COURTESY OF NEW YORK JETS COMMUNICATIONS DEPARTMENT
Brian Costello, New York Post: Preseason games are so huge for you, there are so many things you can’t do in practice with special teams, how do you make up for the loss of those preseason games this year? Well we are certainly trying to do more physical drills. You are right, it is very hard, you got 80 guys to try to get trained up with no offseason and trying to get your real life drills, so I am trying to make it so when we do have full pads on, to try to do more condensed field, but some sits on returners, more emphasis on wrapping up and tackling and getting ball out and things like that. So, it does make it tough for us but we are doing the best we can to try to get these guys going and we will continue to do so in the next two, three weeks.
Rich Cimini, ESPN: Hey Brant, I am wondering if you could, we are all intrigued by your new punter Braden Mann, obviously great resume in college. Has he met your expectations so far and how would you assess what he’s done in camp? I think he’s done exactly what we thought he was going to do. I think that he’s displayed really soft hands as a holder. He’s come in, adjusted really well for the kickers and with Thomas (Hennessy), does everything you ask, he’s a great kid, fast learner, he’s done everything. As far as his punting and stuff like that, his hang times are really good, there are some things that we can work on, little bit with his drop and stuff like that, but he’s come in and done a great job and doing what we are asking him to do and he’s got a really good arsenal of kicks that we can use and things like that but we are trying to keep him steady and keep it simple for right now and we will expand on his toolbox here at a later time. But he’s done a great job thus far.
Dan Leberfeld, Jets Confidential: Hey Brant, question about the gunner position, the release of Trenton Cannon at the beginning of camp, that had to be a tough one for you because we know you admired his work. How tough was that and how do you replace him? Well obviously, when you lose a guy like that, it hurts. I have worked with him a ton and he was productive for us but that happens in this league guys. Every year special teams coaches get who’s on the roster and I understand it and so, that’s part of the work, I’m glad he got picked right back up, he’s a great kid and I really liked him and enjoyed working with the kid. We have a platoon of guys that are going to have to step up and play in his absence. You have guys that have done it before here, with Jeff Smith and (Arthur) Maulet and guys like that. You have a bunch of new guys that can come in and hopefully get the job done for us and they look pretty solid so far, we will see how it goes during the season.
Connor Hughes, The Athletic: I was wondering if you could assess the kicking battle that you guys have going on right now between (Sam) Ficken and Brett (Maher)? Then aside from that I know we haven’t seen too much of you guys work the kick return game thus far, but that was something that Ashtyn Davis did a little bit in college. Going back to the college evaluation process, what did you guys like about him and the thought of potentially using him in that role? I’ll start with the kicker situation, Sam and Brett are doing a very nice job. I see this coming down to the end here. I think they both have been very productive, both have pretty solid percentages thus far. They both have more than adequate legs. I think that Sam did a solid job last year, and Brett definitely has experience and everything like that. I see these guys neck and neck. They’ve both had good camps and we’ll see who shakes out, and that’s kind of how we’re handling it. Everyday they’re being charted on the same kicks from kickoffs to mortar kicks to onside to field goals. So, it’s all going to come down to a big body of work and who we decide on at the end. As far as kick return, really liked Ashtyn coming out. He’s tough, he’s got good vision, obviously very good speed. With the loss of Vyncint (Smith), I think that we have a platoon of guys that we’re trying to work in there and see who can do the best job with (Braxton) Berrios and Ashtyn, (Josh) Malone, (La’Mical) Perine and (George) Campbell and everything like that. Hopefully we can find a guy or two to step up and do a great job for us, which I think that we will.
Brian Costello, New York Post: Have any of the new guys stood out to you as possible core guys for you this year? Certainly, I think that the guys that we drafted, I think Perine and Ashtyn can really help us, they stood out a little bit. I think that the guys that we had coming back, that was a big thing that last year I couldn’t use the guys that were starting on defense because we had so many injuries and those are the core guys that I initially thought we were going to have and then we had so many dang injuries that I couldn’t use all those guys. So, I’m excited to work with the core group that I have with (Harvey) Langi, (Frankie) Luvu, Dan Brown and (Blake) Cashman and (Matthias) Farley and all those guys. But the new guys, Ashtyn and Perine and several others have done a nice job, but it’s hard to tell with just two and a half weeks of practice and we really haven’t scrimmaged yet, and that’s going to be the tell all. Will they tackle? Will they block? Can they play with power? Can they run with these guys once we go full speed and turn it up? So, that’s going to be the tell all when it comes down to it here in the last two or three weeks.