Should Jim Leonhard Be the Primary Punt Returner?

the kids a rookie and he didnt play for like 2-2.5 weeks but before that he was handling that job just fine. the kid was rusty and westoff likes him alot

Obviously the most important goal is to catch the ball and do no harm. The question is whether Leonhard is the only guy who can be trusted.

The thing that bothered me most about Kerley’s turnover wasn’t that he dropped it. It was that he should have signaled for a fair catch. That makes me nervous going forward.

Let the kid take his lumps and learn. Why is ok for Jimmy and Smitty to get burned week after week? And Mark to throw pick 6s like its nobodies business? And hunter and mully to play “who can suck more today?”. But the kid muffs one punt and we flip out like its the end of mankind.

We had the same overreaction to early fumbles by Greene and McKnight and we almost wrecked their confidence for good. Let’s not make the same mistake with Kerley.

Cmon Rex, let the kid keep his job. Give a vote of confidence like u do everybody else that u let suck it up out there for weeks on end. One muff is not a chronic problem.

The Jets are one loss away from calling it a season. There’s no quicker way to lose a game than by turning the ball over. While I think Kerley and McKnight might prove to be good return options for the Jets in the long-term (i.e., next season and beyond), it’s crunch-time and we need the ball security that Jim Leonard provides. If we have a game in hand, I don’t mind giving Kerley or McKnight reps but that’s the only time.

I never liked Cromartie as a return man. He is one of the league’s top cornerbacks and is way too valuable to risk injury. If he were significantly better than our other options, then I think there could be an argument but he’s not and there isn’t.

Leonhard on every punt return. Too late in the season and too much at stake to work out these kinds of issues now. Kerley was having trouble before anyway (not knowing when to fair catch or catch and run…probably contributed to the fumble yesterday). Let him focus on WR for now where he’s playing pretty well. Build up your confidence there then punt return next year.

No, Leonhard is not going to break one open, but we will keep possession at least.

was def explosive dude and someone brought it up but i think we should let kyle do some as well or have both kyle and kerly back there and like i said before give kerly a chance

My god, might as well have a fair catch specialist back there. It really leaves a sour taste in my mouth to have had guys like Leonhard and Cotchery returning punts when there is absolutely no threat of the ball being brought back 20+ yards, much less a TD.

I’d like to see Kyle Wilson back there. He was a superb punt return guy in college, he has speed and elusiveness, and he’s not a starter so his loss wouldn’t be catastrophic. Losing Jimmy hurts the defense more than losing Kyle, even though I personally find that sad since Leonhard is an only average safety.

How about just teaching these explosive guys how to SECURE THE BALL????

Let Leonhard return inside the 20….either that or teach Kerl to let everything go inside the 10 and hope for a TB.

I don’t thing Kerl and Cro are good at catching the big hang time kick deep when guys are surrounding them.

He might not have elite return ability, but he never muffs the punt, never fumbles, and never runs backwards. With him back there, its just one less aspect of the game we need to worry about.

McKnight on kickoff returns, Leonhard and Kerley situationally on punt returns. Cromartie should not be put back there on either unless literally everybody else is injured. And when I say everybody I include linebackers, defensive tackles, offensive linemen, quarterbacks, coaches and fans.

keep Mcknight and Curley working on punt return during practice till they get it right, almost all punt returners drop the ball but the team should have someone guarding the punt returner if he drops the ball

How about he catches it and hands it to Kerley? You do that once in a while and it may open things up for Leonard.

The cost of the turnovers is much greater than the benefit of having anyone else return. None of the other options is a Hester-like threat and with the offense playing the way it is, we need to focus on ball control, field position and defense. Between offense and special teams turnovers, we’ve given away a LOT of points.
Besides, Leonard is pretty good, though not explosive, returning punts. His first step is always forward so he makes positive yards and he does the little smart things (catches short punts before they bounce, knows when to fair-catch etc).