In-depth analysis - Bucs at Jets (Preseason Week 1): Special Teams

Over the course of the next few days, we'll be breaking down the performance of every player that took the field in the Jets' preseason game against the Bucs. We'll start today with a look at the special teams units.

Kicking - A York in the Road

The kicker role is a complete toss-up right now and we learned very little from who might be in the lead because the Jets stuck to a very rigid rotation with each kicker alternating from kick to kick on placekicks and kickoffs regardless of assignment.

If it means anything at all, Jason Sanders took the opening kickoff. He also had a solid 47-yard field goal and nailed an extra point.

His competition is Cade York, who made the first two field goals for the Jets, although the 38-yarder right before halftime was very close to hitting the upright.

It's a bit difficult to judge the kickoffs, because kickers are often instructed to lay it up short in preseason, to guarantee the coverage units some work. That being the case, York may have overcooked a couple of them, as he had one touchback and one that was muffed inside the goal line.

It's doubtful anything was decided from this game, but Sanders probably had a slight edge overall.

Punter Austin McNamara was in midseason form with a trio of 48 yard punts, each of which had zero return yardage. The first one was blown up immediately, the next one was fair caught and the pièce de résistance from near midfield was downed at the goal line.

Interesting, McNamara did not kick off, despite the fact he stated during the week that he has been working on some things related to kicking off, which suggests the Jets still plan for him to do that regardless of who wins the kicker duel.

Kick Coverage - Bamba Mentality

As was the case on defense, undrafted cornerback Mory Bamba may have made the biggest impression on special teams. Operating as a gunner, he blew past his man and dragged the punt returner down for no gain.

You'd think with his combination of length and sub-4.3 speed that Bamba would be a perfect candidate for the gunner role but he didn't do much of it at BYU.

On the other two punts, Dane Belton got downfield to force a fair catch and undrafted rookie receiver Malik McClain combined with safety Dean Clark to down a punt at the one-yard line.

The Jets have options at the gunner positions with Kene Nwangwu, Arian Smith and Qwan'tez Stiggers all doing well there last year. However, Nwangwu is injury prone, Stiggers is injured right now and Smith's drop on offense led to an interception so his spot on the 53 is shaky at best. Perhaps there's a chance for someone to step into their shoes.

On kickoffs, the Bucs had three returns, two of which came out to the 38 and 32-yard line. On the first of those, Andrew Beck and Marcelino McCrary-Ball were both driven back 5-10 yards at the end of the return as Belton and Mykal Walker were credited with the tackle. The other saw Beck make the tackle after a missed tackle by Belton.

Another kickoff was muffed and blown up at the 10 by a combination of Belton and Jordan Clark.

The opening unit in terms of kick coverage personnel, just to give you an idea of who you might expect to see in regular season action was as follows: Sanders, McCrary-Ball, Beck, Walker, Malachi Moore, (Dean) Clark, Braiden McGregor, Kiko Mauigoa, Smith, Andre Cisco, Minkah Fitzpatrick.

Return Game - Risk it for the Pritchett

Return duties were split between Jamaal Pritchett in the first half and DT Sheffield in the second half. Of the two, Pritchett definitely looked the more comfortable, as Sheffield muffed one, although he immediately recovered it.

On punts, Sheffield's only return went for three yards, while Pritchett averaged over 15 yards with a long of 19. Pritchett also had a 32-yard kickoff return while Sheffield had two kickoff returns: One went for 27 yards and the other, out past the 30, was negated by a Chip Trayanum hold.

Each return man also smartly left a couple of other kicks alone rather than fielding them in traffic.

The best highlight for Pritchett was his first punt return, which saw him break three tackles. His next return was poor, as he was blown up immediately despite having some room to run. However, there was a re-kick due to a penalty and he fielded the next one on the run to give the Jets good field position. He slipped the first two tackles on a short return on his other punt too.

In terms of blocking, Jeremy Ruckert and Chase Curtis each made multiple positive contributions and Jarius Monroe combined well with Jaden Keller on one double team. Paschal Ekeji got beaten on a punt return that was blown up though.

The Jets' other special teams penalty was for having 12 men on the field.

We'll be back to cover the offense and defense from tomorrow...