Folk's Feeling Good About a Career Restart-Randy Lange

Kentucky Jet · 04-08-2010, 06:32 PM

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Folk's Feeling Good About a Career Restart
Published: Thu, April 8, 2010 - 11:38am ET

By Randy Lange
Lange is editor-in-chief of newyorkjets.com. He covered the Jets for 13 years for The Record of Hackensack, N.J.

File Under: Mike Westhoff, Rex Ryan, Dallas Cowboys, Nick Folk, new Meadowlands stadium, Jay Feely, Cowboys Stadium, Clint Stitser, John Hall

change font email article 04/08 — Nick Folk was asked this morning about special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff. He responded by talking about Friday morning, which will be the biggest day to date in his Jets career.

"He's been great so far. We're going out tomorrow to kick a little bit," said Folk in front of his locker during the media availability period in the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. "That'll be my first kicking experience here except for my workout. It'll be good."

It'll also be Folk's first Green & White outdoors workout as the most experienced PK on the Jets' roster, after Jay Feely's signing with Arizona last week. But that's not what will make the outdoor session (perhaps in the rain here in North Jersey) so good for him.

"Coach Ryan told me somebody will probably be in here competing with me," he said. "I've competed two out of three years for someone, so it's not bad. I don't mind it at all. It'll bring out the best for the team and I think it should bring out the best in you."

Folk needs to show his best because it's better than how he ended last season with Dallas. Many remember his struggles as he went 4-for-11 on his field goal tries in a six-game span before the Cowboys released him with two games to go in the regular season.

Looking back on December, he was asked, was he surprised he was let go?

"The way I was kicking? It was going to happen at some point unless I started making kicks," he said.

But the downside of this game often is that the good work of players and teams gets forgotten in the blink of the eye that is the NFL's 16-game season. What folks might forget about Folk is that for 2½ seasons, he was fashioning a career as one of the league's best young kickers.

Folk wasn't going to go into all the reasons that career got put on hold for a while. But he allowed that a lot had to do with the hip procedure he underwent in May 2009 after that joint had bothered him for much of '08.

"I don't want to blame anything, but everything leads back to the surgery. That's what I can kind of attribute it to," he said. "I talked with my kicking coach and there was something really minor I had picked up, and it was because I felt I needed to get more aggressive to the ball to compensate for things. That's just the way it was. But everything feels good now."

There's no telling who all will be competing against Folk for the kicking job this off-season and training camp. On Tuesday the Jets announced the signing of Clint Stitser, the Fresno State kicker who reminds me just a bit of John Hall — not quite as big at 6'1" and 200 pounds as Johnny was, but still big enough, and raw with 71 percent career accuracy at Fresno, similar to how raw Hall was coming out of Wisconsin as a free agent under Bill Parcells in 1997. Stitser had a strong workout for Westhoff and the Jets before signing on and for now he's in the competition.

But Folk is even bigger at 6'1", 225, and he looks as if he's got back the confidence that led him to a Pro Bowl appearance as a rookie in 2007 and an even better non-PB season the next year.

"It's such an up-and-down game. I've just got to keep my head to the grind, keep working, keep going," he said. "We'll get it fixed."

I asked him about the possible opportunity to open another new NFL stadium in style. Last year Folk converted the first placement, an extra point, in Cowboys Stadium's Aug. 21 preseason debut, then hit all his kicks (4 PATs and a 47-yard FG) in the official Sunday night unveiling in the loss to the Giants last Sept. 20. He may well have the chance to hit the first kick in New Meadowlands Stadium in the Monday night preseason opener against the Giants, not to mention the first "real" kick in the the Jets' NMS history in the Monday night regular-season opener.

"It's important, but I think it's more important for the team to get a win in the first game," he said. "We didn't win the first one last year in Dallas. I could care less how many field goals I kick. I could kick extra points all day long if we win games and win the Super Bowl."

I reminded him that I didn't think he'd ever missed an extra point in all the ups and downs of his three-year pro career. He didn't say a word, just knocked on the wood panel at the side of his locker, before heading to today's practice.

Here are some pertinent breakdowns for Folk and the NFL the past three seasons. They don't prove anything, but they should remind us that the Jets have a pretty decent kicker on the roster.

