Was not happy about this move at all. Feeley was pretty much money in the bank minus the Falcon game and the playoff kick. He was Meadowlands tested and I thought this was a HUGE gamble considering all the moves made in the off season. So far...so good. He has been great. Like a poster above mentioned, you cant even count the 61 yarder he missed because of being rushed and of course the absurd distance. He has been lights out.
Now thats a great point. Didnt think of that. Hopefully its something that will not show its head in the winter like it used to.
I'm just waiting to see how he does in the cold and wind of the meadowlands in december and january. He is fine in this weather but he did kick indoors at Dallas.
I love what Nick has done so far and all, but I'm going to wait until after the playoffs before I call the move a success.
I'm not a big stat guy but ... Denver's kicker is rated #29 in kick-off distance ... a full nine and one half yards behind the league leader. Prater's season average is 63 yards per kick-off. His kick-off average against the jets (played in Denver mind you) was 56.8. EDIT: Of course it has been scientifically proven that balls do fly further in high altitude.
I understand your logic here....but if we based Folk's success strictly on the playoffs...then Garrett Hartley would still be kicking for the Saints. Thus far...he's been a success....if he continues playing this consistent....he'll be a hero in the playoffs too.
I'm happy that he's been very solid, but I'm upset he cannot make tackles like Jay Feely........................... *sarcasm*
I remember him putting the first kickoff well through the end zone. If you look at the box score he put 3 of 4 kickoffs into the end zone. The one that didn't go into the endzone was an onsides kick.
I watched Folk kick at Arizona and he was one of the best kickers my beloved Wildcats ever had. I felt bad for him that last year in Dallas when it seemed like he lost his touch. I was pumped when the Jets picked him up and when I read in the SI season preview that he had hip surgery and had fully recovered I had a good feeling he would return to the kicker he was in college and his rookie year.
Brad Smith ran one back that went 3/4's of the way into the endzone. He got to around the 25......I rewatched the game. lol
BTW I was mixed on the Folk signing. Not because I liked Feely because he was a meh kicker when it counted. I was slightly worried that Folk wouldn't get his mojo back. As far as cutting Feely, he was such a damn good tackler I think it more than made up for his missed field goals in crunch time.
I will say this...Feely is a better tackler than Gholston........but still not a viable reason to keep him on the roster unless he's gonna play OLB :smile:
FTR, Nick Folk leads the NFL in total yards on kickoffs with 2,289. He is 16 in terms of average with 65.4 YPK, but there are 22 NFL kickers who have higher return averages than his 22.2 yards. He's been booming his kicks a lot more than Feely did and even more than Nooge before them. It's too bad they don't still show hang time on the telecasts. I am certain Folk is getting more than Feely or Nooge ever did. For me, I'd much rather the ball were in the air longer than farther. That allows your ST unit to get downfield to make a play on the runner before he gets a chance to bring his eyes back to field level and find holes.