- Joined
- Aug 13, 2005
- Messages
- 19,301
- Reaction score
- 12,889
Today in Patriots History
Jake Bailey
Jake Bailey
Happy 24th birthday to Jake Bailey
Born June 18, 1997 in Phoenix
Patriot P/K, 2019-; uniform #7
Fifth round selection of the 2019 draft (163rd overall), from Stanford
On April 27, 2019 the Patriots gave Philadelphia the 246th overall pick of the draft in order to move up four spots in the fifth round, swapping their 163rd and 167th picks in that draft. At the time the move appeared to be one of those random, overthought transactions that occur in every draft. Thus far that transaction has turned out to be a very favorable one for the Pats.
As a rookie Jake Bailey made fans forget about the decision to let Ryan Allen go early on. For example in week two he was called on to punt three times, with the results being a 52 yard punt downed on the Miami 8-yard line; a 39 yard punt with enough hang time it resulted in a return of zero yards, at the Dolphins 15; and a 53 yard punt with a five yard return. Bailey finished the season with a punt of at least 53 yards in all 17 games, including the playoff loss to Tennessee. The only time he averaged less than forty yards per punt was in week seven at the Jets, when four of his seven punts ended up inside the twenty yard line. Bailey seemed to excel in that regard against gang green, with nine punts inside the twenty in the two games versus the AFC east rival. In week three five of his seven punts were downed inside the twenty, forcing the Jets to start drives at the 12, 10, 8, 8 and 1 yard line.
Other 2019 highlights were in week nine at Baltimore (45.2 yards net on five punts, with three inside the twenty); the next game at Philadelphia (46.0 net on eight punts, with six inside the twenty - including a 55 yard punt that gave Philly the ball on their own six yard line with 4:07 to play, and then a 54 yard punt that pinned the Eagles on their own 12 yard line with 34 seconds to go and no timeouts); and week 15 at Cincinnati (five punts for an average of 48.2 yards; the net of 42.4 would have been higher had somebody been able to down a 65 yard fourth quarter punt before it rolled into the end zone). The Stanford grad earned special teams player of the week honors twice, in the week three game against the Jets and for the week 11 game against the Eagles.
In addition to being the team's punter and holder on field goals and extra points, Bailey was pressed into service to handle kickoff duties as well when Stephen Gostkowski went on injured reserve with a bad hip after week four. Bailey finished the season with an average of 61.1 yards on 65 kickoffs, with 38 touchbacks, and 44.9 yards gross/41.3 net on 81 punts, with 36 inside the twenty. There were no punts blocked, and zero flubs due to the hold on the 79 attempts for a filed goal or extra point.
Bailey followed up a solid rookie season with a spectacular outing in 2020. The gross yards per punt increased 3.8 yards to 48.7 (third in the NFL), and the net yardage went up by 4.3 yards to a league best 45.6. For the year Bailey attempted 55 punts, for a gross average of 48.7 yards per boot. Of those punts, only five went into the end zone as touchbacks, five went out of bounds, 18 were fair caught, and 15 were downed by the Pats own coverage unit. There were only a league low 12 punts that opponents were actually able to run back, for a total of 71 yards (second best). As a point of comparison the Patriots returned punts for 357 yards in 2020, a net difference of 286 yards. That 2020 performance earned Jake Bailey first team All Pro honors as well as his first Pro Bowl.
Jake Bailey - Football - Stanford University Athletics
Jake Bailey (14) Punter - Career Accolades • Three-time All-Pac-12 • second team (2017, 2018), honorable mention (2016) • Two-time Pac-12 All-Academic
gostanford.com
Patriots punter Jake Bailey starting NFL career on high note
FOXBORO — Famously all-business at his press conferences, Patriots coach Bill Belichick once in a while cracks a window to the sarcastic wit that friends say he uses with great skill off stage. One…
www.bostonherald.com
Patriots' most valuable rookie has been ... punter Jake Bailey?
The fifth-round pick has just one touchback and 10 punts inside the 20, and he has helped shift field position when New England has been pinned deep.
www.espn.com
With Stephen Gostkowski gone, could the Patriots turn to Jake Bailey to do it all? - The Boston Globe
While it's unorthodox to combine the kicking and punting roles, Bill Belichick likes to do unorthodox things.
www.bostonglobe.com
In Year Two, punter Bailey looks to kick it up a notch
Catching up with New England's punter as he prepares for his second season in Foxborough.
www.patriots.com
Patriots notebook: Jake Bailey looking like Pats’ secret weapon yet again
Patriots punter Jake Bailey should again rank among the NFL’s best if he improves, plus notes on Damien Harris, the rookie tight ends and Tom Brady.
www.bostonherald.com
Jake Bailey punts to the top of NFL leaderboard
Bailey has been unflinchingly reliable in a Patriots season defined by inconsistency.
www.masslive.com
Patriots Jake Bailey ‘over the moon excited’ about Pro Bowl honor
Patriots Jake Bailey ‘over the moon excited’ about Pro Bowl honor
www.providencejournal.com
The geeky data from a site called Puntalytics showed Jake Bailey had a helluva good season in 2020.