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#Special teams coach working to avoid Jets getting faked out again

“#Special teams coach working to avoid Jets getting faked out again”

The Jets defense had a tough time with the Chiefs last week, but it looked like the unit was going to get off the field in the first quarter when special teams undermined it.

The Jets stopped the Chiefs on third down, setting up a fourth-and-4 at the Jets’ 49-yard line. The Chiefs ran a fake, with punter Tommy Townsend hitting Byron Pringle for a 13-yard gain. Patrick Mahomes threw his second touchdown of the day on the next play.

For the Jets, cornerback Pierre Desir got caught turning his back to the punter as he retreated to set up to block for the return.

“Obviously, the teaching point is we [have] got to do a better job,” special teams coordinator Brant Boyer said. “We’ve gone over all the time, especially situationally. You [have] got to know the situation. Anything out that side, the 30-, 35-yard line, from the opposite end of the field even, we play tighter, and we play low hip and alert that back-shoulder ball, and we didn’t get it done. We [have] got to be better. There is no excuse for that. [We] gave them an extra possession where they scored on the very next play, and that’s 100 percent on us. That’s on me as a coach. Not good enough.”

The Chiefs’ Byron Pringle catches a pass on a fake punt against the Jets.AP

The Jets traded starting inside linebacker Avery Williamson to the Steelers after last week’s game. They do not have a lot of options to replace him. Blake Cashman is out with injuries to both hamstrings. Patrick Onwuasor, signed in the offseason, has yet to play. Onwuasor could be cleared soon, but it is unclear when. The Jets probably will have to go with Harvey Langi next to Neville Hewitt on Monday night. Langi played in Week 1, when Cashman was injured during the game.

“We’re pretty thin,” Jets coach Adam Gase said of the position. “So, we’ve got to be able to kind of cross-train some guys. Obviously, Harvey has been working on that since training camp, so we’ve just got to have him ready to go. We’ve got to kind of see where some of these other guys are health-wise, and then we’ve got to be ready to go little and play with some smaller guys.”