Tag: Nick Folk

Instant analysis from Patriots’ underwhelming loss against Saints in Week 3

Mac Jones still has a long way to go, along with this entire team.

The New Orleans Saints came to Gillette Stadium fully prepared.

Sean Payton’s gameplan was to throw as many looks at Mac Jones as possible and fluster him early and often. It worked — resulting in a day where the rookie had 270 yards for a touchdown and three interceptions. Jones was sacked twice in the game, but he was hit 11 times and it was obvious in his body language as the game progressed.

One of the key components to spark the Patriots’ offense is the rush attack, which wasn’t present against New Orleans. The Patriots totaled 49 yards on 17 attempts, with 2.9 yards per carry. James White was carted off the field early with a hip injury and his absence had a lot to do with the team’s inability to spark any offense out of the backfield.

Jonnu Smith may have struggled the most for the Patriots. He was targeted six times and only had one catch for four yards. His dropped catch that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown was the turning point in the game.

The 21-3 deficit was too much to overcome.

On the bright side, two Patriots receivers showed up in a promising way. Kendrick Bourne finished the game with six catches for 96 yards and a touchdown, while Jakobi Meyers racked up nine receptions for 94 yards. Nelson Agholor had a quiet day and has struggled to distinguish himself as a top pass-catcher in this group.

Here’s a look at Bourne’s touchdown that gave the Patriots life.

Two new defenders to the team, Matthew Judon and Davon Godchaux, also proved why they’ll be huge going forward. Judon finished the game with three tackles, 2.5 sacks and was a menace the entire game. Godchaux plugged the middle the entire game and recorded five tackles.

Looking ahead, the Patriots are going to have an extremely difficult time containing a Tampa Bay Buccaneers offense that has a highly-motivated Tom Brady. Stephon Gilmore’s absence is clearly hurting the team and the offense has struggled to find its identity. Without White on the field, the search for that identity will be much more difficult.

Bill Belichick has his work cut out for him to muster up a winning season with this group.

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Patriots fans react to startling loss against Saints in Week 3

It may be time to pump the brakes on expectations for this Patriots team.

It’s really difficult to believe the New England Patriots will be ready for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next week.

All three phases of the ball were lackluster in the Patriots’ 28-13 loss to the New Orleans Saints at home. Mac Jones finished the game throwing throwing for 270 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions on 51 attempts. James White was carted out of the game with a serious hip injury and the rush attack couldn’t recover from his absence.

Jonnu Smith dropped a crucial pass that was intercepted and returned for a touchdown, leading to a 21-3 lead for the Saints to start the second half. Outside of Matthew Judon, Davon Godchaux, Kendrick Bourne and Jakobi Meyers — there wasn’t much to be excited for.

Here’s how Patriots fans reacted to the loss.

Patriots elevate QB Brian Hoyer and K Nick Folk from practice squad

The New England patriots made a pair of roster moves on Sunday.

Ahead of their game against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, the New England Patriots elevated Brian Hoyer and kicker Nick Folk from the practice squad.

As it stands right now, the Patriots now have two kickers on their active roster, but New England made kicker Quinn Nordin inactive for Sunday’s game. With Hoyer’s promotion, he will likely be the backup to Mac Jones. Jarrett Stidham is currently on injured reserve, while Garrett Gilbert is on the practice squad.

Folk will start in Week 1. Nordin went six-of-eight on field goals in the preseason. He struggled with extra points, going three-of-seven throughout the preseason.

The Patriots and Dolphins are set to kick off at 4:20 p.m. ET.

Report: Quinn Nordin named starting kicker for 2021 season

Quinn Nordin has been named the starting kicker for the New England Patriots.

The New England Patriots have made rookie kicker Quinn Nordin the starter for the 2021 season. Nordin takes the job over from Nick Folk, who has held the position for the last two seasons.

Nordin went six-of-eight on field goals throughout the course of the preseason. He went four-of-eight on extra points. With Folk missing much of the preseason due to injuries, Nordin was able to have an opportunity to showcase his skills.

Folk was named the starting kicker for the 2020 season. He went 26 of 28 on field goals and 30 of 33 on extra points. He had two game-winning field goals last season. Both of them came in the month of November, against the New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals.

