Jets? Punter Takes Wind in Stride By DAVID PICKER Published: October 28, 2006 HEMPSTEAD, N.Y., Oct. 27 ? The weather is supposed to be windy with a chance of showers when the Jets play the Browns in Cleveland on Sunday. The Jets? punter, Ben Graham, could do without the rain. But if the wind is blowing in the right direction, he prefers the blustery conditions. Graham, an Australian in his second season, showed during practice on Thursday just how much of an ally the wind could be. One of his punts drifted 81 yards before plummeting into the end zone. The punt made such an impression on Coach Eric Mangini that when he was asked about place-kicker Mike Nugent at a news conference Friday, he quickly changed the subject to Graham. ?It looked like it fired out of a rocket,? Mangini said, a tinge of awe in his voice. The wind was not nearly as strong during Friday?s practice, when Graham stood at the 5-yard line and intended to punt the ball into a net behind the goalposts. Instead, he booted it over the net and toward a parking lot filled with the glistening cars and sport utility vehicles owned by his teammates. It was natural to expect a thud, followed by the piercing tones of a car alarm. But the ball cleared the parking lot and landed in Hofstra University?s soccer field. So, will Graham?s standout week in practice translate into success ? say, an 81-yard punt ? against the Browns? ?If the conditions are right and everything comes together like it did yesterday, that?s what the goal is,? Graham said Friday. The longest punt in the N.F.L. this season was 75 yards, by Mat McBriar of the Dallas Cowboys. Graham?s longest this season was also the longest of his career, 67 yards, but many of his other statistics have dipped since his rookie season, when he made a smooth transition from the Australian Football League. He is tied for 13th out of 32 punters with an average of 44.3 yards, and he ranks 15th with a net average of 37.5 yards. Graham said he realized that he had fallen short of expectations this season. ?I finished in the top 10 in both last year,? he said of his average and his net average. ?So my goal was to increase my numbers. But what happens with the stats is that sometimes they aren?t a true reflection of how a punter actually goes. If you?re playing with an offense that moves the ball down the field and you?re punting going in a lot, your stats aren?t going to be as great.? That is a tradeoff the Jets are willing to take, of course. But if the offense has trouble moving the ball, they would be happy to take that 81-yard punt.
Thanks for posting this article hwismer. We know Benny can launch the pill but now I'm really hoping for a football play other than a punt.
I thought this was pretty funny... article mentions Graham at the tail end (I'll embolden it): http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/index.ssf?/base/sports-0/116201440634670.xml&coll=1&thispage=1 Jets' Young Offensive Line Is Meshing Quickly Saturday, October 28, 2006 BY ELI GELMAN Star-Ledger Staff HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. -- It wasn't supposed to happen this quickly. With three new starters, including two rookies, the Jets offensive line was expected to be a weakness this season. It was going to take time for them to jell and for the kids -- center Nick Mangold and left tackle D'Brickashaw Ferguson -- to adapt to the NFL. Or maybe not. QB Chad Pennington has received solid pass protection and is looking as good as ever. The running attack has produced four straight 100-plus yard games, including last week's 221-yard explosion against the Lions. And with the league's seventh-most points (147) as the Jets prepare to take on the Browns in Cleveland tomorrow, apparently their offensive line has come together much sooner than most anticipated. Except for maybe the Jets' linemen, who never doubted each other. "I think it's where we thought it would be at this point in the season," veteran guard Pete Kendall said, "which is better than it started and hopefully not as good as it's going to wind up. "D'Brickashaw and Nick have come in and are bright kids. They've learned the X's and O's really quickly. I think they're making steady progress every week getting used to playing against NFL players. Look at where they were drafted (Ferguson fourth overall, Mangold 29th overall) and you kind of expect it." Kendall and right guard Brandon Moore are the only returning starters from last season. Anthony Clement, a free-agent signing who starts at right tackle, beat out Adrian Jones, who had started at left tackle last season. Mangold never had any competition in camp once free-agent signee Trey Teague suffered a broken left ankle that has kept him out all season. Mangold has done well getting them lined up and Ferguson has had little trouble keeping some of the game's top pass-rushers from getting at Pennington. The chemistry and much of the line's success can be attributed to the mentoring the veterans have provided their rookie linemates. The unit goes out to dinner every Thursday. "All those guys have made things a lot easier," Mangold said. "Being able to connect and get that bonding going. I think it falls on their shoulders that they've done a great job of helping me and Brick along, which leads to the cohesiveness." Clement constantly works with Ferguson and Mangold says Kendall gives him pointers. This week the two have talked about Mangold's latest assignment against one of the league's premier nose tackles in Ted Washington. Still, Kendall refuses to take credit for Mangold's early success and points to offensive line coach Tony Wise. "I don't know that I've ever been accused of being a calming influence," Kendall said with a smile. "Tony does a good job coaching us and the plan is pretty well spelled out by the time we play on Sunday. But the thing is, if there's a problem, the five of us get together. We talk it out with Tony and with whoever else we need to. It's a collaborative effort." While most would expect the rookies to pay when the group goes out to dinner, Moore says that's not always the case. "Everybody chips in," Moore said. Just as they have on the field all season. Notes: Punter Ben Graham has been booming kicks in practice the past two days. On Thursday he launched one 80 yards, with a little help from the wind. Yesterday he stood at the 5-yard line and punted the ball through the uprights and over the netting. He ran to retrieve it in the parking lot but came back empty-handed. It had sailed onto a nearby soccer field.... Safety Kerry Rhodes will be spending part of his bye week at his alma mater. Rhodes plans to take in the Louisville-West Virginia game Thursday. And he expects his Cardinals to win. "Prediction: 31-20, Louisville." ... Browns T Ryan Tucker (illness) will be out of tomorrow's game. S Brian Russell (ankle) and FB Lawrence Vickers (elbow) remain questionable, but both practiced yesterday. Eli Gelman may be reached at egelman@starledger.com It wouldn't have done Graham any good to find the ball even if he could have. By the time the ball re-entered the atmosphere it had already burned up.
sicker = randall cunningham holding the eagles record for longest punt...something like 90 yards i love when graham does the knuckleball punt...has he had any muffs so far this year?
There have been a couple, but I am SOOO thrilled with having this guy it's beyond words. We have a world-class punter under contract for (hopefully) many years to come.
81 yards.. around 75 metres. Not bad with that kind of ball. In fact that's bloody impressive. Imagine the bounce that would've got too.
Cunninghams punt rolled something like 60 yards. Grahams apparently went 80 or so yards in the air. I bet we will see one of those in a huge spot before his career ends.
awesome stuff, great read and i laughed out loud (literally) when i read how it went into the soccer field. i am just waiting for the day when we see ben line up outside to take a catch or even run the ball lol, even if its like a decoy, it would be funny as hell.
That punt sailed over the net.... I read that it was sailing towards the parking lot where the players park. They were all waiting to hear a boom and a car alarm.... it went completely OVER the parking lot, and into a soccer field. That is not a small parking lot....
