Does Steve Weatherford Make Sense For Giants?
As Mike noted earlier, Jets free-agent punter Steve Weatherford says the Giants are among the teams he would like to play for. Is this a good idea for the Giants? I broke down Weatherford vs. Matt Dodge over at SB Nation New York. Stop by and give it a look.
11 months ago
Ed Valentine
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Yes, he does
he’s very good and can mask a lot of the stink of your special teams. Of course Mike Westoff’s one of the best ever at STs so he’ll probably stink if he comes here.
Last night, a comedian died in New York. Somebody knows why. Somebody knows
Umm let me think about it....
That would be a hell yes. Dodge may very well turn into a fine punter but we are a now team and I got a little tired holding my breath everytime the guy kicked.
by Late for Dinner on Jun 27, 2011 10:46 AM EDT up reply actions
i gotta do some busting
how long were you holding your breath each time he booted a nice hanging punt that went a nice distance down the field? lol
"I like prime rib, and I'd love to win a Super Bowl" -Andy Reid
In a word
YES. Dodge sucks.
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that."
No you didn't
I was saying that at the end of last season.
In fact, I distictly remember saying that if you watched the game tape from the Carolina game, and then the 2nd Washington game, you’ll see two different punters. He improved more in one season than I’ve seen any other player I can remember.
Also, you just can not put the ST/Punting problems solely on Dodge. I’ll take two examples:
1) Dez Bryant’s TD return in the 1st cowboy’s game. Dodge booted a beautiful high, far punt that SHOULD have buried the boys back behind their 10. It was a complete coverage cluster**** that led to the TD.
2) The 2nd Eagles game. Yeah, you know the play I mean. Yes, Dodge didn’t kick it out of bounds. However, Jackson put the ball on the ground TWICE. A highschool coverage team should have been able to at the very least tackle him or get him out of bounds. A half decent PRO coverage unit should have been able to recover the ball. A good one would have gotten the TD and won the game.
The ST problems were systemic, and not just the fault of one guy (unless that guy’s name is Tom Quinn). Hopefully a draft class full of willing special teamers and the hiring of Izzo can get things turned around.
I’d welcome a legitimate camp competition, and maybe even carrying both of them if the rosters expand to 60.
That being said, in the long run I’ll take Dodge. Once he gets his head on straight, he will be a legitimate weapon.
Jackson fumbling
is probably what allowed him to get the TD.
When the players saw that, they forgot any discipline and went straight for the ball.
Like how vick fumbled the snap, froze most of the giants players, than tossed it to McCoy for the winning run
Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.
-John Madden
Damn you Costanza!!!
lol I wanted to be the 1st.
But I think Dodge will have a better year this year. Several times last season he showed us the reason why he was the only punter drafted. Dude has potential to be a bada$$ punter, he reminds me of Chris Kluwe. They’re the definitions of “big boots.”
Dodge doesnt even believe
He will be a good punter this year.
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that."
I'm sure we give Dodge the job...we don't quit on our draft picks quite that easy.
Imagine if Dodge kicked you in the balls
Agreed with costanza! and GoffAttack
Dodge will be fine.
Keep Jose Reyes, Trade Fred Wilpon
by BigBlueIntervention on Jun 27, 2011 12:12 PM EDT reply actions
He did avg almost 45 per punt last year
And the long ones had better hang time. Consistency is the next step. Plus the STs as a group were bumbling, pickin on Dodge is too easy.
Based on what??
There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ
The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet
simply a gut feeling
He has a year under his belt, and besides that boneheaded play against the eagles, he started consistently booming 50 yarders towards the last quarter of the season.
Keep Jose Reyes, Trade Fred Wilpon
by BigBlueIntervention on Jun 27, 2011 2:18 PM EDT up reply actions
I would argue the opposite
Not that our coverage was great, but trying to cover low line drives wont help any coverage team.
I’m still amazed that he has his defenders. He was terrible, dont care if he was a rookie. It’s not like punting the football is different in college. How many times did he just flat out drop the ball?
