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I asked Mike Westhoff on Thursday about David Clowney’s issues on special teams contributing to him being released. I didn’t even finish the question before he stepped in and took umbrage with the question.
“That’s not true,” Westhoff said. “You’re speaking for me. I didn’t say that. That’s not true. His special teams ability didn’t get David Clowney cut. It didn’t happen at all and I don’t appreciate that (question) one bit.”
This answer shocked me. We all know (or anybody that watched “Hard Knocks”) knows a big reason Clowney was cut was because of his poor development as a gunner. Thanks to that show, we were in the meetings.
Last week Westhoff said that he would have cut Clowney two years ago.
Mike’s a great coach, but I don’t know where he’s coming from on this one.
I happened to run into Clowney at Best Buy in East Hanover the day after he was cut. I had to get my computer fixed at the Geek Squad, and he was there with his baby and lady friend (or wife, I’m not sure). This was just pure luck that I ran into him. I have no relationship with him, and I don’t think I’ve interviewed him in two years. I’m not friends with any of the players that I cover.
I asked him in the store why he was cut, and he said, “special teams.”
He didn’t say anything bad about anyone or anything related to the Jets. He was just giving me an honest answer about why he was released.
Perhaps Westhoff doesn’t want to be fingered as the guy who got Clowney cut.
But it turns out the Jets made a mistake cutting Clowney for Week One. The lack of a deep threat hurt them Week One.
They made miscalculation at the wide receiver position. So much was made about how they wanted their fourth receiver to be a contributor on special teams. Clearly that is what you are looking to get out of that receiver spot. But with Brad Smith, they had a #3 receiver wideout as a key contributor on special teams, so why do they absolutely need the fourth guy? They really don’t.
But that was another part of the miscalculation. Smith had zero impact at wide receiver. For one, they didn’t throw to him. Two, he had so many other jobs, it’s probably hard for him to keep his legs fresh and have a big impact as the three receiver. So this is another reason the Jets should have kept Clowney.
But to the Jets credit, they rectified this mistake by re-signing Clowney this week.
From what I hear, Clowney will be the #3 this week and Smith will move back to the #4 spot . . .
Reporters were pissed off on Friday because they had no access to Darrelle Revis to ask him about his hamstring injury.
It wasn’t that Revis was avoiding the locker room during the media session. He was in there. But he made a deal with the PR department that he would only have to speak to the press twice a week, and he already filled that requirement with interview sessions on Wednesday and Thursday. The media didn’t know of this arrangement.
Expect Mark Cannizzarro to rip the Jets over this in Saturday’s paper. He was very unhappy about this set-up . . .
Bart Scott ducked the media this week, so other players had to pick up the slack. I understand a player not wanting to talk to the media. I probably wouldn’t want to if I’m a player. But the problem is, when you decide to take time off, it makes players like T-Rich, Jim Leonhard and Damien Woody have to do extra and long interviews. That’s the problem . . .
The way Calvin Pace is limping around the complex, I would be shocked if he’s back in the next few weeks. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Jets push this to the bye-week. As we saw last week, while Pace is a very good player, the Jets can survive without him. There is no reason to rush him . . .
Expect Matt Slauson to improve in Week Two (though he wasn’t bad in Week One – there was another lineman who was far worse). He was really nervous on Monday, making his first NFL start, and the half hour lightening delay made it even worse.
Now that he has a better feeling for the speed and atmosphere of a regular season NFL game, expect even better things from him in Week Two . . .
My gut feeling on Brodney Pool (ankle) is it’s going to be a game-time decision for the Jets safety. He’s still somewhat limited in practice. A big factor is swelling. If there isn’t a lot of swelling on Sunday, it helps his chances of playing.
But once again, there is another factor here. While Pool is a terrific talent, he’s still not entirely comfortable in the team’s system, so why rush him back, and play him in front of Eric Smith, who knows the playbook like the back of his hand? You don’t want any secondary snafus against Tom Brady, and Pool, still a work-in-progress, is prone to mistakes right now as he’s still working on getting the complex system down. Brady, who reads the field remarkably well, spots blown coverages better than most . . .
Expect Dwight Lowery to have a big role this week. The Pats use a lot of spread, and his experience as a cornerback and safety can have him fill a number of roles the myriad weapons the Pats present . . .