Remember that great 1987 University of Miami team? With Michael Irvin, the Blades brothers, Melvin Bratton, Daniel Stubbs, that team won the national championship, a year after the more famous 1986 team fell short. But I doubt there are many fans who could name the only player left from that team in the NFL. It's Giants punter Jeff Feagles, and if you didn't know that, don't feel bad. According to a story Feagles once told, even some of his own Hurricanes teammates who later became his NFL teammates didn't know he was on the team.
But while those Miami teammates didn't know who Feagles was, his Giants teammates appreciate him. In fact, Arthur Staple of Newsday reports that the Giants are rallying to get Feagles in the Pro Bowl:
"He's the best I've ever seen," [linebacker Antonio] Pierce said of Jeff Feagles. "Ever since I got here, he's been deserving of [a Pro Bowl nod]."
Kawika Mitchell said: "You usually measure a punter by his ability to put the ball outside the numbers. Jeff does it whenever he wants to."
Linebackers praising a punter? He must be good. Actually, he's good but not great: Although he has great directional ability, with 21 punts inside the 20-yard line and only four touchbacks, he's got mediocre leg strength, and a net average of 36.8 yards.
The best punter in the NFC is actually, by a fairly wide margin, Andy Lee of the 49ers. He's as good as Feagles at pinning the ball inside the 20-yard line, but he has a stronger leg, and his net average of 42.6 yards is outstanding. And the 49ers' offense is so bad that Lee has punted 85 times this year, the most in the league. In another year Feagles might be Pro Bowl-worthy, but this year, it has to be Lee.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-15-2007 @ 4:22PM
Dan Benton said...
MDS - Feagles is one of the few coffin corner punters in the league. He can leg it out if he really wants to, but that's not his gig.
Net yards aside, Feagles is not only the most valuable punter in the NFL, he's probably the best player (at their respective positions) on the Giants.
Look no further than touchbacks. While Less may have punter many more times than Feagles, only two of Feagles boots have gone into the endzone -- both times the unit had the opportunity to keep it inside the five, but failed.
But comparing Lee and Feagles is like apples and oranges. Both have different styles and each are good at what they do; Feagles is just better.
And one last fun fact. Teams only average 5.7 yards per return against Feagles compared to over 13 against Lee. Proving that he just boots it down there and hopes for the best.
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12-15-2007 @ 5:26PM
tacc731 said...
As you correctly pointed out, Feagles has terrible leg strength, and has had terrible leg strength his entire career. That alone strikes him from the conversation, regardless of his directional punting ability.
Andy Lee may be having a great year statistically, but Mat McBriar is the better, more consistent, punter.
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12-15-2007 @ 6:35PM
Dan Benton said...
Tacc731 - A man named Rodney Williams had some of the best leg strength of any punter in history.
Never heard of him? That's because leg strength isn't the only thing that determines the value of a punter.
The basis for your argument is amazingly flawed.
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