With the Patriots having a busy Tuesday, the kicker position battle has been put to rest.

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Jonnu Smith, Josh Uche and Nick Folk among Patriots back at practice

The Patriots have key players back at practice on Monday, including much-needed depth in special teams.

The New England Patriots had good news on Monday morning with the return of six essential players.

Jonnu Smith, Josh Uche, Nick Folk, Joe Cardona, Anfernee Jennings and Lawrence Guy all made their returns to the field. Smith sustained an ankle injury at practice that wasn’t expected to be major. Uche left the Patriots’ second preseason game early with an injury, but the extent of it wasn’t disclosed.

Following Quinn Nordin’s shaky performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, the return of Folk becomes much more significant. The Patriots need consistency, as Bill Belichick constantly says, and Folk hit 40 of his last 45 field goal attempts.

Cam Newton wasn’t at practice because of a misunderstanding about COVID-19 protocols.

Newton, along with a laundry list of other players weren’t present at practice.

Gilmore is the biggest name on this list and Belichick discussed the cornerback’s status — while focusing on his injury and not the contract situation. The Patriots have less than a month to figure out Gilmore’s contract situation and get the injured players ready for the season opener.

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How Bill Belichick feels following Quinn Nordin’s promising performance

Bill Belichick still hasn’t seen enough from the rookie kicker.

Quinn Nordin was one of the New England Patriots’ top performers in the 22-13 season-opening win against the Washington Football Team.

The undrafted rookie kicker hit 3 of 3 field goals, with one from 50 yards out. He gained the opportunity after Nick Folk missed five straight days in practice with injury — leading to Nordin making noise with 14 consecutive field goals. If it wasn’t for the opportunity stemming from Folk’s absence, Nordin would still likely be on the search for jobs on LinkedIn.

Nordin struggled his senior year at Michigan after hitting only 2 of 5 field goals. But, he proved to have a strong leg with 14 field goals made from 40-plus yards and four from 50-plus — which were both school records.

Bill Belichick discussed Nordin’s performance following the game and was focused on the consistency going forward.

“Yeah, I mean, we’ll take a look at it. Hit a couple good ones, missed an extra point,” Belichick said, transcribed by WEEI. “It’s all about consistency. Quinn has gotten better. He’s worked hard. But again, it’s really about consistency at that position. We’re getting there. We’ll see what kind of progress he continues to make.”

The Patriots have a few weeks until the season opener, but Nordin appears to be at the top of the list for the job with Folk out.

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Patriots kicker Quinn Nordin was looking for jobs on LinkedIn this spring

Patriots kicker Quinn Nordin was looking for jobs on LinkedIn before the Patriots came calling.

Over four seasons with the Michigan Wolverines, kicker Quinn Nordin made 119 of 124 extra points, and 42 of 58 field goals, totaling 245 points. That left him with little hope for the NFL until the Patriots signed him in May, and gave him an opportunity to earn the starting job.

Before that, Nordin was planning for a future without football, going so far as to create a profile on LinkedIn. In that profile, Nordin wrote, “Graduate Student at The University of Michigan pursuing my MSW. I want to better understand people. My experience as a student athlete, has prepared me to take on long hour weeks and any task with dedication and diligence because those are the values Michigan Football program promotes. I am no stranger to hard work and I am willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done.”

It was one of several options Nordin was considering.

“I was on LinkedIn looking at jobs,” he said Monday. “I was thinking about maybe going into the military. The Patriots were my only call, so I’m here. I’m doing the best I can, and that’s it.

“I was literally on LinkedIn typing in, like, ‘What to do after college.’”

It didn’t help that Nordin played in just four games last season, making two of five field goal attempts. He did lead the Big Ten with 19 made field goals in 2017 — perhaps that’s what had Bill Belichick and his staff with their eyes out.

“I was sitting in a recliner all day on my laptop, calling people, looking for a job,” Nordin said, per MLive.com. “I was on a walk with my mom, and my agent called me and told me that [the Patriots] were going to get [me] a contract. And I said I’m not going to believe anything until there’s something at my house. Something came to the house, and I’m extremely grateful. But I couldn’t even believe it, because when you want something to happen and it doesn’t happen and you wait and you wait and you wait, you’re just that much more grateful when the opportunity does come.”