2007 Week 1–2009 Week 9 FG-FGA Pct XP-XPA Pct
Nick Folk 60-70 85.7 118-118 100.0
All Other NFL Kickers 1938-2331 83.1 2827-2855 99.0
2009 Week 10–2009 Week 17 FG-FGA Pct XP-XPA Pct
Nick Folk 4-11 36.4 13-13 100.0
All Other NFL Kickers 752-919 81.8 1152-1172 98.3
2.75/5 : Rate this Post 4 ratings submitted

PaPZ187 · 04-08-2010, 07:34 PM

Hey if I kicked as bad as he did last year, I would be feeling good to get a chance at a job as well.

Seriously though, if he kicks well he stays, if he sucks like last year and can't get over his issues with the injury and his mechanics then he will be gone, I believe its as simple as that.

Now the real problem is if he folds like a lawn chair who will replace him to fill the K spot? By then there will probably be slim pickings so how Folk turns out will have a big impact on our season either way more than likely.

With Westoff as our ST coordinator I like Folks chances of turning his career back around however, time will tell.

NoJokeJets · 04-08-2010, 10:13 PM

The moral of this story is that the Jets FO knows what they're doing, and we the fans do not.

Watch Folk be a Pro Bowl kicker again.

PaPZ187 · 04-09-2010, 12:31 PM

[QUOTE=MileHiJetMan;3551716]The moral of this story is that the Jets FO knows what they're doing, and we the fans do not.

Watch Folk be a Pro Bowl kicker again.[/QUOTE]

The Jets FO has more insight and expirience then the average fan when it comes to evaluating talent ofcourse.

That doesnt mean they dont make mistakes and cant be wrong.

Tannenbaum is a top GM the past 4 to 5 years in the NFL and he still makes mistakes. Vernon Gholston, Kellen Clemens, letting go of Pete Kendall without replacing him.

So the moral of the story is the FO knows more than we do when it comes to evaluating talent, but that doesnt mean they're always right either. The only way we'll know is this was the right move is when they get on the field and prove it.