Some people think football is a matter of life and death. I assure you, it's much more serious than that."
Dodge's punts weren't always line drives
Many times he’d get a booming kick and people said that he out-kicked his coverage. Then he’d kick a line drive and people said that he didn’t give his coverage a chance to set up.
The fact of the matter is that nobody on special teams distinguished themselves. Dodge was a rookie. It was expected that he’d struggle. What was the excuse of all the veterans: Blackburn, Wilkinson, et al.?
I'm not sure
If Dodge get’s consistent, he’ll be awesome.
But why did he suck here after being so good in college?
I remember hearing that Quinn wanted to change Feagle’s mechanics, a guy who’s been doing his job great in 3 separate decades!
If he does the same with Weatherford, how do we know Weatherford won’t start sucking also?
sighs
Self-praise is for losers. Be a winner. Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble.
-John Madden
Yes, please.
This team cannot afford another year of Dodge’s awful, awful punting. Weatherford would be a massive upgrade.
There is no hope.... there is no future....there is only GRISSIONZ
The 2011 Mets- Rock bottom: We haven't reached it yet
Tough to give up on Dodge after only one season.
In comparing the statistics for the 2(great article, bye the way, Ed) we know that several of those categories where Weatherford beats Dodge were impacted by our crappy ST. Hopefully the addition of Larry Izzo to our ST coaching staff translates to a significant improvement too.
I do like that Dodge’s average yards per kick was better. The percentage of kicks returned can be improved by working to improve his directional kicking.
Having said that, why not bring find a way to sign Weatherford(hopefully with not much guaranteed money) and create some competition with Dodge?
Giants Fan in OK since 1980
Sure it is
I think everyone believes he will eventually be a quality punter. But, when you have an opportunity to get someone who ALREADY IS a quality punter — and can handle your stadium weather conditions — you have to give serious thought to that.
by Ed Valentine on Jun 27, 2011 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
Stats
I would also says some of that crappy coverage was impacted by line drive punts and balls that went where they were not supposed to go. They work together.
by Ed Valentine on Jun 27, 2011 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions
I do agree with that.
Maybe I just have a hard time with a rookie being a one-and-done. I guess I need to be more of a hardline ass, a what-have-you-done-for-us-lately kind of guy.
I agree Weatherford sounds really appealing to bring in.
Giants Fan in OK since 1980
exactly
there would be times where dodge would outkick the coverage unit, and things would go all to hell.
Keep Jose Reyes, Trade Fred Wilpon
by BigBlueIntervention on Jun 27, 2011 2:19 PM EDT up reply actions
It'll be interesting to see how the salary cap impacts this.
Unless you’re Al Davis, punters don’t usually cost too much.
Giants Fan in OK since 1980
I'm just hoping
Izzo “accidentally” lays out TQ during practice and has to assume the duties, then our ST will be fine. I don’t see Weatherford as enough of a veteran, consistent upgrade to think about replacing Dodge, who I think will turn into a great punter.
Our Net punting avg was a yard less with Feagles
If you think that Dodge improved over the season, which seemed pretty clear to me, then by the end of 2011 season we have a chance for him to be a weapon.
Few guys are directional punters out of college, Feagles wasn’t.
That doesn’t mean you don’t bring in competition, but I’d probably go free agent tryout not a signing.
Great comparo, some stats don't lie
The two stats that stick out to me are:
Kicks Inside The 20: Weatherford 42, Dodge 23
Kicks Fair Caught: Weatherford 27, Dodge 7
Kicks inside the 20 shows that Dodge could not directional kick out of bounds inside the 20 and/or booted it out of the end zone.
Kicks fair caught shows that Dodge needs to learn how to kick the ball for hang time.
I’d rather have a punter that punts 40 yds with no return/fair catch than a punter that punts 50 yards on a line and gives up 15-20 yd returns. As we all know, anytime a guy has a chance to return against our coverage unit, it could be a big play.
I know our coverage sucks but you have to give them a chance to get there or not allow the returner to touch it and that’s where I think Dodge really sucks.
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