Matt Bryant

[Jetsfan80]

https://thejetpress.com/2019/08/06/new-york-jets-matt-bryant-wants-end-teams-kicking-woes/

 

New York Jets: Matt Bryant wants to end team’s kicking woes

by Paul A. Esden Jr.

 

The New York Jets are dealing with some serious kicking woes. Veteran free-agent kicker Matt Bryant would like to help the green and white.

Things couldn’t be going much worse for the New York Jets kicking competition in 2019. The team literally went from the first Pro Bowl kicker in team history to a reject this offseason.

Last year the Jets found some guy named Jason Meyers off the scrap heap and he had a career year.

After being an average kicker with the Jacksonville Jaguars for three years he was claimed off of waivers by the Jets in late August.

In 2018 Meyers went 33-of-36 for a 91.7 conversion rate.

That Pro Bowl season was amazing for the Jets but ultimately proved too costly for the team. During the offseason, Jason signed a four-year $16 million contract with the Seattle Seahawks.

So the green and white decided to go bargain shopping and went back to an old castoff in Chandler Catanzaro.

They should’ve left him where they found him.

There’s no other way to slice this, Chandler has been awful during training camp. The only consistent thing Catanzaro has done is consistently miss field goals. There’s a reason Chandler has been on four different teams over the last four years.

The Jets can’t mess around, a good kicker can separate the so-so teams from the great teams.

So who should the Jets call? Former Atlanta Falcons kicker Matt Bryant.

When the Falcons declined his team option back in February he announced on social media that he wouldn’t be retiring:

“Over this past year, I’ve been asked numerous times about retirement and how I feel. Well, I’m not retiring and I feel fine and plan on feeling even better with some changes to my offseason program!”

Bryant has been in the league since 2002 and has played for five different NFL franchises over the last 18 years.

Despite his age (44), he is still playing at an insane level:

• 2018: 20 of 21 (95.2 conversion rate)
• 2017: 34 of 39 (87.2 conversion rate)
• 2016: 34 of 37 (91.9 conversion rate)

A typical issue with kickers as they get older is they lose their power, that’s not an issue with Matt Bryant either.

Over the last two years, Bryant has hit 12-of-14 field goals from 50 yards or more.

He earned the nickname ‘Money Matt’ and the Jets could desperately use that level of consistency on special teams.

We reached out to Matt Bryant on social media to see if he’d be interested in signing with the green and white and he replied via private message:

“J-E-T-S… JETS, JETS, JETS!

The Jet Press

 

✔ @TheJetPress

 · 19h

 

It's time for the @nyjets to stop playing around & fix their kicking woes. We've got the perfect solution: former @AtlantaFalcons kicker @Matt_Bryant3. Here's why he'd be a MASSIVE upgrade for #Jets + his stats speak for themselves. #JetsCamp #TakeFlight https://thejetpress.com/2019/08/06/new-york-jets-matt-bryant-wants-end-teams-kicking-woes/ …

 

The Jet Press

 

✔ @TheJetPress

 

We got receipts. @Matt_Bryant3 just gave us the @nyjets chant, now we just got to make it official. #JetsCamp #TakeFlight #Jets

 

The only thing left to do is for Bryant to sign on the dotted line and join the squad officially. This is a match made in football heaven.

[Barry McCockinner]

sign this beast

[Patriot Killa]

2 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Despite his age (44), he is still playing at an insane level:

• 2018: 20 of 21 (95.2 conversion rate)
• 2017: 34 of 39 (87.2 conversion rate)
• 2016: 34 of 37 (91.9 conversion rate)

Sign him. We really can’t have Cat missing 44 yarders when they count. This can be too easy of a fix so it’ll be a shame if they don’t attempt to.

[Jetsfan80]

2 minutes ago, Patriot Killa said:

Sign him. We really can’t have Cat missing 44 yarders when they count. This can be too easy of a fix so it’ll be a shame if they don’t attempt to.

Yep, I'm down.  Prior to the Kalil and Lewis acquisitions we had over $22M in cap space.  I highly doubt there will be any players breaking loose from other teams that would lead to us coming anywhere near the cap. 

