Andrew Beck had already proven his versatility this season, but he took it to another level last week in Kansas City.
Beck, who has played fullback and tight end for the Jets this season, handled the team’s kickoffs in the loss to the Chiefs last week. Beck, who is in his eighth season, was a surprise on special teams for the Jets.
“It was something I talked about with [special teams coach Chris] Banjo,” Beck said. “We talked about it a while ago, kind of joking around. Then, last week we talked about it a little bit more.”
The Jets had given up a kickoff return for a touchdown against the Raiders in their prior game, and Banjo saw a way to get an extra tackler on the field with Beck kicking off.
“Any time you have an opportunity to get an extra tackler on the field with a play like this, I think it’s a benefit,” Banjo said. “So, yes, we’ve definitely been working on it for a while. Always look for different ways, a way to get 1 percent better, continue to close the gap that we continue to talk about and stress.
“So, whenever we feel like and identify an area where it can help, we’re definitely going to try to maximize it.”
Beck had only messed around kicking in high school and in some of his previous stops. He had never actually kicked in a game before. He also is the Jets’ emergency long snapper.
“I’m an emergency specialist,” Beck said.
He said that he practiced doing it again this week, but he’s not sure if the coaches will have him kick off this week against the Bills. Punter Austin McNamara and kicker Jason Sanders have kicked off in the Jets’ earlier games this season.
Beck kicked off five times and only had one mistake, kicking the ball out of bounds to open the second half and giving the Chiefs the ball at their 40. They scored a touchdown after that.
Jets RB Braelon Allen has known Bills defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard since he was 16 years old. Leonhard was the defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and recruited Allen to go there. At the time, Allen was a safety. Later, Leonhard served as the interim head coach while Allen was there.
“He’s great. I love Coach Leonhard to death,” Allen said. “He was a big reason why I went to UW. Once I got there our relationship built more and more over time. He was actually the first one to give me a nickname at Wisconsin. It was ‘War Machine.’ We’ve had a great relationship. I’m excited to see him.”
Leonhard, who played for the Jets from 2009-11, is in his first season as the Bills defensive coordinator.
The Jets activated rookie safety VJ Payne off injured reserve Saturday. They waived OL Kohl Levao to clear the roster spot.
Jets RT Armand Membou was fined $14,926 by the NFL for removing his helmet in the loss to the Chiefs. Membou spiked his helmet after allowing a sack in the fourth quarter and was penalized.
