Oh, no!
Not again!
Come on, Cromartie, you @#$%!
Those are just a few words and phrases Jets fans, I’m sure, have used while watching their team’s normally reliable kick returners cough up the pigskin to the opposition this season.
It’s happened four strait games now following rookie Jeremy Kerley’s ball-belching gaffe against Washington Sunday that led to a Redskins score. The Jets have fumbled away six return chances this season thanks to the uncertain hands of Kerley, Antonio Cromartie and Joe McKnight.
With the Jets most likely needing to win their four remaining games for a chance at the playoffs, Coach Rex Ryan has decided to go with the sure-handed Jim Leonard on kick returns, particularly as the season moves into the potentially harsh winter months of December and January.
Leonard may not – who are we kidding? Does not – have the speed of the aforementioned returners, but Ryan has confidence in Leonard’s ability to secure the ball under any circumstances, even severe storms.
“As I mentioned before, he can catch it in a hurricane,” Ryan said in a press conference of his sure-handed return man. “This time of year, the weather has a tendency to pick up, the wind and all those types of things. I just, right now, would feel more comfortable having Jim Leonhard back there. I know Westy (special teams coach Mike Westhoff) and I feel the same way. I think that’s how we’re going to go."
Photo: Getty Images
