American Football: ben graham and the jets

Hi, am hoping for some feedback from you guys regarding Ben Graham. Ben was the Captain and star centre half forward for my Afl team the Geelong Football Club (the cats) here in australia before he decided to try his luck as a punter in the NFL, following in the footsteps of Darren Bennett.

Firstly there was a short news report here that Ben has been signed by the Jets for next season.

And secondly how would you guy's rate him in the short time that he has been over there, i think he might have played 15 or 16 games.

There are a couple of other guy's over here who have seen that they could be successful as punters and are weighing up their options regarding tryouts. Both of these guys are massive kicks much in the same vein as Ben and also are probably even bigger. Does the fact that these guys are generally bigger than most of your punters also give them an advantage or disadvantage.

Thanks in advance for any info you may be able to provide.

Cheers.

Here's his player profile on the Jets homepage: Ben Graham

Generally, punters don't get talked about much if they are doing thier job. If they start screwing up, the talking heads will mention thier names. Since I'm not familiar with the guy, I'm assuming that he's doing a good job with the Jets.

so punters are held in fairly low regard ?

how important are they when discussing the better sides, are they seen as relevant or will a great side get by without a good kicker.

do punters come through the same system's as the rest of the positions in a team,do kids from a young age see this as a career or is it as a last resort that an athlete would take it up as a way of competing at the highest level.

They aren't the glamour positions, for sure, but they are definately important. If they do a horrible job punting the ball, it gives the other team a much better shot at scoring, so they pretty much have to doa good job. Of course, if the offense does thier job, the point is moot, and the punter doesn't get on the field.

Punting and place-kicking in the NFL are very specific, skilled positions. There are plenty of kids who try out for these positions, and would like to make it to the pros. They don't get the huge, overblown salaries, though. But, they make more than enough to get by comfortably on.

thanks mate, i guess a million US a year would do me nicely!!!!

It would be quite a rough life, let me tell ya!