[Patriot Killa]

Just now, Jetsfan80 said:

Yep, I'm down.  Prior to the Kalil and Lewis acquisitions we had over $22M in cap space.  I highly doubt there will be any players breaking loose from other teams that would lead to us coming anywhere near the cap. 

Not at all. Especially a 44 year old Kicker. That’s easy money.

[ASH1962]

Love those old red Atlanta Falcons helmets

[Untouchable]

What kicking woes?

When was the last time the Jets had a total walking disaster at PK?

Just last summer fans were freaking out about letting Catanzaro walk and dicking around with guys like Cairo Santos, that one rookie we brought in and yes, Jason Myers.

If Catanzaro starts missing kicks left and right in the pre-season, then sure, cut him and bring someone else in. But I guess I’m one of the few who isn’t totally petrified by him missing some kicks in camp.

Also, Bryant has been kicking either inside of a dome or in sunny Florida for a minimum of 10 games every year for the last decade. I think it would be much different in Jersey.

[SR24]

On board with this

[Patriot Killa]

Just now, Untouchable said:

What kicking woes?

When was the last time the Jets had a total walking disaster at PK?

Just last summer fans were freaking out about letting Catanzaro walk and dicking around with guys like Cairo Santos, that one rookie we brought in and yes, Jason Myers.

I understand this logic, too. 

But Cat makes me nervous. He’ll drill a 53 yard FG and then miss from 38 two drives later. If we can find consistency elsewhere, do it!

[Beerfish]

They should be bringing in someone right now, not after 5 gamed two of which we lost due to a kicker missing and then bringing in 5 guys.

Our punter position was much more solid than fg kicker and we brought in competition for that spot.

[Stark]

Bryant 2 year deal for $2.5 mil..... year 2 is "fluff" so lets say $1.5 for 1 year. $.5 of that is performance based

 

[Beerfish]

5 minutes ago, Untouchable said:

What kicking woes?

When was the last time the Jets had a total walking disaster at PK?

Just last summer fans were freaking out about letting Catanzaro walk and dicking around with guys like Cairo Santos, that one rookie we brought in and yes, Jason Myers.

People never worry about kickers until they cost you 2 or 3 games and then they are running around trying to audition guys.

We have one kicker in camp and he stinks so far.

If we had one Qb in camp, Chritian hackenburg and he was playing to hackenburg level would be just assume he was going to become joe Montana come game day?

Last year we had santos and myers and one guy turned out great the other sucked .  This year we have the guy that sucks but zero competition for him.

 

[playtowinthegame]

We're sittin here talkin about a kicker. A kicker. 

[Beerfish]

5 minutes ago, playtowinthegame said:

We're sittin here talkin about a kicker. A kicker. 

The Bears have been talking about a kicker all off season.

[Jetsfan80]

7 minutes ago, playtowinthegame said:

We're sittin here talkin about a kicker. A kicker. 

Good Kickers are like good Free Throw Shooters.  You don't recognize how important they are until you need them. 

Name me one Super Bowl winner that didn't have a solid kicker on it.  I'll wait. 

[Untouchable]

12 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

People never worry about kickers until they cost you 2 or 3 games and then they are running around trying to audition guys.

We have one kicker in camp and he stinks so far.

If we had one Qb in camp, Chritian hackenburg and he was playing to hackenburg level would be just assume he was going to become joe Montana come game day?

Last year we had santos and myers and one guy turned out great the other sucked .  This year we have the guy that sucks but zero competition for him.

 

Thing is, that can happen to literally any kicker not named Adam Vinatieri.

There have been countless examples of even former pro-bowl kickers who suddenly start sh*tting the bed. Doug Brien was consistently reliable until he turned stupid in the playoffs against Pittsburg in ‘04.

Myself and many others on this board were calling for the Jets to sign Dan Bailey early last season after the Cowboys cut him. He proceeded to sign with Minnesota and had a completely mediocre season (worst of his career) hitting 75% of his attempts while a historically up-and-down castoff kicker like Myers made the pro-bowl.

[Patriot Killa]

13 minutes ago, playtowinthegame said:

We're sittin here talkin about a kicker. A kicker. 

When you are down 10-20 or 17-28 in the 4th with the clock winding down, you need that FG to give you a one possession game. The difference is actually huge. The clock may not have enough time on it for 2-3 more drives because you also have to account for the opposing team’s offense trying to run clock, score, ect and that’s not even bringing along the fact that you’ll still need a TD to tie it.

