New Jets Spotlight, P Travis Baltz

Jun 7, 2012; Florham Park, NJ, USA; New York Jets punter Travis Baltz (5) during the New York Jets organized team activities at the Atlantic Health Training Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-US PRESSWIRE

This morning, we take a look at a guy that is going to bring some competition to the punter position during Jets training camp. He was an undrafted free agent signed by the Colts in 2011, they released him, and he has now found his way to the Jets. Spotlight on P Travis Baltz, University of Maryland.

Here is some video on the Jets young punter:

There isn’t a lot to say on a punter, but I will give you some brief comments.

PROS:This young man can kick. That is clear from the above video. He has got a strong leg, there are several clips of returners having to backpedal on the football, which is obviously a big asset in the field position game. He also gets the ball out lightning fast. The way he gets the football away, there is no chance for the rush to get there. He also has an innate ability to get the backspin on the shorter punts. Like a golfer hitting a pitching wedge on the green, he can put the ball near the goaline without it touching, and then get it rolling back away from the endzone like nobody’s business.

CONS:There isn’t much to go on here, but one point is that the hangtime is inconsistent. He does leave a few too many kicks at the line drive level, leaving openings for returns. Another is how he does his corner punts. He does get the ball out quickly, but if you notice, he turns pretty strongly with the body towards the corner he is kicking towards, which is a two-fold problem. One is the fact that if teams see that on tape, they will set their rush up in the direction of the sideline he is going to kick towards. Say they are on the left hash, the rush can watch that tape, and set themselves up to come after him from that side. It also gives the punter an extra beat with the football, giving the rush an extra fraction of time to get to him, and sometimes that fraction is all he needs. He gets it out quick, but this might give his kicks a chance to get blocked at the next level.

The bottom line is this kid can cook. TJ Conley didn’t have a great season in 2011, and Baltz will push him. This will be an interesting competition to watch this summer, as it will be anybody’s game.