Westhoff: I call all the fake-punt plays
Jets punter Steve Weatherford runs the ball out of bounds prior to gaining a first down as Green Bay's Anthony Smith defends during a fake punt attempt in Sunday's loss to the Packers. (Oct. 31, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - Mike Westhoff assured everyone that Steve Weatherford won't be ad-libbing another fake punt as he did Sunday on fourth-and-18 from the Jets' 20.
"There's not a gray area. I call everything," Westhoff said Thursday.
The longtime special-teams coordinator said he and Weatherford had discussed the Packers' punt-return formation and that a fake could be good at some point. "Just not there," Westhoff said. "The only good thing, to be honest, was that we almost got it and I was much more focused on the replay and the officials than I was on looking for Steve. It gave me a chance to calm down a little bit."
Weatherford said that little has changed in terms of the fakes in Westhoff's playbook. "I'll probably wait for a little more of a verbal OK to do it," Weatherford said.
Westhoff guaranteed that, saying: "I'd said to him, 'If we get the right time, I'll call it.' That wasn't it. We only call it one way."
Wind not an issue
Westhoff also said he feels it's "overrated" to take Weatherford and Nick Folk to New Meadowlands Stadium once a week or every two weeks to work in the wind.
"It's a lot better than it used to be [at Giants Stadium]," Westhoff said. "It does some funny things, but it's not near what it used to be. It's a great, great stadium."
As for the 38-yarder that Folk missed on Sunday, Westhoff said it was just that, a miss. "I think he'd have missed it in the Sistine Chapel," Westhoff said.
Jet streams
LB David Harris (back) returned after missing Wednesday's practice. LB Calvin Pace (foot) and CB Darrelle Revis (hamstring) also practiced, though S Brodney Pool ended up missing part of it after colliding with Revis during a drill. His status for Friday is unknown.
