What to expect from Chandler Catanzaro in 2017

The New York Jets cut ties with their veteran kicker Nick Folk and signed former Arizona Cardinals’ kicker Chandler Catanzaro. Can he be as good or better than Folk?

The New York Jets are in a rebuilding stage. Unfortunately, that means out with the old, and in with the new. Old kicker Nick Folk was released, and new kicker Chandler Catanzaro has signed with Gang Green this offseason. Can he be as good or better than Folk?

The answer is maybe. During Catanzaro’s three years with the Arizona Cardinals, his field goal percentage was 84.8 percent. Folk’s field goal percentage during his seven years with the Jets was 82.2 percent. While this does look better, it is important to know that Folk had a longer tenure, which means more attempts. That could almost definitely mean more misses.

Also, it is important to notice the difference in extra point percentage. With a longer tenure, Folk made 99 percent of his extra points, while Catanzaro made 93.2 percent.

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Another stat to look it as field goal percentage in the last year. Catanzaro, attempting 28 field goals, made only 75 percent. Folk, attempting 31 field goals, made 87.1 percent. The reason this is important is because more misses generally means a loss of confidence. If this is true, then Catanzaro’s confidence is low, which doesn’t fair well for him, or the Jets.

The bottom line is that while he may be good, he probably won’t be as good as Folk. However, sometimes getting released by a team can be an eye-opener for a player, which could lead to a hard-working attitude, as well as better performance.

Unfortunately, Folk is more likely to play better with his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, seeing that he’s got the better track record. Let’s hope this prediction is wrong, but looking at the stats, it doesn’t look like the Jets made the right move here.

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