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Much has been made this week about the future of New York Jets rookie Matt Ammendola.
After weeks of struggle highlighted by an epic field goal miss versus the Houston Texans, he could have played his final snap for the green and white.
While who starts on Sunday versus the Philadelphia Eagles at placekicker is still to be determined, there may be another path to ensure his future with Gang Green.
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An Audible at LOS Could Change Destinies
Ammendola has struggled to figure things out at kicker consistently, but one area he has proven some chutzpah is actually at punter.
In Week 1 he was forced in an emergency situation to perform both duties and he excelled.
The Jets rookie booted six balls for over 291 yards and averaged 48.5 yards per punt. Two of those ended up going inside the 20. Although the most impressive of those was a 65-yarder.
After the contest, he revealed in a postgame interview that he had never punted before in his entire life:
“I actually have never punted in my life, only once in high school. So it was definitely a whirlwind for sure.”
While his accuracy as a kicker has left much to be desired, the thing that couldn’t be denied was his insane power. That could come in handy in the punting game.
A permanent position change could save his Jets career and provide the green and white a long-term option at punter. He has proven he can do it in a pinch, now might be time to see if he can do it consistently.
The Reason the Path Is Possible
Injury provides opportunity and that’s exactly what happened in the season opener versus the Carolina Panthers.
With Braden Mann unexpectedly getting injured, Ammendola had the chance to step in and pull double duty as both a kicker and a punter.
Although it ended up being a one-game wonder because the Jets immediately signed a replacement punter in veteran Thomas Morstead to hold down the fort.
Despite Morstead playing incredibly well in Mann’s absence, as soon as the latter was healthy they dumped the veteran on the side of the road without a second thought.
That may have been a mistake.
In his three complete games since coming back, Mann has been dismal:
- 3 punts with an average of 45 yards (versus Buffalo)
- 4 punts with an average of 38 yards (versus Miami)
- 4 punts with an average of 39 yards (versus Houston)
If those numbers weren’t bad enough, he actually had a 29-yard punt in the Texans game. Not great Bob.
The Jets can be proactive here and shift Ammendola to punter and move on from Mann, lock that spot down, then go get a kicker. Literally, anyone should suffice and there are plenty available that we have documented over the last few weeks.
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