Receiver Stephen Hill might have played himself out of a job
Stephen Hill warms up before a game against the New Orleans Saints at MetLife Stadium. (Nov. 3, 2013) Credit: Lee S. Weissman
Stephen Hill may have played himself out of his starting spot.
Coach Rex Ryan said Monday that he's considering benching the virtually nonexistent receiver. The Jets traded their fifth- and seventh-round picks to Seattle in 2012 in order to move up to select Hill in the second round (43rd overall).
"It's frustrating to him, to all of us," Ryan said. "We've been expecting bigger things from Stephen and, quite honestly, it just hasn't happened."
Hill -- who has been a steady presence on the Jets' weekly injury reports because of knee and foot injuries -- is second in the team in receptions behind injured slot receiver Jeremy Kerley. Hill has 23 receptions for 340 yards but hasn't caught a pass in two games and hasn't caught a touchdown since Week 3.
"He's nicked up a little bit," Ryan said of Hill, who was targeted seven times in Sunday's loss to the Bills. "He's trying. I know the want-to is there. It's just the production hasn't been there for whatever reason. Certainly if we had the answer, we'd go to it."
Buddy to the rescue
Ryan plans to implement "Buddy Ryan" deep-ball competition drills in practice this week after his defense surrendered 245 passing yards in Buffalo, including pass plays of 43, 40, 34 and 31 yards. "The ball being thrown over our head -- that's usually a strength [of ours] . . . We usually go down and catch it. We're not getting the take-aways and that's frustrating to me. It's not something that I'm used to. I'll try awful hard to fix it."
Ryan also said he'll consider changing his defensive calls as well as using less man coverage.
Kellen: I'm happy
Tight end Kellen Winslow Jr. was singing a different tune, despite getting only 11 snaps and having one ball thrown to him. Upon returning from a four-game suspension for violating the league's PED policy, the veteran complained about his lack of playing time. But Monday, Winslow said: "I'm in the league and I'm happy, man. I'm feeding my family . . . Whatever my role is to help the team, that's what I'm doing."
