T.J. Conley Learns As He Goes

The season hasn’t been a particularly spectacular one for rookie punter T.J. Conley as he has shown to be wildly inconsistent at times but, compared to what he has gone through, he is happy to learn on the job and find ways to avoid repeating mistakes. He enjoys the daily regimen — 50 catches from the Jugs machine and about 50 punts on his twice-broken right leg, the one with a surgically implanted titanium rod running from his knee down to his ankle. The noise, the pressure and the atmosphere are a far cry from those quiet afternoons in Seattle, and he can keep it that way if he can fill the role his coaches see him in. It is said that Conley has the leg to be an NFL mainstay, a dependable top-of-the line punter. But before it can happen, his coaches insist he become more consistent. “When he does it, then it’s fine,” special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff said. “And when it’s not happening, then it’s frustrating for all of us.” Conley is 24th in net average (38.1), but third in p...