Despite Steve Weatherford’s release, the Giants have another great punter in Brad Wing.
Other than Jennings’s one-yard gimme score to extend the Giants’ fourth quarter lead, the New York offense mustered only nine points, thanks in part to Josh Brown’s foot, which booted field goals of 50, 40, and 30 yards respectively.
To the chagrin of many Giant fans, the organization deemed it necessary to cut favorites in fullback Henry Hynoski and punter Steve Weatherford, arguably the most fit player at his position across the league. On the same day of Weatherford’s departure, the Giants swung a deal for Pittsburgh Steeler punt specialist Brad Wing, who arrived at the cost of a seventh round pick.
On four punts Sunday night, Wing was brilliant, averaging 44.8 yards per punt, booting three inside the opponents’ twenty, even adding a 63 yarder to his collection. Given what the Giants had in the likes of Jeff Feagles and Weatherford, the franchise looks to thrive off the Wing acquisition, putting the days of Matt Dodge even further behind them.
With special teams being addressed in the offseason, from the coverage unit (Preston Parker was retained, along with fullback Nikita Whitlock, who takes over for Hynoski, and linebacker Uani’ Unga, who filled in admirably in Jon Beason’s absence on Sunday) to its kicking tandem (Brown, lest we forget, managed 24 field goals on 26 tries, a Giant record for accuracy), Big Blue aim to control a facet of its team that was severely lacking in 2014.
