Special Teams dept. ~ ~ ~

[kelly]

— The Jets' special teams have been a mess this season. There's really no other way to put it. 

From a numbers standpoint, the Jets are 28th in the NFL in punt coverage, 16th in kickoff coverage, 18th in punt returns, and 28th in kickoff returns. All told, they are 27th in Football Outsiders' special teams DVOA. 

The Jets have allowed three — yes, three — opposing touchdowns on special teams this season, through nine games. Three in nine games. Yikes. One came in last Thursday's 22-17 loss to the Bills, when Devin Smith fumbled a kickoff return and the Bills returned it for a touchdown. Another happened in a 24-17 loss to the Eagles, when Darren Sproles returned a punt 89 yards for a touchdown. (Do the math on the margins in those games.) 

The third touchdown didn't cost the Jets a game. It happened in a win over Washington — a blocked punt that Washington fell on in the end zone. The Jets' first-year special teams coordinator, Bobby April, is a veteran in that job. He's done it in the NFL since 1991. He can recall just one other time when his team allowed three special teams touchdowns in a season. 

"I think with the Rams one year we gave up three," he said. "I'm pretty sure we did one year. Not this early. It's bad, bad to give up three in nine games. Bad." 

April is understandably frustrated by how poorly the Jets' special teams have performed this season. Now, can he fix the problems? "It's frustrating to give up those plays," he said. "It's very frustrating, because I like our guys. I think what we're doing is right. I think the way we're practicing is right. We just have to eliminate — and I have to help them — the kind of errors we've had. I've got to do a better job. That's the bottom line."I believe in coaching. I believe it makes a big difference. I do think we are improving, despite some of these things. We've just got to eliminate plays. And that's a big 'just gotta.' I have expectations that we can step in against anybody and go toe-to-toe with anybody in that area."  

The Jets haven't done that on a consistent basis in recent years. Since longtime special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff retired after the 2012 season, the Jets have employed three special teams coordinators — Ben Kotwica in 2013, Thomas McGaughey in 2014, and now April.In 2013, the Jets finished 10th in special teams DVOA. In 2014, they finished 16th. In Westhoff's final year, 2012, the Jets were 21st in special teams DVOA. So from that standpoint, they've been a bit better since he left, but not elite. 

>   http://www.nj.com/jets/index.ssf/2015/11/bobby_april_jets_special_teams_struggles.html#incart_river_index