Will the war of words between the New York Jets and New York Giants ever cease? First, there was Jets coach Rex Ryan declaring in his book that the Giants were the Jets’ ‘Little Brother.’ Today, there was Plaxico Burress blasting Giants coach Tom Coughlin, quarterback Eli Manning and the team’s fans. Now, Jets’ special teams coach Mike Westhoff is ripping former punter Steve Weatherford, who is now with the Giants.
“I was very happy in Steve with some things he did and very, very disappointed in others,” Westhoff said. “To tell you the truth, I don’t want to be 23rd. We’re not 23rd in anything else. Wherever we are, I am trying to get better, so that’s why we made the move.”
Weatherford had an up-and-down tenure with the Jets. Last season, the Jets were 23rd in the NFL with a 42.6 yard-per-punt average. Westhoff also pointed out that Weatherford did tie a league record for most punts inside the 20-yard line with 42.
“I was disappointed with some of the performances he had at the end of the year,” Westhoff said. “It wasn’t very good. You were there. You were up in New England. The ball went straight out (of bounds)….There were times when he just didn’t do the job. I was looking to get better than what he did at that point in time. Wasn’t good enough, in my opinion. It wasn’t. I don’t want to be 23rd in the NFL. That’s where he was.”
All Giants fans know is that Weatherford gave up 299 return yards while Matt Dodge was surrendering an abominable 536. In this case, the Giants are very happy to have this discarded Jet.