Pats Release Ryan Allen - Jake Bailey is the new punter

[Mack Herron]

Good read before Super performance.

 

[Uptown]

 

[Vatahala]

And there you have it. He can pass as an emergency kicker, he can kick the skin off the ball, and they obviously felt comfortable with him as a holder.

Plus you just added another half million to the Joe Thuney extension fund.

 

[maust]

TBH the writing was on the wall from the moment Bailey was drafted.
Thanks for the memories and the rings Ryan

 

[Bonzo]

Does Bailey kick with his left foot?

Actually no.

 

[Soliel]

The punts he landed inside the ten in the super bowl were awesome. Major contributor to the win. However, I’m not the coach so I’ll roll with it

 

[Todd Bradley]

Allen won’t be unemployed very long.

Thanks for the many great years of play Ryan.

 

[IcyPatriot]

 

[Wheelman]

Nooooooooo! I'll miss you Ryan Allen. You were awesome for us.

 

[MrBigglesWorth]

He really deserves an appreciation thread

 

[Snooky97]

Thanks for the memories Ryan, was never a flashy guy but when we needed to pin a team in the 10 yard line he was that guy. The Super Bowl he was one of our best players. I can see Bailey getting a lot of practice holding for Gostkowski now.

 

[DaBronxPats14]

He 'Did His Job', Patriot Way. Can always be counted on, will be missed.

 

[scott99]

I like ANY Breaking Bad meme, references, etc.

 

[Wheelman]

He actually cracked a few smiles during his sarcastic response to mediots questions during his latest press conference.

 

[scott99]

Honestly don’t know how to feel about this. Allen was really good with punts landing inside the opponents 20 yard line, corner kicks, just laying it up there for the Slater’s and Ebner’s of the world to down it deep. Good cold weather punter. Good holder on kicks (did Bailey cause Gost’s miss this week). Just worried this can backfire despite Bailey’s booming leg (possibly out kicking the coverage ?). Initial thoughts are, worry. But Belichick LOVES special teams, so I trust him implicitly.

 

[catent]

Bailey:

• More athletic
• Stronger leg/greater hang-time
  
• Versatility as an emergency K
• Can handle kickoffs

Allen:

• Extremely gifted at the "coffin-corner" punts. (Could drop the ball in the corner of the field within the 10 yard line consistently).
  
• That said, his punts were often a tad weak and had poor hang-time.
• Fairly consistent/known commodity.

I'll be curious how Bailey handles pinning opponents inside their 10. It's one thing to boom a monster punt from your own territory. It's a different beast to have to take something off the ball and place a tactical punt. Will they have him hit the ball down the middle and with backspin, or aim for the corner like Allen? Or both?

 

[Deus Irae]

I guess I would have preferred if the Patriots saved money on a cheaper/better kicker (~$4.5M) . Rather than letting go a good punter with $1.5M cap hit.

What is it with the posters here and the kicker position? Have you lost all understanding when it comes to that position?

Justin Tucker is almost universally considered the best kicker in the game. Let's look at his numbers over the last 2 seasons, compared to Gost, using Pro-Football-Reference for the data:

20-29: Tucker is 19 for 19, Gost is 27 for 27
30-39: Tucker is 20 for 20, Gost is 19 for 19
40-49: Tucker is 20 for 23, Gost is 12 for 17
50+: Tucker is 10 for 14, Gost is 6 for 9

So:

They're essentially the same from inside 40 yards, with both hitting 100% of those field goals.
From 40-49 yards, Tucker kicked 87%, while Gost kicked 71%
From 50+, they're basically the same, with Tucker hitting 71% and Gost hitting 67%

In other words, for all that this board occasionally gets to stupidly attacking Gost, we're looking at difference between Gost and the NFL's #1 kicker being a matter of only about 2-3 FG makes over the course of 2 seasons.

And, as for the XPs, Tucker is 75 of 76 while Gost is 94 of 97, which, again, is about 2 makes over the course of 2 seasons, with each kicker missing only one PAT last year.

 

[Patstastic]

Allen had the Super Bowl of a lifetime. Very grateful for that. I'm not too happy about this move. Very puzzling.

 

[raduray]

This was interesting from the moment they drafted Bailey. I wonder what they thought Allen lost last year.

Maybe not so much what Allen lost than a rook with a higher upside at a lower price.

 

[Jackson 2]

Honestly don’t know how to feel about this. Allen was really good with punts landing inside the opponents 20 yard line, corner kicks, just laying it up there for the Slater’s and Ebner’s of the world to down it deep. Good cold weather punter. Good holder on kicks (did Bailey cause Gost’s miss this week). Just worried this can backfire despite Bailey’s booming leg (possibly out kicking the coverage ?). Initial thoughts are, worry. But Belichick LOVES special teams, so I trust him implicitly.

If you trusted him implicitly, your initial thoughts wouldn't be worry. But, I understand. Allen was terrific and a great teammate, as far as we know. But, he'll land on his feet and Bailey will be good, too.