Gas2No99 Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Jets K Nick Folk faces dilemma: Self preservation or Mr. Nice Guy Rich CiminiESPN Staff Writer FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- As much as he'd like to mentor Ross Martin, the promising rookie kicker from Duke, Nick Folk believes there has to be a limit to his generosity. After all, Martin is trying to take his job. It's one of those awkward training-camp dynamics, and it's playing out this summer with the New York Jets. Folk wants to be The Nice Guy, but he also wants to stay employed. He's fighting for his livelihood. He and the undrafted free agent are locked in a kicking competition, and we all know the NFL is a cut-throat business. Folk said he will try to help Martin in certain instances, but he admittedly will hold back. "There are no backups, so it's tough," said Folk, the Jets' kicker since 2010. "You can't give away all your secrets. You just have to focus on what you have to focus on. I hate to say it, but that's how I've done it my whole career. You focus on yourself. "It's a fine line to walk," he continued. "Talking with other veteran kickers, everyone is in the same boat. Everyone wants to keep their job for a long time. It's not like a DB where he can mentor a young guy and that guy can be the third or fourth corner. You can't do that. It's hard, it's hard." Folk described Martin as friendly and quiet, with a strong leg. Because of the nature of the position, they spend a lot of time together during practice, off in their own kicking world. It's cordial, but competitive. This isn't Folk's first competition. Since 2010, the Jets have used at least two kickers in four of the six preseasons -- and Folk defeated them all even though his competitors were a combined 16-for-17 in field goals. A look back, including their field-goal stats: 2014: Folk (3-for-3) held off Andrew Furney (2-for-2), an undrafted rookie. 2013: Folk (3-for-4) survived a challenge from two veterans, Billy Cundiff(3-for-3) and Dan Carpenter (1-for-1). 2012: Folk (5-for-5) outlasted Josh Brown (3-for-4) in a terrific competition. 2011: Folk (4-for-6) beat out Nick Novak (2-for-2), who landed with the San Diego Chargers and has been in the league ever since. Here he goes again, trying to show the Jets he still belongs at the age of 31. Folk likes the way he's kicking the ball. He goal is to "stack some good days on top of each other and build some good momentum." Martin is doing the same. The first game is Thursday night. It's competition on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larz Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 folk sucked ass last year, hitting on 81% of his kicks when the average was 86%. I'm pulling for the cheap new guy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurnleyJet Posted August 8, 2016 Share Posted August 8, 2016 Save 4 Mill, never hit the long FG's in season play. Go youth! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villain The Foe Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Even if Folk is the better kicker now, Martin is most definitely the future and he's stride-for-stride with Folk. Hopefully Martin will keep it up through preseason and get the job. Less about the money and more about having a solid kicker for the next 15 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doggin94it Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Looking at this note from Cimini's Saturday's practice report, Folk's in trouble: Quote Rookie kicker Ross Martin hit a line-drive field goal from 48 yards despite a bad snap and a fumbled hold. Holder Lachlan Edwards managed to get his hands on the ball and get it down on the ground, but he couldn't tee the ball up. So Martin hit the ball while it was essentially lying on its side, yet he still got enough lift and distance to get it through the uprights. "The snap was bad, the hold was bad, but he made the kick," Bowles said. That's impressive - and useful, too. Imagine being able to salvage 3 points (and field position) on a situation like that in a real game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycdan Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 What about kickoffs. I don't think I've seen a Jet kickoff go for a touchback in years. That would be nice for a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villain The Foe Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 3 minutes ago, nycdan said: What about kickoffs. I don't think I've seen a Jet kickoff go for a touchback in years. That would be nice for a change. With the rule changes this year I would assume even Nick Folk could kick a touchback. Special teams is a dying breed unfortunately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Il Mostro Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 Folk is mediocre but safe. I don't know if this is the year, but there has to be a better option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 34 minutes ago, Villain The Foe said: Even if Folk is the better kicker now, Martin is most definitely the future and he's stride-for-stride with Folk. Hopefully Martin will keep it up through preseason and get the job. Less about the money and more about having a solid kicker for the next 15 years. I agree. I'm rooting for the rookie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycdan Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 A rookie punter AND kicker. Bill Parcells would be vomiting up his lungs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slats Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 10 minutes ago, nycdan said: What about kickoffs. I don't think I've seen a Jet kickoff go for a touchback in years. That would be nice for a change. This year, touchbacks result in the receiving team getting the ball on the 25 instead of the 20. As a result, many coaches have intimated that they'll be instructing their kickers to kick short to force a return, rather than ceding that five yards. This is something that Westoff liked to do when touchbacks put the ball on the 20. And he's visited camp... Pretty dumb rule change when they talk openly about potentially eliminating the kickoff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nycdan Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 If it weren't for the onside kick, I think the kickoff would already be gone. Since it's almost never a surprise, I'm not sure why they can't make kickoffs less of a reward (i.e. opt to put the other team on the 20, or kick off and make a touchback at the 25) so teams barely use them unless they want to do the onside kick. For some reason, the league just isn't ready for that yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AFJF Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 2 hours ago, BurnleyJet said: Save 4 Mill, never hit the long FG's in season play. Go youth! 16-26 on kicks over 50 yds as a Jet with the 16 being more than any kicker in Jets history IIRC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Villain The Foe Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 1 hour ago, Doggin94it said: Looking at this note from Cimini's Saturday's practice report, Folk's in trouble: That's impressive - and useful, too. Imagine being able to salvage 3 points (and field position) on a situation like that in a real game. I bet Minnesota could explain how valuable that would be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tinstar Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 For the present and the future of this Jet team, there are 2 guys I would like to see replaced with younger less expensive guys . I would like to see Folks lose the kicking battle to Martin and for Giacomini to lose the RT job to Qvale or IJalana , Those 2 moves would make us younger and save us millions in cap space . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BurnleyJet Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 3 hours ago, AFJF said: 16-26 on kicks over 50 yds as a Jet with the 16 being more than any kicker in Jets history IIRC. In the modern game that seems pretty poor to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoop24 Posted August 9, 2016 Share Posted August 9, 2016 That kid is at his neck .. He better get into competitive mode and drop the friendship stuff for right now . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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