New York Jets kicker Nick Folk has been around long enough to understand the importance of a field goal.
“You look at the percentage of games that are won by three or less points, it’s quite a bit,” the eighth-year veteran said recently, via NewYorkJets.com. “And it might not be just on an end-of-game field goal.
"It could be a field goal you kicked in the first half of the game and then each team scores four touchdowns and you win by three points — that’s the score of the game. It is a very important thing.”
The Gang Green boot went 33-for-36 in 2014 on field goals in 2013, splitting the upright for three game-winning kicks. He also set the franchise record for most consecutive field goals to start a season (23).
Considering his foot, theoretically, moved the Jets from 5-11 to 8-8 last year, the team will be leaning on him heavily to take the next step with that same foot this season.
Apparently, preparation for that kind of responsibility takes more effort than the average fan expects from a guy who spends the majority of his time on the sidelines during gameday.
“I train just as hard as these guys. I lift just as hard as hard as these guys, run just as much as them, just try to be an athlete," he said. "That’s where the kicking and punting conditioning comes from. You have to become an athlete. I try to get better every day and stay in shape as best I can.”
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