So far, Belichick has been impressed, and as Nordin made field goals of 35. 40. and 50 yards in the preseason opener against Washington, that will only help his case.

“Quinn’s improved,” Belichick said Monday. “He’s still got a long way to go, but he’s improved. It’s a good opportunity for him to kick inside. Of course, it’s ideal conditions. Can’t get it really much better than that. No wind, turf. We’ll keep challenging him in different situations and see how he responds just like everybody else. No rush.”

The call from Foxboro gave Nordin a bit of a quandary, though — life in the NFL, or power-washing his dad’s deck?

“Literally, I think it was two days after, my dad needed the deck power-washed,” Nordin said. “All my buddies had signed with teams, and I was like, you know what, I could rent this power washer and I could power-wash decks in the neighborhood. But I wanted to give [the NFL] a shot. This is every kid’s, person’s dream to get a chance to play for the New England Patriots.”

The deck can wait. The NFL is not forever. Veteran kicker Nick Folk has been absent from the team’s first practices, so now is Nordin’s time to shine.

It won’t take much for Zach Wilson to be best No. 2 in Jets history

Jets Wire takes a look at the six players in Jets history to don the No. 2 jersey before rookie quarterback Zach Wilson.

There sure is a lot of pressure mounting on the shoulders of Zach Wilson.

The No. 2 overall pick in the draft, Wilson is being looked at as the next potential savior in New York, someone who can change New York’s quarterback misfortunes.

While there are certainly high expectations, it won’t take much for Wilson to be the best No. 2 in Jets history. That number has been granted to mostly kickers and players that haven’t made an impact on the organization.

With that being said, let’s take a look at the six Jets to wear the No. 2 before Wilson.

Zach Wilson leaning toward wearing No. 2 with Jets

Zach Wilson will more likely than not wear No. 2 for the Jets next season as he continues to decide his jersey number.

Zach Wilson hasn’t officially chosen his jersey number yet, but he seems to be zeroing in on what numeral he’ll be wearing with the Jets.

At BYU, Wilson’s jersey number was No. 1. However, Wilson seems to want to switch up his number with the Jets. While speaking with reporters at Jets rookie minicamp on Saturday, Wilson said he’s leaning toward wearing No. 2.

“I like any single-digit numbers, and I think it’s kind of cool I was the second pick,” Wilson said, per SNY. 

The most notable player in Jets history to wear No. 2 was kicker Nick Folk. He kicked for the Jets from 2010-2016 and was the first player since 1963 to wear No. 2 for more than one season. 

The other players to wear No. 2 in Jets franchise history include Jason Myers, Raul Allegre, Toni Linhart, Ed Chlebek and Billy Atkins.

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Bill Belichick provides explanation for signing kicker Roberto Aguayo

This makes sense.

Bill Belichick made a peculiar move last week by signing kicker Roberto Aguayo to the New England Patriots’ practice squad.

Nick Folk is having the best season of his career with 26-of-28 made field goals (92.9%) and 26-of-29 extra-point attempts (89.7%). The Patriots kept rookie Justin Rohrwasser on the practice squad the entire season — so, signing one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history seems odd.

Why’d Belichick make this move at the end of the season with no playoff opportunity ahead? He explained while speaking with reporters on Wednesday.

“He’s a pretty impressive guy, so we wanted to work with him,” Belichick said. “So we’ll work with him here and see how it goes.”

That’s it. He’s a pretty impressive guy.

Aguayo was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round and made only 22-of-31 field goals as a rookie. He was a kicking sensation at Florida State, making 69-of-78 field goals over a three-year span.

Since that rookie season, Aguayo hasn’t kicked in one regular-season game. He spent time in preseason games with the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Chargers, while having a practice squad stint with the Carolina Panthers. His last chance with an NFL team was in September of 2018, until that changed last week.

Folk, 36, wants to continue playing going forward, but he’s going to hit free agency this offseason. The Patriots would be smart to keep him and have some consistency in any facet of the team they possibly can.

Aguayo becoming the team’s kicker next year is unlikely, but the year of 2020 proved that the unlikely can happen at any moment.

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