Special teams: The start of a Folk tale?

When you’re coming into camp, and there’s only one starting job that’s really up for grabs, then you can feel pretty comfortable about your personnel.

That one spot was kicker, where Martin Gramatica, who came in late last season and resurrected his career with a good run down the stretch, and rookie kicker Nick Folk, who the Cowboys drafted in the sixth round.

The two have waged quite the battle in the preseason, with both missing only a handful of kicks throughout the entire camp, and alternating kicking duties in the first three preseason games.

But, the battle is getting close to a resolution, and it looks like the rookie from Arizona has more than a fair chance to claim the starting duties all for himself.

In this tight of a battle, you can’t afford too many mistakes or bad breaks, and that’s where Folk has gotten the tiniest bit of separation. He has made all of his kicks in the preseason, including a 52-yarder in the win over Denver. Gramatica has been pretty accurate overall, but has missed one field goal and, last Saturday, missed an extra point against the Texans.

There are two important questions to ponder, though: 1) Would Wade Phillips put his trust into a rookie kicker? 2) Would the Cowboys be able to have room for two kickers on the roster?

Well, Folk may be a rookie, but he has a great deal of a scout’s two favorite words: potential and upside. He has an extremely strong leg, andhas shown it off both on his kickoffs and field goals. And, he has greatly improved his long-range accuracy, as he’s consistently been on target from beyond 40 yards in practice, and that 52-yarder against the Broncos was a no-doubter with a few yards to spare.

And, a lot of consideration will probably be given to keeping two kickers, because backup plans are nice to have, but…there are other positions where keeping an extra guy might be more reasonable, like O-line, corner, or receiver. And, considering Gramatica is currently dealing with a hamstring injury, that could be taken into consideration when the decision is made (though Folk looked like he had already moved ahead before Gramatica got hurt).

Folk is going to have the chance to potentially seize the job tomorrow night, when he’ll handle all of the kickoff and field goal duties against the Vikings. Gramatica’s hamstring injury has kept him on the sidelines this week, and will kept him out of tomorrow night’s game. And, it may well signal the end of his time as a Cowboy.

In the end, it might not be such a bad idea to have two kickers. Given how much of a factor kicking played into some losses last season, it’d be good to have a backup option there and ready just in case the starter struggles. But, at the same time, if one wins the job and roster spot over the other, then it’s a sign that the coaching staff is putting a lot of faith and confidence in that one guy, which will boost him in those clutch situations, when confidence is almost as important as getting a good snap.

At punter, there aren’t any question marks, as the Cowboys have one of, if not the league’s best in Aussie Mat McBriar. McBriar isn’t going to make many tackles (as he showed on Saturday), but that’s not what he’s paid for. What he’s paid for is what he did better than anyone in the league last season, when he averaged an astounding 48.2 yards per punt. You don’t want to have to see your punter too often, but when you do, you want to be able to count on him. Winning the field position battle is key to winning the scoreboard battle, so having a guy that can regularly pin the opposition around or inside their 20 puts you in a good position, and that’s what the Cowboys are in with their Pro Bowl punter.

Kickoff returns will likely be handled by Tyson Thompson and Miles Austin, though at this point, Austin’s status isn’t a certainty, since he hasn’t quite dazzled in the preseason.

Who will handle the punt returns, well, you tell me! Terence Newman and Patrick Crayton handled those duties last season, but Newman is currently injured, and when he returns, I don’t think Wade Phillips would want him risking anything by returning kicks. Crayton would seem like the likeliest candidate to do it at this point, though Jerheme Urban is a potential candidate, if he remains on the roster after this weekend. At some point, we could see Isaiah Stanback back there, but it might be a little while yet.

If there is one thing that needs improvement, it’s kick coverage. The Cowboys have given up a number of good returns in the preseason, including Jacoby Jones 91-yard punt return TD in Saturday’s loss. Anything you gain momentum-wise can be negated when the other team busts a good return. So, hopefully there’s some extra focus on coverage from now until the season opener, because special teams is the one place you don’t want to (or need to) get beat.