Ben Graham’s outlook on the NFL changed dramatically in the last week. His life, too, took an interesting twist.
Graham, the Jets’ punter since 2005, was released last week after an inconsistent start to the season, but was re-signed for Monday night’s game when his replacement, Reggie Hodges, injured his plant leg in practice.
Graham, as it turns out, already was in San Diego when the Jets called him – visiting fellow Australian punter, Darren Bennett, who used to play for the Chargers and lives in San Diego.
Graham, in an interview with The Post, was reflective about the last week, even intimating that his struggles with consistency have to do with being over-coached.
“We’re different sorts of athletes,” said Graham, a former Australian Rules player. “It’s about just getting back to what we know how to do best. Take away all the coaching, because they’re just trying to change who you are and what you do when what we do is what got us in the league in the first place.”
Asked if he felt his release was “warranted,” Graham said, “That’s not for me to say, really. I know I had a bad game (against the Patriots). I know field position affected the result of the game. I understand that. But I sincerely believed that I was part of the team and they didn’t, so they moved me on.”
Eric Mangini, who discovered Graham while on a trip to Australia long before he became the Jets’ head coach, spoke last week about how difficult it was to let Graham go.
Graham had a workout with the Patriots last week then had another opportunity with a West Coast team he would not identify, which is what brought him to San Diego to visit with Bennett.
Now the question is, will Graham stay?
“I don’t know,” he said after averaging 38 yards gross and net on two punts inside the 20 Monday. “I can’t control anything. All I know is I ripped up my old contract and signed a new one.”