In-Depth Analysis - Titans @ Jets (Special Teams)

In a game with 20 punts there was plenty of special teams work to analyze, although the low scoring nature of the game meant that there weren't many kick-offs or placekicking attempts.

In preseason, special teams play is a big deal because it can be the difference between having a key reserve role or being off the roster altogether for some players, so it's frustrating for those players and the coaches wanting to assess them that some units barely got a chance to perform.

Let's review who stood out...

Kicking - Broken 'zaro

Let's start with the kicking battle because that's nice and simple. Chandler Catanzaro got the first half and Ross Martin got the second half. Unfortunately for Martin, who put the opening kick-off through the end zone for a touchback, there were no other opportunities to kick after half time.

Catanzaro made a point after try and also had a touchback on his kick-off but his only field goal attempt - a 55-yarder - failed badly, leaving the Titans with good field position.

Clearly, we'll need to see more from both of them to make any kind of assessment.

Punting - Lac Down

Punter Lac Edwards and long snapper Tanner Purdum are the only players on the roster with no competition for their roles. Perhaps that will change after a performance where both were poor.

Edwards had one horrible shank, underhit one punt that bounced back towards him and put a punt into the end zone for a touchback from relatively close range. He hit one nice high punt and one other that was pretty good, but we'd anticipate much better consistency from a guy Brant Boyer was saying he expected to make big strides this year.

Purdum was also inconsistent with three or four bad snaps, perhaps contributing to Edwards' struggles. I've observed before that Purdum often has a higher percentage of bad snaps in preseason and wondered if maybe that's deliberate because they want to test how the punter deals with it. I highly doubt it but you never know. If not, presumably he's one of these guys who needs a month or so to shake off the rust.

Dexter McDougle was called for holding while blocking on the punting unit.

Return game - Please Hammond don't hurt 'em

The return game was relatively straightforward too, with Lucky Whitehead getting all of the first half chances and Frankie Hammond getting them after half time. Interestingly, Whitehead didn't play any offense, while Hammond did.

Whitehead handled each of his punts smoothly but didn't really do anything with the returns, while Hammond showed some sneaky tackle-breaking abilities on a couple of modest punt returns and flashed some speed to the edge on a kick-off.

The Jets didn't help themselves much with their blocking. Jordan Todman had a missed block on a kick-off return, Buster Skrine and Derrick Jones each got burned while playing the vice role and Spencer Paysinger also got beaten and gave up an illegal block in the back penalty.

Kick coverage - In Peake Condition

While there were no returned kick-offs to assess the kick-off coverage, there were some good plays in punt coverage. Gunners Charone Peake and Jalin Marshall stood out, each making a tackle and bottling up at least one other return. Peake fell down on one play, potentially leaving a huge lane on the right side, but scrambled to his feet and forced the return man to go back up the middle. If these are going to be the two primary gunners, it will be interesting to see who gets the role while Marshall is suspended.

Linebackers Jordan Jenkins and Josh Martin also impressed with their ability to get around the football, although one of Jenkins' two tackles was negated by a face mask call. Martin was in on one tackle and saved a few yards by downing a punt that was bouncing back towards the line of scrimmage.

Bruce Carter and Doug Middleton also made good special teams stops, although Middleton got injured making his.

Finally, Todman atoned for his earlier mistake by drawing a hold in punt coverage.

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.