http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgU6u07PHVg We lose faith in players way too quickly, and never seem to give second chances. I hope we give Nuge a shot on a 50+ yard field goal very soon. I was one to give up on him early this year but he has the ability to become one of the best kickers out there. He was one def one of the all time greatest in college FB history. Me personally am sick and tired of hearing "thank god we didnt have to kick a FG, nugent would have missed it" Guys hes a good kicker... As great of a play the Penny Punt was... it just goes to show the faith we put in the hands of our kicker... not such a good morale booster if you ask me.
Sorry, he's done nothing in the big leagues to make me comfortable having him kick a long, game winning FG. Sort of like John Hall, although I used to feel better with him on the long ones than the short ones. He'll have to make a few before I trust him, but maybe that is just me.
I like Nugent. Not his kickoffs, but if he can make the FGs I'll live with the kickoffs. Points are more important.
Thats funny ,My crew used to all hold hands during hall's kicks and cover their heads on the kicks over 49 yards.
Hall made that kick in Oakland with the clock running out and the playoffs on the line. It was a pretty far one, too. Doesn't get much bigger than that in the regular season.
The reason why he did not attempt the FG this weekend was not because of lack of trust. Did you see the condition of the field? it was all torn up and wet, not the best combo when kicking a 51 yard FG. He will be fine, rembember he is still young and learning, but kickers can stay around for a while if and when they find their niche (not kickoffs)
Hall was usually good from distance from what I remember. It was the intermediate range that always seemed to be an adventure. Nugent did get a few kicks deep this week which was encouraging. However, he did have some very short ones. I really don't know what to think anymore. He seems to be getting better on FGs although he hasn't kicked a lot this year. However, 50 yards is probably the max Mangini would give him a shot from unless the game isn't close.
Those were not conditions on Sunday to be trying long FGs, that's when you play for field position. As for Hall, yeah, the long ones he seemed better at. Also, I trusted him more with the game really on the line then when he could put one away. He always missed the kick that would put us up 9 or 10 and ice the game, but he usually made the all-or-nothing ones. Odd guy.
True. NE even went for it when they could have tried a FG too if I'm not mistaken. As far as the kicker debate I agree with the Hall kicking the long balls MUCH better than the short ones opinion. That's how I saw it anyway. Mike scares me more than not. I just haven't seen anyhting impressive, yet. But I do have faith. Kind of have to. Funny how he missed the first extra pts. in both first games of his 2 season career. BTW, did anyone see him kick on Letterman? Dow did he do? I missed it. THX
Nugent seems to be getting more comfortable kicking FG's and I'm sure he will continue to improve and gain confidence as time goes. In practice and in warm-ups in good weather, I have seen nugent hit from 55-60 yards. I'm sure he could hit a 50-55 yarder in a game with the wind or with no wind at all and decent field conditions. The real problem I've noticed with his field goals is that he attempts to drive it too hard, which in turn pushes the ball and is why he misses just wide of the posts on occasions. Hopefully he'll continue to settle down and get more comfortable. How many of the top kickers in the league were top kickers their first couple of years? It takes time to adjust to the added pressure and different conditions. As far as kickoffs go, this past game can't be much of a measuring stick as the field was a muddy mess, making planting your foot difficult and taking away power. If he can kick to the 5 with a lot of hangtime like he has at various times, I will be happy with that.
The big leagues? I think many college football fans would disagree that playing for a team always struggling to make the playoffs is the "big leagues". Every kick at Ohio State had national championship implications. The Jets are not at that point yet. Hopefully they will be soon. At OSU he would get 30 plus kicks a year. Grading a kid on 11 kicks is a little harsh. Plus he kicked a ball through a window..which was funny.
Yeah, he did it. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/14/sports/football/14nugent.html?_r=1&ref=football&oref=slogin
That's why I'm inclined to stick with him for a while. Besides, who else would we get that's made kicks as big as him on any level that's available?
Puhleeeze. The NFL is the big leagues, if you don't understand that well what can I say. He has not been nearly as consistent in the NFL than he was in college. Will it change? Who knows, but whether you like to admit it or not playing in the NFL, when every kick is scrutinized, and your livelihood is on the line is more pressure than OSU.....
hahaha you have obviously NEVER been to Ohio State. Ohio State draws as many fans for the spring league game as the Jet's do for a regular season game. The cheapest tickets for this weeks game are thousand bucks. Nuge received death threats his first year at OSU when he struggled. Consistently. That town lives for that football team. To say the pressure is more playing for the JETS right now is NUTS. Maybe if he was playing for the colts or bears. Unfortunately, we are not at that point yet. His livlihood was on the line with every kick at OSU. When they won the National Championship his Soph year how many times were his kicks the deciding factor?!?! Yah, but I suppose if he missed no one in the entire state of Ohio would have cared...
His kickoff depth sucks and his accuracy from long distances and less than stellar. What part about the guy am I supposed to be crazy about? Listen, kicker is probably one of the easier positions to transfer from college to the pros, unlike DE or even CB. If the guy doesn't have the deep leg needed to pin opposing teams near the endzone, our the "clutch" kick from 50 yards out that you can always count on, I don't see him as fitting into our long-term plans.
He does need to work on his kickoffs. Maybe a lower kick would suffice. He finally drove one of the last ones in the Patriots game and it seemed to help.
