Jamie Gillan

[AZGiantFan]

Maybe the Giants should take a look at Matt Araiza, who was one of the best college punters in the nation, who had won the punting job for the Bills until his career was completely de-railed by what turned out to be a bogus sexual assault charge.  He has been completely vindicated and could be signed tomorrow.

[Ed Vette]

Maybe the Giants should take a look at Matt Araiza, who was one of the best college punters in the nation, who had won the punting job for the Bills until his career was completely de-railed by what turned out to be a bogus sexual assault charge.  He has been completely vindicated and could be signed tomorrow.

They punt a lot so it's important to have a solid punter on staff.

[President Rick]

when will teams learn this:  in the late rounds of the draft, when players are essentially equal in talent, draft your St and back up players who have some college [even HS] experience playing the following:  qb, punter, kicker.  Then give them a few lessons in camp, let them practice now and again with the starters, watching, listening, so if you lose two qb's in a game, or a punter, or a kicker, you have a 75-80% decent fill in for the short term.  I'll bet a significant number of late draftees [subs] have that college or HS experience, but a team should clean off the rust for insurance.

[kartanoman]

Maybe the Giants should take a look at Matt Araiza, who was one of the best college punters in the nation, who had won the punting job for the Bills until his career was completely de-railed by what turned out to be a bogus sexual assault charge.  He has been completely vindicated and could be signed tomorrow.

I don't know if he's employed right now, or whether Goodell blackballed him from ever being signed in the NFL because of the allegation, regardless of the outcome.

The Giants missed the mark that season innot drafting Jordan Stout whom Baltimore wisely picked up and is already one of the best punters in the NFL. He had a fine game in SF the other night.

When will we find the second coming of Dave Jennings?

Peace!

[TDToomer]

I don't know if he's employed right now, or whether Goodell blackballed him from ever being signed in the NFL because of the allegation, regardless of the outcome.

The Giants missed the mark that season innot drafting Jordan Stout whom Baltimore wisely picked up and is already one of the best punters in the NFL. He had a fine game in SF the other night.

When will we find the second coming of Dave Jennings?

You make it seem like we're in Punting hell. Jennings replacement, Landeta was better IMO and we had Feagles for many years. The 2 guys before Gillan (Dixon and Wing) are still regular punters. I still believe in the Scottish Hammer.

Peace!

[BluesCruz]

I like Jamie's punts when healthy

The hang time is tremendous and he drives them deep

Best hang time and distance since Don Chandler

I was at Yankee Stadium one game and saw Chandler kick one 80 yards on the fly.  At its height it was above the roof of the stands

[DaveBrown74]

Maybe the Giants should take a look at Matt Araiza, who was one of the best college punters in the nation, who had won the punting job for the Bills until his career was completely de-railed by what turned out to be a bogus sexual assault charge.  He has been completely vindicated and could be signed tomorrow.

I would love this assuming he's not just criminally cleared but isn't tied up with some burdensome civil case that will distract him from football. I haven't followed this story since reading that he was cleared of criminal charges. My understanding was that they were able to prove he wasn't even at the party when the accuser was (or something like that).

I'm surprised nobody has picked him up if he's completely clear. The guy is a freak of a punter.

[AZGiantFan]

I would love this assuming he's not just criminally cleared but isn't tied up with some burdensome civil case that will distract him from football. I haven't followed this story since reading that he was cleared of criminal charges. My understanding was that they were able to prove he wasn't even at the party when the accuser was (or something like that).

I'm surprised nobody has picked him up if he's completely clear. The guy is a freak of a punter.

The women who made the complaint just dropped her civil case.

https://apnews.com/article/matt-araiza-rape-lawsuit-dismissed-ba34b821c0e5ff59268c6ae0c7b2842f

[DaveBrown74]

The women who made the complaint just dropped her civil case.

https://apnews.com/article/matt-araiza-rape-lawsuit-dismissed-ba34b821c0e5ff59268c6ae0c7b2842f

I think it's a great idea, but I have a feeling Mara still wouldn't go for it even though this kid has been officially cleared of all wrongdoing.

[AZGiantFan]

I think it's a great idea, but I have a feeling Mara still wouldn't go for it even though this kid has been officially cleared of all wrongdoing.

So, tainted even after being proven innocent.

[DaveBrown74]

So, tainted even after being proven innocent.

Not my opinion. I'm just speculating about the owner's. Maybe I'm wrong, but it just doesn't feel like the hungry, aggressive type of move we'd make.

