The New York Giants apparently have a new punter -- former New York Jets punter Steve Weatherford. Check out these tweets.
I'm on my way back to NYC but my helmet has changed. I'm excited to get the opportunity to help this prestigious franchise win a world title ...
Very blessed to help carry on a prestigious tradition in the greatest city in the world. New York Football Giants!!! Go Blue!!!
Weatherford sent out those tweets just moments ago. 'Kudos' to Pat Traina for being the first reporter I noticed who re-tweeted them.
If you've been reading, you guys know I called Thursday night for the Giants to chase Weatherford. His work in 2010 was far superior to Matt Dodge's or any ot the other older punters the Giants had been connected to, like former Giants and Chicago Bear Brad Maynard.
This would have to mean the end of the line for Dodge. I can't imagine Weatherford, an established punter who likely had other options, coming to the Giants to compete for a job.
For the sake of being complete, here is the Dodge-Maynard-Weatherford statistical comparison I posted Thursday.
- Avg. -- Weatherford 42.4, Maynard 40.0, Dodge 44.7
- Net Yards -- Weatherford 37.9, Maynard 35.2, Dodge 34.8
- Out of Bounds -- Weatherford 11, Maynard 14, Dodge 11
- Inside 20 -- Weatherford 42, Maynard 25, Dodge 23
- Fair Caught -- Weatherford 27, Maynard 10, Dodge 7
- Return Yards -- Weatherford 299, Maynard 303, Dodge 536
- Overall PFF Rating -- Weatherford +13.4, Maynard -11.8 (worst in the league), Dodge -3.8
It's unusual to get excited about the signing of a punter, but this is a great move for the Giants