Jets kickers look to stamp mark on Pats
New York Jets punter Steve Weatherford kicks a ball during drills with the special teams during practice as the team prepares for their playoff game against the New England Patriots. (Jan. 12, 2011) Credit: Newsday / Joe Epstein
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - With the snow piling up on the turf at Gillette Stadium Wednesday, Steve Weatherford shrugged.
"I think we had the toughest December schedule in terms of weather than anyone," the Jets punter said. "At Pittsburgh, home, at Chicago, we were up there at New England on a Monday night. Nothing we see on Sunday will bother us."
That goes for the whole team, but especially for the Jets special teams, which will play a big part in Sunday's AFC divisional game with the Patriots. Weatherford and kicker Nick Folk, Saturday's hero in the indoor comforts of Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis, will be relied upon to help pin Tom Brady and the Patriots' high-powered offense whenever they can.
Weatherford and the punt- coverage team have been doing that all season - he led the NFL with 42 punts inside the 20 (out of 84 total) and had 27 punts fair-caught. "We've been good at pinning teams deep," he said. "I feel like we've helped the defense out."
Weatherford was surprisingly off in Indianapolis, matching his season total with four touchbacks; he wasn't helped by the absence of punt-team gunner Brad Smith, the do-it-all man on special teams who missed the second half with a groin injury.
Smith did not practice yesterday, though he said he's preparing as if he'll play on Sunday. "I'll hopefully get out [Thursday]. Muscle injuries are tricky," he said. "We have to be smart with it. If I can go [Thursday] or Friday, then we'll see."
Folk, who got the back pages for his winning 32-yarder on Saturday - set up by Antonio Cromartie's 47-yard kickoff return - said he has no fear of kicking in the cold. He struggled in the chill in Cleveland on Nov. 14, going 2-for-5, but he closed the regular season 8-for-8 outdoors in the cold. His last miss was a 53-yarder on the opening Jets drive of the 45-3 loss to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Dec. 6.
"You just have to go out, go kick. All you can do," Folk said. "They have a good return group [the Patriots had two kickoff returns and one punt return for touchdowns], but we've been a good special- teams group all year long, kick and punt coverage. We'll have a good plan."
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