It's interesting that nobody else has signed him though. The decision by the prosecutor to not move forward with criminal charges was made quite some time ago.

[AZGiantFan]

Not my opinion. I'm just speculating about the owner's. Maybe I'm wrong, but it just doesn't feel like the hungry, aggressive type of move we'd make.

It's interesting that nobody else has signed him though. The decision by the prosecutor to not move forward with criminal charges was made quite some time ago.

Someone suggested he has been black-balled by the league, but I haven't seen that from a credible source.  I'd think that could leave the league open to being sued but IANAL.  IAC, I find the treatment of this guy morally repugnant.

[DaveBrown74]

Someone suggested he has been black-balled by the league, but I haven't seen that from a credible source.  I'd think that could leave the league open to being sued but IANAL.  IAC, I find the treatment of this guy morally repugnant.

Bottom line if DeShaun Watson can get a $250mm fully guaranteed contract to be the face of an NFL franchise, despite clearly being engaged in unsavory (and likely criminal despite no actual charge) activity, I don't see why Araiza shouldn't be able to get a one year punter's salary contract somewhere as a starting point. Ben Roethlisberger is another one that comes to mind.

[londonblue]

Gillan was one of the better punters in the league statistically this year until the recent injuries. He had improved significantly on last year in most aspects of his job.

There is a lot of misunderstanding in this thread on the technicalities of 'rugby style' punting (said as someone who played rugby at county junior level & until my mid 20s) and in particular the pros and cons vs traditional NFL punting.

One thing that has been largely absent from the debate is to acknowledge that our protection has been flat out terrible all season. I am of the strong opinion that we would have had far more blocks if it was not for Gillian's angled move which has averted a significant number of near blocks. This move also makes it arguably easier for the OL to block up given practice and familiarity as they know they are shifting left or right pre punt so should only have one vulnerable edge.

This Gillan move has generated some debate on here but it is not a 'quirk' it is an absolutely foundational element of rugby style kicking where you rarely, if ever, kick from hand facing straight forward when stationary.

On the flip side it is true that Gillan still has occasional issues with his drop and contact point as there is less margin for error on a drop punt contact point with the heavier, smaller NFL ball.

IMO for us there is a trade off with maybe a couple of extra 'shanks' vs potential blocks avoided. Pick your poison! Overall Gillan still makes me a touch nervous because he is not completely consistent with this hand position (height of ball at drop - watch him) when he punts and I have no objection to a late day 3 pick, UDFA or FA in camp to offer true competition but he's pretty low down our problem list IMO.

[kartanoman]

Gillan was one of the better punters in the league statistically this year until the recent injuries. He had improved significantly on last year in most aspects of his job.

There is a lot of misunderstanding in this thread on the technicalities of 'rugby style' punting (said as someone who played rugby at county junior level & until my mid 20s) and in particular the pros and cons vs traditional NFL punting.

One thing that has been largely absent from the debate is to acknowledge that our protection has been flat out terrible all season. I am of the strong opinion that we would have had far more blocks if it was not for Gillian's angled  has averted a significant number of near blocks. This move also makes it arguably easier for the OL to block up given practice and familiarity as they know they are shifting left or right pre punt so should only have one vulnerable edge.

This Gillan move has generated some debate on here but it is not a 'quirk' it is an absolutely foundational element of rugby style kicking where you rarely, if ever, kick from hand facing straight forward when stationary.

On the flip side it is true that Gillan still has occasional issues with his drop and contact point as there is less margin for error on a drop punt contact point with the heavier, smaller NFL ball.

IMO for us there is a trade off with maybe a couple of extra 'shanks' vs potential blocks avoided. Pick your poison! Overall Gillan still makes me a touch nervous because he is not completely consistent with this hand position (height of ball at drop - watch him) when he punts and I have no objection to a late day 3 pick, UDFA or FA in camp to offer true competition but he's pretty low down our problem list IMO.

I think you've stated it fairly, overall. My biggest beef has always been his poor touchback ratio and his inability to down a ball inside the five (NOTE: that separates the best from the ordinary).

He has made general improvements not only to his punting game, but also to his holding for the kicker. He's worked out well, in general, this season.

That being said, he  has no business being on the field with that Groin pull. That is a painful muscle when it is injured during kicking or punting and needs rest and rehabilitation until it is completely healed.

The Giants should stand him down for the last two games versus him risk further damaging it.

Peace!