November 18, 2012; St. Louis, MO, USA; New York Jets kicker Nick Folk (2) kicks an extra point against the St. Louis Rams during the first half at the Edward Jones Dome. The Jets defeated the Rams 27-13. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

The Jets have finally brought back on of their own via free agency. Just a little while ago, the Jets announced that they have re-signed kicker Nick Folk.

Good decision by the Jets to bring Nick back, he has done a good job for this team since coming over in 2010.  He hasn’t missed an extra point as a New York Jet, and after a tough year with Dallas in 2009, he hasn’t been less than 75% with his field goals since coming over.

In three years with the Jets, Folk has averaged 108 points per season, a more than solid job for the team, despite the fact that I wanted Josh Brown to take over the job in 2012.

I can admit being wrong.

It also is a good sign to have the kicker on the roster, so as not waste a draft pick on a kicker.  Yes, it’s possible to find a Blair Walsh out there in the college draft, but the Jets would be much better suited to use their draft picks elsewhere.

Welcome back, Mr. Folk.

Dec 9, 2012; Jacksonville FL, USA; New York Jets placekicker Nick Folk (2) kicks a 44-yard field goal in the third quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. The New York Jets won 17-10. Mandatory Credit: Phil Sears-USA TODAY Sports

For the last couple of weeks, we have been playing fantasy GM at the Jet Press, with our “Out the Door” or “Back for More” series. We have covered the quarterbacks, the running backs, the receivers, the tight ends, the offensive line, the defensive line, the linebackers, the cornerbacks, and the safeties.

Tonight, we we wait to hear from John Idzik for the first time as our new general manager, we finish out the series with the Special Teams edition, specifically the kicker and punter, as we have addressed the guys in the return in game at their natural positions.  Let’s get to it:

NICK FOLK, KICKER: If you have followed us all year long, you know that at the beginning of the 2012 season, I was pulling for Josh Brown to win the kicking job with the team. I felt that he was a more consistent kicker for his career. However, he didn’t, and we had Nick Folk back. To his credit, he was actually very consistent for most of the year. He made all of his extra point attempts, and went 21-27 in field goal attempts. However, we all know that the special teams fell off in the latter part of the season, and the field goal team was no different. Three of Nick Folk’s kicks were blocked, which Nick doesn’t have much control over. Take out those three, and Nick only cleanly missed 3 kicks, and perfect from inside of 40 yards, which is a terrific year. His kickoff numbers are average, but his reliability with field goals is the most important attribute. I wouldn’t object to competition coming in again, but Nick Folk should be signed, and……..

BACK FOR MORE

ROBERT MALONE, PUNTER: I am not going to bore you to death with Malone’s attributes, as we talked in detail about him in the “Unsung Hero” post.  He was a weapon in punting the ball out of bounds, and kicking it with top flight hang time so it could not be returned.  Time and time again, a Robert Malone punt resulted in the opponent starting inside their own 20.  Malone should obviously be……..

BACK FOR MORE

Aug 26, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, New York Jets kicker Nick Folk (2) kicks during the second quarter against the Carolina Panthers at Met Life Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-US PRESSWIRE

It started with a tweet this morning from the man himself, and it has been confirmed.

Kicker Josh Brown tweeted this morning that he wished the Jets best of luck, and thanking them for a great camp, implying that he lost the kicking competition. Then, Jenny Vrentas of the Star-Ledger confirmed it was true, that Josh Brown has been released, and Nick Folk has won the job as the kicker of the New York Jets.

Mike Westhoff called it the best competition that he has been around, and a decision has finally been made to settle it. It came down to last night, and Nick Folk was a perfect 3-3, while Josh Brown missed from 45 yards out.

In the Monday Morning Quarterback, we speculated that the one miss by Josh Brown was going to decide the battle, and apparently it did. So for all of us that have had restless moments due to Nick Folk, well, it looks like they are going to continue. Nick Folk is our guy, for the 3rd straight year.