Nugent is probable!
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- November
- 28
Here is the weird thing about the Mike Nugent vs. Jay Feely War of the Kickers (I’m just trying to work that up a bit, they are actually pretty good friends), neither of them has ever been officially told who is starting before the game.
Feely just puts on his uniform and heads out on the field, while Nugent gets taken aside and told to warm up with the inactives. No cake, no balloons, no admission that there is anything slightly tense about the whole thing.
But today Nugent was listed as “probable” on the final injury report, which could mean that his thigh injury has healed so thoroughly that it isn’t a decent excuse to sit him any more. Will Nugent be allowed to dress? Will Feely be cut? Will anyone tell either player before the National Anthem is played??
Stay tuned…
Here’s the rest of the report…
Key injuries
Jets: S Eric Smith (concussions) and LB David Harris (groin) are questionable. TE Bubba Franks (hip), K Mike Nugent (thigh), WR Laveranues Coles (thigh) WR Jerricho Cotchery (shoulder), DL Shaun Ellis (back), CB Dwight Lowery (thigh), WR Brad Smith (shoulder) and LB Jason Trusnik (knee) are probable.
Broncos: S Marlon McCree (ankle) is out. LB D.J. Williams (knee) is doubtful. WR Eddie Royal (toe), CB Champ Bailey (groin), LB Nate Webster (knee) and RB Selvin Young (groin) are questionable. G Ben Hamilton (wrist), RB Peyton Hillis (shoulder), WR Brandon Marshall (hip), DT Kenny Peterson (Achilles), RB P.J. Pope (ribs), DT Dewayne Robertson (knees), DT Josh Shaw (shoulder) and DT Marcus Thomas (hamstring) are probable.
This entry was posted
on Friday, November 28th, 2008 at 5:42 pm by Jane McManus.
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Jane McManus 
Me thinks they are crazy if they cut Feely. It’s a tough break for Nugent, but I don’t believe you pull a guy who is that hot, in favor of somebody who might be prone to consistency issues after being on the shelf for so long.
I really hate to say it, but I agree. Can we afford to carry two kickers on the roster? I mean strategically, not fiscally. It’s been that way a long time; has it hurt us in any way?
I have reservations about Feely on kickoffs. He never seems to have the leg to just boot in through the endzone when they want a touchback. Nugent has that strength, right?
Wouldn’t be the first time a team carried two kickers for that reason.
Defense and special teamms wins [fill in the blank].
I recall Nugent having trouble with deep kickoffs; that is, I’ll bet he hasn’t had many touchbacks, unless there’s a monster wind at his back, a penalty has moved up the kickoff, or the returner lets it bounce. I just don’t recall Nugent kicking as far as he was advertised to do when he arrived from Ohio State. In fact, I recall that he was going to work at strengthening his leg for just that reason, and that some sportswriters wondered if that strengthening was taking away from his FG accuracy. Am I misremembering? Someone else jump into this little debate.
Feely is doing a great job for us…..No need for a switch. I understand they may see things in practice that we don’t, but games don’t lie. Feely makes the majority of his fg attempts and Nugent is somewhat inconsistent.
I really don’t think Nugent kicks any deeper than Feely. Nuge did seem to improve his leg strength on kick off last year, but I don’t think it was that much stonger than Feely’s has been.
I have to admit that I have become a fan of Feely’s. In addition to being consistent, he has nailed a couple of long balls that I didn’t think he was capable of. He’s also delivered a couple of decent tackles on kick-off returns. How do you you pull a guy who has done all this for them?
I posed the thing about Nugent’s leg on kickoffs as a question because I couldn’t remember for sure – if Nugent isn’t any stronger, I agree it seems better to stick with Feely for now. His confidence has been there over the past few games.