Folk confident he can get back on track
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - If Nick Folk were in Rex Ryan's shoes, he would have done the same thing.
His inconsistency, Folk said Thursday, was reason enough for the Jets to work out free-agent kicker Kris Brown, who spent eight of his 12 NFL seasons with the Houston Texans, at the team's facility Tuesday.
"I talked to [Ryan] beforehand and knew it was coming," said Folk, who has missed five of his last 10 field-goal attempts and needed help from the right upright on an extra point against Cincinnati on Thanksgiving night. "They have to do what they have to do.
"I still feel really confident in what I can do. We got out there today and made all our kicks, kicked off pretty well. We'll get it right for Monday."
Ryan praised Folk's ability but also stressed the importance of exploring all options.
"I just think we have to do what's in the best interest of our football team," the coach said. "And quite honestly, if Nick misses extra points or something like that, we're going to have to do something about it. But I have confidence in Nick Folk.
"His numbers, the percentage might not be as good as some of these kickers in the league, and that's because we've attempted a 61-yarder, he's missed a couple of 50-plus-yarders and things like that . . . I was concerned his kickoffs weren't as good as they've been. But we're going to make sure that we're aware of who's out there at all positions."
Folk, a former Cowboy who has struggled with consistency in the past, said the solution is to go back to basics, fine-tune his technique and "stay focused on the most important kick - which is the next one.''
"I struggled the other day kicking off, but other than that, I've been feeling pretty good about it," said Folk, who has made 22 of 30 field-goal attempts. "We'll get back to the basics, get back to the little things, do those things right and try to get it going from there. Just kind of making pure contact with the ball again. That's the biggest thing, especially on those kickoffs.
"Like a golfer's swing, you've got to work on the takeaway, but for me, it's not really that. It's maybe how I stand when I'm back in my stance, because that has a lot to do with it."
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