04-08-2010, 06:32 PM	#1
Kentucky Jet A NY JETS fan! Go Jets! Hall Of Fame Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Ormond Beach, Florida Posts: 10,888	Folk's Feeling Good About a Career Restart-Randy Lange -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Folk's Feeling Good About a Career Restart Published: Thu, April 8, 2010 - 11:38am ET By Randy Lange Lange is editor-in-chief of newyorkjets.com. He covered the Jets for 13 years for The Record of Hackensack, N.J. File Under: Mike Westhoff, Rex Ryan, Dallas Cowboys, Nick Folk, new Meadowlands stadium, Jay Feely, Cowboys Stadium, Clint Stitser, John Hall change font email article 04/08 — Nick Folk was asked this morning about special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff. He responded by talking about Friday morning, which will be the biggest day to date in his Jets career. "He's been great so far. We're going out tomorrow to kick a little bit," said Folk in front of his locker during the media availability period in the Atlantic Health Jets Training Center. "That'll be my first kicking experience here except for my workout. It'll be good." It'll also be Folk's first Green & White outdoors workout as the most experienced PK on the Jets' roster, after Jay Feely's signing with Arizona last week. But that's not what will make the outdoor session (perhaps in the rain here in North Jersey) so good for him. "Coach Ryan told me somebody will probably be in here competing with me," he said. "I've competed two out of three years for someone, so it's not bad. I don't mind it at all. It'll bring out the best for the team and I think it should bring out the best in you." Folk needs to show his best because it's better than how he ended last season with Dallas. Many remember his struggles as he went 4-for-11 on his field goal tries in a six-game span before the Cowboys released him with two games to go in the regular season. Looking back on December, he was asked, was he surprised he was let go? "The way I was kicking? It was going to happen at some point unless I started making kicks," he said. But the downside of this game often is that the good work of players and teams gets forgotten in the blink of the eye that is the NFL's 16-game season. What folks might forget about Folk is that for 2½ seasons, he was fashioning a career as one of the league's best young kickers. Folk wasn't going to go into all the reasons that career got put on hold for a while. But he allowed that a lot had to do with the hip procedure he underwent in May 2009 after that joint had bothered him for much of '08. "I don't want to blame anything, but everything leads back to the surgery. That's what I can kind of attribute it to," he said. "I talked with my kicking coach and there was something really minor I had picked up, and it was because I felt I needed to get more aggressive to the ball to compensate for things. That's just the way it was. But everything feels good now." There's no telling who all will be competing against Folk for the kicking job this off-season and training camp. On Tuesday the Jets announced the signing of Clint Stitser, the Fresno State kicker who reminds me just a bit of John Hall — not quite as big at 6'1" and 200 pounds as Johnny was, but still big enough, and raw with 71 percent career accuracy at Fresno, similar to how raw Hall was coming out of Wisconsin as a free agent under Bill Parcells in 1997. Stitser had a strong workout for Westhoff and the Jets before signing on and for now he's in the competition. But Folk is even bigger at 6'1", 225, and he looks as if he's got back the confidence that led him to a Pro Bowl appearance as a rookie in 2007 and an even better non-PB season the next year. "It's such an up-and-down game. I've just got to keep my head to the grind, keep working, keep going," he said. "We'll get it fixed." I asked him about the possible opportunity to open another new NFL stadium in style. Last year Folk converted the first placement, an extra point, in Cowboys Stadium's Aug. 21 preseason debut, then hit all his kicks (4 PATs and a 47-yard FG) in the official Sunday night unveiling in the loss to the Giants last Sept. 20. He may well have the chance to hit the first kick in New Meadowlands Stadium in the Monday night preseason opener against the Giants, not to mention the first "real" kick in the the Jets' NMS history in the Monday night regular-season opener. "It's important, but I think it's more important for the team to get a win in the first game," he said. "We didn't win the first one last year in Dallas. I could care less how many field goals I kick. I could kick extra points all day long if we win games and win the Super Bowl." I reminded him that I didn't think he'd ever missed an extra point in all the ups and downs of his three-year pro career. He didn't say a word, just knocked on the wood panel at the side of his locker, before heading to today's practice. Here are some pertinent breakdowns for Folk and the NFL the past three seasons. They don't prove anything, but they should remind us that the Jets have a pretty decent kicker on the roster. 2007 Week 1–2009 Week 9 FG-FGA Pct XP-XPA Pct Nick Folk 60-70 85.7 118-118 100.0 All Other NFL Kickers 1938-2331 83.1 2827-2855 99.0 2009 Week 10–2009 Week 17 FG-FGA Pct XP-XPA Pct Nick Folk 4-11 36.4 13-13 100.0 All Other NFL Kickers 752-919 81.8 1152-1172 98.3 2.75/5 : Rate this Post 4 ratings submitted

04-08-2010, 07:34 PM	#2
PaPZ187 NO paper bag over my face...still GREEN and WHITE till I die! All League Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lawrence, MA Posts: 3,063	Hey if I kicked as bad as he did last year, I would be feeling good to get a chance at a job as well. Seriously though, if he kicks well he stays, if he sucks like last year and can't get over his issues with the injury and his mechanics then he will be gone, I believe its as simple as that. Now the real problem is if he folds like a lawn chair who will replace him to fill the K spot? By then there will probably be slim pickings so how Folk turns out will have a big impact on our season either way more than likely. With Westoff as our ST coordinator I like Folks chances of turning his career back around however, time will tell.

04-08-2010, 10:13 PM	#3
NoJokeJets Bill O'Brien in 2014! Veteran Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Colorado Posts: 1,751	The moral of this story is that the Jets FO knows what they're doing, and we the fans do not. Watch Folk be a Pro Bowl kicker again.

04-09-2010, 12:31 PM	#4
PaPZ187 NO paper bag over my face...still GREEN and WHITE till I die! All League Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Lawrence, MA Posts: 3,063	[QUOTE=MileHiJetMan;3551716]The moral of this story is that the Jets FO knows what they're doing, and we the fans do not. Watch Folk be a Pro Bowl kicker again.[/QUOTE] The Jets FO has more insight and expirience then the average fan when it comes to evaluating talent ofcourse. That doesnt mean they dont make mistakes and cant be wrong. Tannenbaum is a top GM the past 4 to 5 years in the NFL and he still makes mistakes. Vernon Gholston, Kellen Clemens, letting go of Pete Kendall without replacing him. So the moral of the story is the FO knows more than we do when it comes to evaluating talent, but that doesnt mean they're always right either. The only way we'll know is this was the right move is when they get on the field and prove it.