and immediately made an impact as soon as he touched the ball, with a spectacular 72-yard return after he broke a tackle.
It’s always interesting to analyze what each blocker did on a play like this:
- Adams just about held onto the key block in the middle of the field.
- Beck didn’t really make a clean block but re-routed his man upfield so he was out of the play.
- Brandon Smith and Isaiah Williams each made their blocks with Smith driving his man upfield and Williams in position to seal his man off.
- Stone Smartt and Jeremy Ruckert’s double team helped create the running lane.
- Cam Jones and Mykal Walker both got beaten but Walker recovered well to seal his man off after he overpursued. Jones’ man missed the key tackle.
- Kiko Mauigoa and Isaiah Oliver made blocks further downfield and stayed on those well
The downside to Nwangwu’s long return is that the Broncos spent the rest of the day trying to keep it away from him, to good effect. One kickoff was a touchback, two were returned by Williams and the two that Nwangwu did return were just brought out to the 26 and 36 respectively. The latter of those was the free kick after the safety.
Nwangwu isn’t just a return man. He played one snap on kickoff coverage and five at the gunner position. Within the latter role, he got credit for downing the punt inside the five after Arian Smith had kept it out of the end zone. He also got downfield to force a fair catch on one.
His inability to stay healthy is really frustrating because it’s clear that he’s a difference maker.
Also in the return game:
- Williams’ two kickoff returns went out to the 33 and 43 yard line. Walker had a good block on one of those. The other one saw Williams almost losing a fumble after Oliver’s missed block.
- On punts, Williams went 4-32 with a long of 13 and one fair catch, although these numbers were affected by a penalty. He also had one that he pretended like he was going to fair catch and then left it to bounce into the end zone, like he should have done a few weeks ago.
- Jarvis Brownlee had a good block on one punt but a holding penalty on another.
- Tony Adams had a good block on one punt but Mark Robinson, Walker and Beck each got beaten once and Oliver got away with a possible hold.
The Man. The Smith. The Legend.
The Jets are still waiting for Smith to start making meaningful contributions on offense but at least he’s making decent contributions on special teams, particularly at the gunner position.
With Irv Charles and Ja’Markis Weston on injured reserve (although Weston’s 21-day practice window has been open for the past week), Smith wasn’t the first choice for this role, but has handled it well.
He’s not the only one, though. Qwan’tez Stiggers and Nwangwu have also both been good in this role. Even so, the Jets still rotated both Williams and Azareye’h Thomas in for a couple of gunner reps, too, so it seems like they’re still holding open auditions.
Smith got downfield well on four of his six gunner reps on Sunday. He overpursued on one of these, but the second wave limited the return to a short one. One forced a fair catch, one spooked the return man into letting the ball bounce rather than fielding it on the move (and rolled for another 10-15 yards) and one saw him down the punt near the goal line.
This was the play where he forced the fair catch.
Officially, Smith only has one tackle so far this season, but he’s obviously been contributing well.
Aside from his gunner responsibilities, Smith has also blocked on the kickoff return unit (and if they ever run some kind of gadget play he could be a candidate to hand it off to within that role) and played two snaps of kickoff coverage. He hasn’t been on the return unit since week one.
Also in kick coverage:
- Stiggers and Smartt both made superb plays on the kick coverage unit with big hits short of the 25. The one by Stiggers was set up by Isaiah Davis getting downfield well to force the return man to go laterally.
- Thomas had a missed tackle on one of his gunner reps and was blocked to the ground way upfield on the other. Williams also missed a tackle.
- Malachi Moore made two tackles on punt returns with Ruckert and Robinson also being credited with coverage stops.
- In addition to Nwangwu, as mentioned earlier, Beck also forced a fair catch.
- Walker and Cam Jones were blocked out of the play on one return.
- Hennessy downed a punt.
- New York got away with one on the most returnable punt of the day as the return man took a fair catch with nobody near him.
Previously: Three on D: Brownlee, Walker, Tufele