After cornerback Cyrus Jones went down with a torn ACL during the team’s preseason finale against the New York Giants, the Patriots have been fielding questions about how they are going to fill the role of punt returner. On Friday, head coach Bill Belichick elaborated on the differences between strategizing for punt returns versus kickoffs.
Here’s how he characterized the two plays:
The easy answer is if one person does both, then that makes it a lot easier and it also makes the roster question a lot easier. I mean, the big difference, of course, is on kickoff returns, you get a chance to build up your speed, you get a chance to handle the ball cleanly, there’s nobody on top of you when you catch it and you’re able to run and set up your blocks and hit things full speed through that point, usually between the 20 and 30 yard line, where the coverage and the blockers in a wedge all sort of come together and the returner gets a chance to set those blocks up and hit them and try to get through there.