Jets' Westerman ready for defensive role

MARTINSVILLE, N.J. -- Jamaal Westerman isn't satisfied with just serving as an understudy, getting sporadic playing time on the Jets' defense and being relegated to special-teams duty.

The linebacker has his eyes on a bigger role, one he hopes to be starring in with the Jets come this fall if the NFL lockout is lifted.

"Next year, I want to be a starter," Westerman said in a recent conversation with Newsday. "You want to be that guy that's always on the field helping the team win. And I think you always want more time on the field, wherever it is, whatever situation. I think I ended the year pretty good, but we had a lot of veteran guys in front of me that have been making plays in the league for a long time.

"But I want to be one of those guys out there and just keep learning from our coaching staff, just keep learning from them and keep trying to get better and keep making the plays that will allow them to put me on the field more."

The Jets inked the Rutgers product to a free-agent contract following the 2009 draft. Westerman's blue-collar work ethic, playmaking ability and versatility -- he was a defensive end in college and the Jets thought he looked good while trying him at both inside and outside linebacker -- won coach Rex Ryan over in a New York minute.

The 6-3, 255-pounder saw some time on defense as a reserve in his rookie season, and flashed some of that potential when he recorded a sack in the Jets' season opener in Houston. But things tailed off a bit in 2010, in part because he was hobbled by an ankle injury and played in only six regular-season games, though he did hit the field in all three postseason contests. He also had veterans Jason Taylor, Calvin Pace and Bryan Thomas ahead of him on the depth chart.

So he's determined to crank things up a notch and has been training as much as four days a week at TEST Football Academy leading into his third season, a campaign linebacker Bart Scott believes should be a breakout one for Westerman.

"It's important for Jamaal to take the next step forward," Scott said, "because what happens is you come in as a rookie, you come in and you are so scared about losing your job that you work so hard and you are on the edge all the time practicing at this level. But what happens is the second year you have a tendency to relax because it's all comfortable for you, it's all normal for you. What happens is you assume that you know more than you know, and you may not study or pay attention as much.

"It's like, 'Oh, I already know it. It's fine.' "

But Westerman knows he can't take that approach since most of his playing time has been on special teams. He's trying to learn the ins and outs of his outside linebacker position, especially with the Jets releasing Taylor. Westerman is eager to show he's a guy that can fill that void.

"Of course," he said. "I learned a lot from J.T. last year -- he's been in the league so long -- not only how to play the game and how to approach it, but just how to understand different situations and how to become a professional. But I want to go out there. I want to be that guy out there making plays."

Scott, in fact, thinks Westerman could help the Jets fix one of their glaring weaknesses: getting to the quarterback.

"He's explosive, he's a natural pass-rusher," Scott said. "Now, I think hopefully the game will start slowing down for him. I look forward to him hopefully making that next transition so we can infuse some young talent into our defense."

That would be perfectly fine with Westerman.

"I want to be more active on the field, which means I have to make sure I know everything in the game plan, just go out there and perform," he said. "Really, I want to be that guy that's on the field making plays for the team and helping the team get to where we want to be. I want to be that guy out there making those plays on Sunday."