INDIANAPOLIS -- We all know how Steve Weatherford feels about Mike Westhoff, his former special-teams coach with the Jets. On Thursday, Weatherford ratcheted up the criticism of Westhoff, suggesting Westhoff doesn't know as much about punting as he thinks he knows.
Weatherford wasn't re-signed by the Jets even though he tied an NFL record for most punts inside the 20.
"That wasn't good enough for Mike Westhoff," a sarcastic Weatherford told ESPNNewYork.com at the Giants' media session. "I'm playing for a guy now (Tom Quinn) that's got a Super Bowl ring, so that's not a guy I care to talk about. He does a lot of complaining, but recently he hasn't produced much."
Weatherford was alluding to unflattering comments made by Westhoff in the preseason and early in the season, after Weatherford had signed with the Giants. In various interviews, Westhoff said he was "very, very disappointed" in certain aspects of Weatherford's game, also saying he "wasn't good enough."
Weatherford thinks he knows why Westhoff unloaded on him.
"He saw the punter struggles they were having with the guys they were having compete for the job," he said, "and they started hammering him: 'Why did you let Weatherford go?' He said, 'He wasn't good enough.'
"It's a waste of my breath. Who wants to hear that? He lets Ben Graham go, and Ben Graham is a Pro Bowl alternate the next season. If I'm the GM, I'm thinking, 'What's the common denominator?'"
Interestingly, former Jets punters have played in three of the last four Super Bowls -- Weatherford, Jeremy Kapinos (Steelers, 2010) and Graham (Cards, 2009).
