Before you laugh, yes there is a battle for the punter. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, “Jeremy, how in the world is Matt Dodge going to keep his job?” And I would say to that you’re probably right. Matt Dodge has a slim chance of keeping his job. But we here at the Gab don’t like to jump to conclusions. We like smart, honest debate about our beloved Giants. So that’s what we’re going to do. Both were good in the first preseason game.
THE CANDIDATES:
- Matt Dodge
- Steve Weatherford
MATT DODGE:
Let’s start with the negatives. Dodge is wildly, maddeningly inconsistent. He’ll boom off a beauty on one punt and then shank one on the next. We know he has trouble catching the ball. We know he’s not the best directional kicker. We know he doesn’t know how to avoid DeSean Jackson (as bad as that play was, and it was awful, trust me I was there, I genuinely feel bad for the kid. Yes, he screwed up, but you try dealing with that hatred, and he dealt with it with class. He showed up for the media and took his lumps. I respect that.) Okay, let’s go with the good: Dodge has a rocket leg. When he’s on, he’s kicking the ball far. He has a long of 69 yards. Impressive. He averaged almost 45 yards per punt. In 72 punts, he had 20 inside the 20 (not great, but not awful). The thing with Dodge is this: To get the good, you have to live with the bad. You have to put up with shanks, but you know you’re going to get some beautiful punts.
STEVE WEATHERFORD:
Weatherford spent last year with the Jets, and had a good year. 43 yard average, net of 38, long of 61, 42 punts in the 20 (out of 84) and no punts blocked (a very good thing). He doesn’t have the booming leg of Mr. Dodge, but he’s obviously much more consistent, and put up much better numbers. He’s a veteran, knows the stadium, and knows the weather. Those are all pluses.
AND THE WINNER IS…
Weatherford. I like Dodge as a man, and I love his leg. I just can’t deal with his inconsistency. We were spoiled with Feagles, to be sure, but consistency in a punter is a wonderful thing. Weatherford brings that. Plus, there might be a fan revolt if Dodge is still the punter.
Original Story:
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