Patriots at Jets: Special Teams Review

We've been breaking this week's game against the Patriots. We wrap up today's analysis with a look at the special teams.

Let's review the key contributions...

Kicking game - Lach Party

With all the turnovers and lack of scoring, the Jets didn't kick much in this game.

Punter Lachlan Edwards punted five times and also launched a free kick after the Patriots' safety. His numbers were underwhelming despite the fact he got a gift on a 63-yard punt where New England didn't put a return man back so it rolled inside the 20. He put one other punt inside the 10, but also outkicked his coverage a couple of times.

Kicker Sam Ficken did the opening kickoff with New England fielding it in the end zone and returning it to the 22-yard line and then never saw the field again.

On a New England kick, Matthias Farley put some pressure on Mike Nugent and was probably fortunate that they picked up the flag for running into the kicker. Tarell Basham and Harvey Langi both allowed some pressure on Edwards punts.

Return game - Boo Berrios

One of the best things about getting Braxton Berrios is that his ball security has been excellent as he hasn't fumbled or muffed any punts in NFL or collegiate action. So, of course, on a day where plenty of players were making uncharacteristic errors, Berrios ran up late to try and field a punt and ended up losing a muff to sum up the Jets' woes.

When these teams met last time, Matthew Slater blew past Nate Hairston again and again, making it impossible for the Jets to get anything out of their punt return unit. Once again they opted to put Hairston as a single-vice on Slater and he again got burned every single time, including on the play where Berrios fumbled. What the hell are they thinking?

Berrios ultimately netted just 14 yards on three returns but there wasn't much else he could have done. It just wasn't his day, as shown when he wisely allowed a punt to bounce inside the five, only for it to take a sideways bounce out of bounds to lead to New England's safety two plays later.

With Trenton Cannon still out, the Jets used Ty Montgomery on kick returns this week. He was stopped short of the 25 twice and got out past the 30 once, only for that to be negated by a penalty on Farley. Langi and Vyncint Smith each had a good block.

Kick coverage - Farley well my own true love

The Jets didn't have much success in kick coverage either, as New England had a 22-yard punt return, a 19-yard return on the free kick and a 26-yard kick-off return.

Rontez Miles was the only player credited with multiple special teams tackles and Brandon Copeland also made a good play in clean-up while Josh Bellamy downed a punt inside the 10. Farley, playing the gunner position, also made a good play to get downfield and force a fair catch.

Some of the tackling in kick coverage was extremely poor with Hairston, Copeland, Bellamy (twice), Farley, Hennessy and Daniel Brown all guilty of missed tackles.

That's it for today's analysis. Don't forget to leave your suggestions for which players to look at in more detail in this week's 3-on-D and 3-on-O.