Jets special teams coach Mike Westhoff spent the bye week feeling miserable.
Westhoff, who has been the Jets’ special teams coach since 2001 and a football coach at some level for 39 years, was so sickened by the way his special teams played against the Dolphins that he became obsessed with fixing the problems during the Jets’ week off.
“That’s as frustrated as I’ve ever been in my entire career. A game like that, whoa, that was tough,” Westhoff said.
The Dolphins blocked a punt and for a touchdown, blocked a field goal, recovered an onside kick and had a 57-yard kickoff return against the Jets. Clearly, that means Westhoff needs to make some changes.
“There’s a level of flexibility I must have,” Westhoff said. “We all face it, but doing what I do I have to face it more than anyone. That’s the tough part of our business and it has become more frequent.”
The Jets’ special teams haven’t been bad this year: Nick Folk has missed just one field goal, Joe McKnight is having a good season on kickoff returns and Jeremy Kerley is having a good season on punt returns. But that game against the Dolphins was a disaster. If the Jets’ predictions about turning things around are going to come true, Westhoff’s frustration will have to translate into better special teams for the rest of the season than the Jets had against the Dolphins.