If Cat misses an easy 45 yard FG against the Patriots with the game 24-24...we’ll all look back and wish we put someone more reliable in that position.

FG’s win and lose games sometimes.

if the Chargers kicker doesn’t miss 3 straight FG’s in the 2009-2010 Divisional round against us then we don’t win that game, period! 

[joewilly12]

Are we honestly discussing signing a 44 year old kicker? 

[Jetsfan80]

6 minutes ago, Untouchable said:

Thing is, that can happen to literally any kicker not named Adam Vinatieri.

There have been countless examples of even former pro-bowl kickers who suddenly start sh*tting the bed. Doug Brien was consistently reliable until he turned stupid in the playoffs against Pittsburg in ‘04.

Myself and many others on this board were calling for the Jets to sign Dan Bailey early last season after the Cowboys cut him. He proceeded to sign with Minnesota and had a completely mediocre season (worst of his career) hitting 75% of his attempts while a historically up-and-down castoff kicker like Myers made the pro-bowl. 

The point is you can't make a deep playoff run with a sh*tty kicker.  Catanzaro doesn't seem to be an instance of a good kicker suddenly turned bad midseason.  He's more like a mediocre kicker who is having a shaky camp.  Bryant has been an elite Kicker pretty much his entire career. 

Not that we're a team likely capable of making the playoffs this year, much less make a deep playoff run.  But Bryant might have more than just 1 year left in him. 

[Jetsfan80]

5 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

Are we honestly discussing signing a 44 year old kicker? 

He had a solid season at the age of 43, so what difference does a year make for a Kicker?

Morten Andersen was an NFL Kicker at age 47, and made 89.3 % of his kicks that year.  At the age of 46 he made 7 of his 8 kicks from the 40-49 range. 

[joewilly12]

Just now, Jetsfan80 said:

He had a solid season at the age of 43, so what difference does a year make for a Kicker?

Morten Andersen was an NFL Kicker at age 47, and made 89.3 % of his kicks that year.

I thought the NY Jets were moving on from being that circus team. 

[MichaelScott]

29 minutes ago, Untouchable said:

What kicking woes?

When was the last time the Jets had a total walking disaster at PK?

Just last summer fans were freaking out about letting Catanzaro walk and dicking around with guys like Cairo Santos, that one rookie we brought in and yes, Jason Myers.

If Catanzaro starts missing kicks left and right in the pre-season, then sure, cut him and bring someone else in. But I guess I’m one of the few who isn’t totally petrified by him missing some kicks in camp.

Also, Bryant has been kicking either inside of a dome or in sunny Florida for a minimum of 10 games every year for the last decade. I think it would be much different in Jersey.

I was thinking the same thing. If anything, it seems like the Jets have been pretty lucky playing the place kicker carousel each season. 

[Jetsfan80]

1 minute ago, joewilly12 said:

I thought the NY Jets were moving on from being that circus team. 

I wasn't aware signing a veteran Kicker made a team a "circus".

[JoJoTownsell1]

6 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

Are we honestly discussing signing a 44 year old kicker? 

He made 95pct of his FGs last year, including 4/5 from 50 plus yards. 

He did that at 43. 

Please give me your reasons for not wanting Bryant other than "OMG look at his age!"

[JiFtheOracle]

Kalil, Byrant, what’s next Doug Baldwin?  Calvin Johnson?  Revis?

[Untouchable]

16 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

The point is you can't make a deep playoff run with a sh*tty kicker.  Catanzaro doesn't seem to be an instance of a good kicker suddenly turned bad midseason.  He's more like a mediocre kicker who is having a shaky camp.  Bryant has been an elite Kicker pretty much his entire career. 

Not that we're a team likely capable of making the playoffs this year, much less make a deep playoff run.  But Bryant might have more than just 1 year left in him. 

I agree overall, but we’re literally less than a year removed from this fanbase lamenting letting Catanzaro walk out the door.

We may very well have to make a change at kicker, but it seems like we as Jets fans have this conversation every time we make a change at the position, and it’s never turned out to be a disaster.

