Lack of Preseason Games a Concern for New York Jets Special Teams Coordinator Brant Boyer
One of the disadvantages of an offseason without preseason games is going to be sloppiness. For New York Jets special teams coordinator Brant Boyer, that will certainly be a challenge.
Limited opportunities to tackle during training camp combined with all four preseason games being a casualty to COVID-19 restrictions means that Sunday’s season opener at the Buffalo Bills will be the first time Jets players will hit – and get hit – with real purpose. For Boyer, this is a unique and concerning factor.
The pinball nature of special teams where one side is running full speed down the field, is unique football. This lack of live-action hitting in preseason, especially against an opponent that means it, bas Boyer concerned heading into Sunday’s game.
“I think it will be a big challenge. I think that the guys, you really can’t work on that very much,” Boyer said on Thursday in a virtual conference call.
“They worked on a little bit and things like that, but I think it’s all fundamentals and things that they’ve done their whole lives. I’m sure some tackles are going to be missed, but it’s rallying to the ball and getting multiple hats on the on the ball carrier and things like that. I don’t think that’s ever changed. So, I think it’s just a matter of how hard they play, and the emphasis has been low-target tackle and wrap up and get multiple hats and things like that on the ball. So that’s what we’ve been really coaching hard.”
Boyer is one of the most highly respected special teams coaches in the league. The 49-year old coach played 10 years in the NFL as a linebacker.
The Jets have had solid special teams units in Boyer’s first four seasons with the organization but the hope is that this year’s unit will be better. The addition of safety Ashtyn Davis, a former track star at Cal turned football player, brings a speed component to special teams that is intriguing.
Davis could potentially return kickoffs for the Jets but Boyer refused to announce his special teams packages ahead of the season opener – “I don’t mean to be a turd about that, you know that.”
But beyond his secrecy about his unit and not wanting to be a turd, Boyer is optimistic that the special teams unit, oft overlooked for the more glamorous roles and assignments in football, can be a key unit for the Jets.
“I’m confident with this group, there’s a lot of guys that are having to play and things like that on defense and offense and stuff like that, but part of trying to get everything done and the way you’d like and we’ve tried to set standards here and everybody knows the expectations that we have in the room and that’s the players expectations as well as mine,” Boyer said.
“I know one thing’s for sure is that they’ll go out and they’ll be prepared and they’re going to play their butts off, and we’ll fix the mistakes as they come, which are going to happen. But as long as they play their butts off for me and keep doing what they’ve done the last three, four years here, then that’s all I can ask from them and we’ll correct the mistakes.”
