In-Depth Analysis - Jets @ Lions (Special Teams)
There was a wider variety of special teams plays available this week, rather than just a load of punts. This led to some high-profile mistakes, although a few players made good contributions too.
Let's review who stood out...
Kicking game - Lion (Kic)king
Once again, all of the kicking opportunities landed in one half, as Ross Martin took the opening kick-off but didn't get another chance to kick again until after half-time. The plan may have been for Chandler Catanzaro to get the second half, but they have to get a look at Martin, so Catanzaro ended up not playing at all.
It didn't start too well for Martin, who missed a 56-yard field goal:
This had plenty of leg on it, but tailed off to the left and wide. As you can see, holder Lac Edwards had to reach back slightly for the snap, which may have affected the timing, although Edwards did get it down with laces out.
Martin had no problem on two shorter field goals later on. However, had he made the long one as well, the job might be his right now.
Punting - Lachlion Edwards
Edwards' punting wasn't too bad this week. He launched one bomb that had the return man back-pedalling and also landed two punts inside the 20. He arguably out-kicked his coverage a couple of times though, perhaps contributing to a 9.2 yards per return average.
His first punt was probably his worst, as his kick from the end zone was short and got returned to the Jets 43, setting up a short field for Detroit's first field goal.
Once again, Tanner Purdum didn't help matters with a high snap on one punt.
Return game - Prey for Frankie
With Lucky Whitehead set to miss the start of the season at least, Frankie Hammond's roster chances were looking good. However, he committed the cardinal sin of muffing a punt that probably should have been fair caught. In the end the Lions didn't score because they threw an interception a few plays later, but that almost turned the game into a 20-0 blow-out in the early stages of the second half.
A mistake like that could be enough to rule out his chances of winning that role, which shines a light on Marcus Murphy, who was the starter in both return roles. However, Murphy had his own ball security issue, when he lost the ball at the end of a kick-off return. The play didn't count anyway due to a penalty, but whether or not his elbow was down would have been a decision for the replay booth that could have gone either way.
Murphy's returns were better than Hammond's anyway. He had one long one negated by a penalty and then later brought a punt back to midfield. Hammond broke a tackle on a kick-off return, but didn't make it past the 20.
Maybe the Jets are destined not to have a reliable return man, the same way they've struggled to find a good punter. Incidentally, Bruce Ellington, the guy who failed a physical when the Jets claimed him a few weeks ago, apparently had a great game last night.
On kick returns, Brent Qvale had a couple of missed blocks and the vices got burned by the gunners a few times, with Darryl Roberts burned by the player who pressured Hammond into his muff and Juston Burris, Ronald Martin and Shamarko Thomas all also getting beaten.
Finally, Dylan Donahue extended one drive with a roughing the punter penalty. He put good pressure on the punter and barely contacted him with his trailing leg.
Kick coverage - Paw performance leaves returners running wild
Kick and punt coverage wasn't great, with 46 yards of punt return yardage and a kick-off return of 43 yards that could have gone even further if Spencer Paysinger didn't make a good open field tackle.
ArDarius Stewart was guilty of overpursuing on one punt return, while Derrick Jones had a missed tackle on the long kick-off return.
Nobody was credited with more than one special teams tackle, but Jordan Jenkins had a nice hit and Josh Martin made a tackle on a punt after good work from the gunner Thomas forced the return man back up the middle. Thomas also drew a block in the back penalty earlier on in the game.
That's it for the first preseason game. If you'd like me to cover anything in more detail during the week, please let me know. Otherwise, we'll have a player spotlight for you later today.