Off the top of my head, the last time we had a real meltdown at the position was with Brien against the Steelers in the ‘04 Divisional game. And prior to that game, Brien was a consistently reliable PK. Hell, Myers missed a FG and two XP’s against the Texans last year, the very same day he was named to the pro-bowl. It’s an incredibly fickle position.

But from Jay Feely to Nick Folk to Chandler Catanzaro to Jason Myers...all of these guys caused concern among the fanbase initially and they all turned out fine. 

I’m just not ready to push the panic button. At least not yet.

[playtowinthegame]

19 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Good Kickers are like good Free Throw Shooters.  You don't recognize how important they are until you need them. 

Name me one Super Bowl winner that didn't have a solid kicker on it.  I'll wait. 

Super Bowl XI: Oakland Raiders

Kicker: Errol Mann

[#27TheDominator]

11 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

Good Kickers are like good Free Throw Shooters.  You don't recognize how important they are until you need them. 

Name me one Super Bowl winner that didn't have a solid kicker on it.  I'll wait. 

This is a stupid argument.  Name me one super bowl winner that didn't have a solid QB on it?  You can't.  Teams can't win if those guys don't perform.  It doesn't mean they don't suck.  Joe Flacco sucks but he was "solid" when the Ravens won the super bowl.  Ditto Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer.  Same for Eli ******* Manning - just ask nyjunc.  On second thought, don't. 

Elliot lost out in Bengals camp to Randy Bullock.  He joined the Eagles after Caleb Sturgis was injured.  Sturgis lost out to Andrew Franks with the Dolphins.  He got the Eagles job when Parky got hurt.  Tynes was the Giants kicker for both of their wins.  He was with the Chiefs, CFL and NFL Europe before he hooked up with the Giants.  Hauschka  was the Seahawks kicker.  He had been cut by the Vikings, Ravens, Falcons, Lions, and Broncos at that point.  He kicked in the UFL for crying out loud. 

Nobody likes Catanzaro, but he was fine in 2017.  If they can upgrade, great.  I don't want to spend any real money on it though.

[Stark]

9 minutes ago, JiF said:

Kalil, Byrant, what’s next Doug Baldwin?  Calvin Johnson?  Revis?

sure why not... some stem cell therapy to his knees by week 3 he should be able to give us 1 year lol

[playtowinthegame]

16 minutes ago, joewilly12 said:

Are we honestly discussing signing a 44 year old kicker? 

Yes, and transplanting him from a cozy dome to MetLife. 

[DJF71]

Age doesn't matter for kickers.  He may lose distance, but accuracy is not affected by age.

[#27TheDominator]

13 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

The point is you can't make a deep playoff run with a sh*tty kicker.  Catanzaro doesn't seem to be an instance of a good kicker suddenly turned bad midseason.  He's more like a mediocre kicker who is having a shaky camp.  Bryant has been an elite Kicker pretty much his entire career. 

Not that we're a team likely capable of making the playoffs this year, much less make a deep playoff run.  But Bryant might have more than just 1 year left in him. 

He is old.  He missed games last year.  He didn't even kick off.  You want to carry another kicker to keep him fresh?  Makes perfect sense on a team that you don't think is likely to be capable of making the playoffs this year.    He might have more than just 1 year left in him?  He will be 45.  It is more likely that he has less than 1 year left. 

[Jetsfan80]

10 minutes ago, playtowinthegame said:

Super Bowl XI: Oakland Raiders

Kicker: Errol Mann 

Digging deep there!

[joewilly12]

15 minutes ago, Jetsfan80 said:

I wasn't aware signing a veteran Kicker made a team a "circus".

44 year old kicker. 

[Jetsfan80]

6 minutes ago, #27TheDominator said:

This is a stupid argument.  Name me one super bowl winner that didn't have a solid QB on it?  You can't.  Teams can't win if those guys don't perform.  It doesn't mean they don't suck.  Joe Flacco sucks but he was "solid" when the Ravens won the super bowl.  Ditto Brad Johnson and Trent Dilfer.  Same for Eli ******* Manning - just ask nyjunc.  On second thought, don't.

I'm not just talking about Kickers who happened to perform well in the postseason.  Every Super Bowl winner has had a good kicker who also performed well in the postseason.  How is that a stupid argument?