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

Dec 30, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Jets punter Robert Malone (3) gets off a punt as Buffalo Bills defensive end Kyle Moore (54) rushes during the second half at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Bills beat the Jets 28-9. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

In a year when your team goes 6-10, it’s tough to identify great performers, as there aren’t many to find. There are the obvious ones, like Antonio Cromartie, and Jeremy Kerley. There are the steady guys, such as Nick Mangold, D’Brickashaw Ferguson, and David Harris. There are the new Jets that stole the show, such as LaRon Landry. But, many don’t pay attention to the punter. For the Jets, he was a diamond in the rough. Robert Malone was an excellent weapon, and the numbers tell the story. Let me show you.

Out of regular punter, Robert Malone has the 5th lowest percentage of punts returned, with 36.9%. He also had the 5th most punts that were fair caught with 24, and the 5th most punts out of bounds with 11. 27 of Malone’s punts resulted in the opposing team starting inside their own 20 yard line. With 5.5 seconds, he had the second longest hang time of any punter in the sport. What does this all tell us? That Robert Malone is one of the best at pinning Jets’ opponents deep on their side of the field, which is an excellent weapon when your own offense can’t score against a high school team.

Imagine how good Malone would have been if the offense could actually score points!

Oct 8, 2012; East Rutherford, NJ, USA; New York Jets kicker Nick Folk (2) is congratulated by punter Robert Malone (3) after kicking a 21-yard field goal in the fourth quarter against the Houston Texans at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

Through this first half, there have been a lot of disappointments. Heck, we could probably write a whole weeks worth of posts regarding the disappointments in the first half of the year. However, the Jets did acquire a guy that has performed exceedingly well. We give him an “Honorable Mention” because part of his performance has come from the need to be on the field too often. We don’t want to see this guy too much, unless he is holding for a field goal. Fact is, he has been terrific, and that is punter Robert Malone.

I knew he was getting good at pinning teams inside the 20, but did anyone know he was top 5 good? He has been, tied for 5th in the AFC with 12 punts inside the 20. Robert is also just outside the top 10 (#11) in net average yards per punt with 39.1. We have all see the terrific hang time that Malone gets on his punts, right? Well, guess who is tied for the AFC lead with 12 punts fair caught? Robert Malone. He has been a top flight weapon for the Jets, although we have had to use him far too much.