Patriots punter Jake Bailey starting NFL career on high note

FOXBORO — Famously all-business at his press conferences, Patriots coach Bill Belichick once in a while cracks a window to the sarcastic wit that friends say he uses with great skill off stage. One such instance came recently when he discussed the value of players being able to play multiple roles in the kicking game.

“Nobody knows,” Belichick said. “Nobody even cares until you get an injury and then you get a punt blocked. I mean, then it’s a world crisis.”

That’s pretty much the case for special teams players, except for explosive return men, and even they have to do something extra to stand out, such as wear different shoes, a la Billy “White Shoes” Johnson.

An elite field goal kicker for much of his career, Stephen Gostkowski generated more talk about his missed extra points than his many made three-pointers. It’s the nature of the beast. Face it, unless a field goal happens near the end of a close game, it’s a boring play to watch.

The same goes for punters. Unless they shank one, they usually don’t spark conversation. Their kicks tend to look a lot alike.

And then there is Patriots rookie Jake Bailey, who belts his kicks so high he makes you delay your trip to the fridge. He makes you watch him, rare for a punter.

The first sign that Bailey might be something special came on draft day, when the Patriots used a fifth-round selection on a punter even though Ryan Allen was among their best performers in the Super Bowl, pinning the Rams deep inside the 10-yard line three times.

Bailey already has won AFC special teams player of the week honors after he gave the Jets lousy field position on 5-of-7 punts, pinning them at the 1-yard line, at the 8 twice and at the 10 and 12.

He averaged 48.33 yards on his nine punts in the 16-10 victory over the Bills, making him the Patriots’ most effective player to take a snap Sunday.

Bailey also handles holding duties for the Patriots and could take on kickoff duties now that Gostkowski has been sidelined for the season.

Bailey kicked off six times in the exhibition opener vs. the Lions. All but one made it at least to the goal line, three went for touchbacks, and the Lions started with the ball at the 19, 27 and 24 after the other three kicks.

“Whatever coach asks me to do, I’ll try to do it to the best of my ability,” Bailey said after Thursday’s practice.

During his senior year of high school, that meant never leaving the field. He played cornerback and receiver and was the kicker (54-yard field goal) and punter. Surprisingly, he wasn’t the first-team punter until his senior season at small Santa Fe Christian High in Solana Beach, Calif. He did so well with the opportunity that Stanford gave him a scholarship.

Bailey set a slew of records for the Cardinal, including longest punt (84) in school history, but that didn’t make him cocky on draft day. A team has to think extremely highly of a punter to use a draft choice on one.

“You never know,” Bailey said. “It can be a draft year where five punters are picked or a year where no one is picked. So you kind of just go into it with an open mind, and thankfully I was blessed.  I couldn’t think of a better place to end up.”

He said he watched the Super Bowl from the Stanford locker room. Nobody could have guessed after watching Allen that day that the Patriots would draft a punter.

“A little shocked and it’s been a great surprise,” Bailey said of joining the Super Bowl champions.

He knew being drafted didn’’t guarantee a roster spot.

“Any time you come into an NFL camp it’s going to be a tough battle,” Bailey said. “You’re battling against an NFL punter. Ryan’s an awesome guy and I really enjoyed getting to know him a lot and became good friends with him.”

Bailey’s distance and hang time led the Patriots to draft him. He already has given them more than they anticipated.

“His directional punting has been outstanding,” Belichick said Monday on WEEI’s Ordway, Merloni and Fauria Show. “He’s really placed the ball on the sideline multiple times already this season to eliminate returns.”

Bailey’s career is off to a great start. The coolest part about being a Patriot?

“Getting to know all the guys,” Bailey said. “It’s really an awesome locker room, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know all of them. That’s probably the coolest part.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/2In5SR3