Then how can you explain it? Feely has not lasted more than 4 seasons on any team. 4 with the Falcons, 2 with the Giants, 1 with the Dolphins and 2 with the Jets. He's been a career merc.
I can explain it very easily. He left for more money as a UFA with the Giants. He set a franchise record for FG % over a 2 year period while he was there. He left for more money as a UFA with the Dolphins. He set a franchise record for single year FG % while he was there. He got hurt and got cut. He signed with us, was very good for 2 years while he was here, and we opted to look for a better kicker. If Folk is the kicker he once was, he COULD be a better option for us. Rackers wouldn't have been. Feely was cut exactly once. He left for the money in every situation except the one in which he butted heads with Parcells. Maybe he butted heads in some of the other franchises. All I know is, he was never let go because he wasn't a good kicker.
All of these people are bringing up conditions. Jay Feely was absolutely terrible indoors when he kicked for Atlanta. I don't give a damn if he's getting the ball out of a pile of elephant shit or off of brand new turf. You make the kick no matter what. Conditions shouldn't matter at this level. Kickers are in this league because they can kick the hell out of the ball. ...the guys that are mentally strong and have confidence succeed.
Well, apparently he was cut, so that means he was let go for not being a good kicker. ...or maybe because he thinks he's worth more than he actually is.
Fine, get rid of the conditions. Explain how he has a higher career FG % than several perennial Pro Bowl kickers, and yet he's "average". I'm not saying he's elite, but I sure as hell would say he was good for us.
Right. He was cut for not being a good kicker when he set the Dolphins franchise record for FG % in a season. It couldn't possibly be true that, like I said, he butted heads with the administration in Miami.
I'm not saying he wasn't good. I'm saying he's overrated and overvalued by Jets fans. Kicking isn't like playing quarterback, where the elite players at the positions are consistently great. Kickers are up and down. Feely's just the same.
I'm saying 3 teams paid more than his current team in order to retain his services. What's so hard to understand about that? His contracts escalated progressively everywhere he went until he became a Jet.
OVERrated and OVERvalued? Have you been reading the opinions on here? Most of them are that he was a dime a dozen kicker and Rackers would have been a huge step up. That's absurd. Like I said, there's a chance that Folk will be an even better kicker for us than Feely was. This idea that he was terrible, however, is ridiculous. I have no problem with the people who wish we had kept him. I have a problem with the people who say he was no good for us.
I'm done debating about a kicker. I could care less who's back there. If they're in the league, they can make kicks. The mental part of the game has to be mastered.
OK, so where is the better kicker that we shouldn't settle for? I think Folk has the potential to be as good or better but his problems are mental and that can be tough to shake. Ignatius is doing a good job defending Feely here.
