Praising Jake Ingram's performance in their final preseason game, kicker Stephen Gostkowski said:
"Jake had a great game. He looks comfortable in there, and I think that is half the battle,'' Gostkowski said. "Obviously he has the talent to be out there and we feel comfortable with him. It is nice not having to switch back and forth between guys and it's nice for him to get in the whole game. He's got a long season to go and keep working hard and keep on top of what he is doing. We are helping him out and making sure he is in sync with me and [punter Chris Hanson].'' (BG)
About releasing Nathan Hodel before the final preseason game, Bill Belichick said that he wanted:
"to let the guys who are going to be together be together, so we could have made that decision after [the] game, but we felt it was better to make it prior to the last preseason game to give those specialists a chance to work together, just like they would during the regular season and do that one week in advance rather than keep the competition going another week. Competitively, it certainly could have gone another week.'' (BG)
About replacing long-time Patriots long snapper Lonnie Paxton, Ingram said:
"I know he had a long, successful career here. I can only hope to be half as successful as he was.'' (BG)
About Ingram, Rich Miano said:
"He lives life to the fullest, he surfs, he free dives, he plays all sports. He's just a good athlete who's fun to be around. You know how specialists can be reserved, but we had a hard time keeping him off the field.'' (BG)
BG Note: "If you ask Ingram, he'll tell people like Miano that the best long snapper in the country might be his younger brother, Luke, who is a freshman this season at Hawaii and made his first collegiate start Friday night."
About Ingram's dedication, Miano said:
"He's the kind of guy that if even if the snap is just a little bit off, he's going to be out there on the field working on it." (BG)
BG Note: "here were plenty of snaps against the Giants Thursday night, as Gostkowski converted 5 of 5 extra points and a 46-yard field goal. In the first half, Hanson had five punts."
About how he and their punter are building chemistry with Jake, Gostkowski said:
"Each rep is building toward consistency and try to do the same thing every time. That's what I'm trying to do and the only thing that we try to harp on him is throw it the same way every time and he's doing a good job. He's keeping his head up and looking very poised for a young guy. We're excited that he looks that comfortable. We've got to stay on him and make sure he keeps working because we have to feel confident with him when we go out there, and right now it's gotten off to a decent start, but there's no letting up. You can't take any plays off or any practices off.'' (BG)
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Had the chance to be on the sidelines last year for the UH homecoming game. We were fascinated by Ingram and Grasso's steady practice and preparation throughout the game. Ingram was consistently good. Practice makes perfect.
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