As it turns out, Jets special-teams coordinator Mike Westhoff didn’t only piss out off the Dolphins in his Friday media availability. Westhoff also threw a verbal grenade at the Steelers.
Westhoff said that receiver Santonio Holmes could be returning punts for the Jets. In so doing, Westhoff suggested that Holmes’ past performances in that capacity were limited by the quality of his teammates.
“We know he can do it,” Westhoff said in comments distributed by the team. “I’ve talked to him about it. He’s very talented and I didn’t think Pittsburgh blocked anybody [when he was playing there] to be honest with you. The one year, I didn’t think Pittsburgh had a good blocking group. They didn’t have a real good group.”
As a rookie in 2006, Holmes averaged 10.2 yards on 20 returns. In 2007, he returned no punts. In 2008, he averaged 6.6 yards on 34 returns. Last year, he averaged only three yards on only two returns.
Thus, Westhoff presumably was referring to the 2008 season.
Of course, Holmes biggest punt return of his career came in the 2008 postseason, when Holmes returned one 68 yards in a division-round game against the Chargers, at a time when the Steelers trailed by seven.
Not bad for a unit that didn’t block anybody.