You can tell just by the sound of his punts that there's something special about Ben Graham.
With virtually each booming thump, Graham's left foot sends the football 60-plus yards down the field, and the fans gathered at New York Jets' training camp can't help but say, `Wow!'
"He's a folk hero right now," coach Herman Edwards said this week.
The strong-legged Graham, 31, is this season's unknown curiosity at Jets camp, but he's doing his best to earn a job and make a name for himself in the NFL after starring for 12 years in the Australian Football League. He's competing with veteran Micah Knorr for the Jets' punting job.
"I'm doing pretty well so far," Graham said. "It's been a long journey."
Graham retired after a successful career in the AFL with the Geelong Cats last year, and the Jets signed him to a free-agent contract in January. But New York has had its eyes on Graham since 1997, when former Jets assistant Eric Mangini scouted the 1.96m, 103.5kg in Australia and offered him a chance to try out for the team. Graham briefly flirted with the idea of joining fellow Aussie Darren Bennett in coming to the NFL.
"It was something I intended on doing down the track," Graham said. "Now, if I had been a player in Australia who wasn't having a great career or was at the crossroads, I would have probably jumped at it when I was 25 or 26. But my career went the way that I would have liked it to have gone."
Graham played in 219 games -- only about 1 percent of AFL players reach the 200-game milestone -- and captained Geelong for three seasons. He was known for having one of the strongest legs in the league, with his longest kick traveling about 95 yards.
"The crowd loved it when I kicked the ball long all the time, so every opportunity I got I would do it," the personable Graham said. "I had a deal with the coach that when we were a certain amount up in the game late in the quarter, and I had the opportunity, I'd let it fly."
He's certainly doing the same in training camp with the Jets.
"He does have a big, strong leg," special teams coordinator Mike Westhoff said. "He's kicked it up vertically -- and he can hit it. He can hit quite a ball with distance."
Graham is still adjusting to the size of the balls used in the NFL compared to those used in Australia.
different balls
"The [AFL] ball is slightly different," he said. "It's made of a different leather. It's designed for kicking, whereas this ball is designed for throwing. But it's really not that different."
Graham also isn't used to wearing any protective gear while playing.
"When they first handed me my helmet and pads, I jokingly asked, `Do I have to wear these?'" Graham said. "Without being up close to the game -- television is so far away -- is that you don't appreciate how physically fast and tough and strong and how much more they can impact the body because they have got shoulder pads and helmets. Ours is a different physically tough game."
He also had to learn how to take snaps and hold the ball on field-goal attempts, something Graham picked up quickly but continues to practice regularly.
"I'd never done it before, but to play our sport we have to have good hands," Graham said.
The competition between Graham and Knorr, who has played five seasons for Dallas and Denver, has been decidedly even so far. The real test will come when Graham has to kick in actual games.
hang time
"We just have to hope that he is consistent enough because it is very different," Westhoff said. "Basically for his whole life, he has caught the ball, ran with it and then punted it with the pumpkin that they use -- and they're tremendous."
Graham's punts generally have tremendous hang-time and the technique he uses -- he kicks across the ball -- causes it to go end-over-end and then spiral down at returners with a unique backspin.
"When I first got out here, I was like, `Where is he kicking the ball to?'" said rookie cornerback Justin Miller, who'll be the Jets' punt returner. "But it's an adjustment thing. I had to learn how to read the ball and work with Coach Westhoff to help me kind of read his ball."
If Graham does beat out Knorr to make the team, the Jets hope opponents have as difficult a time adjusting to the Aussie's booming kicks.
"There's going to be great competition there at the punting spot," Edwards said. "[Graham] has done a great job so far and now it's a matter of just transporting that on the field of play."
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