49ers kicker Jake Moody has support of new boss but still must win job

SANTA CLARA The ers have a new special teams coach a new long snapper but not a new kicker Not yet anyway Jake Moody s job defense is arguably the No question on the ers Faithful s collective mind dating to last October Will he be the ers kicker for a third straight season Well yeah special teams coordinator Brant Boyer commented Thursday before adding I mean it all comes down to what happens in the preseason and everything just like in any other position for sure The ers have yet to sign competition for Moody who missed -of- field-goal attempts after a Week ankle injury shelved him three games rather than for a longer recovery time The injury issue where he was fighting injuries going back and forth I think that had a lot to do with it Boyer revealed I think that us bringing in long snapper Jon Weeks is going to help I think that if the kid gets his mind right which I think he s doing he s doing a hell of a job for us so far I think he ll do a heck of a job for us I really do Back to Weeks How can Taybor Pepper s replacement influence a kicker Well over Weeks years as the Houston Texans snapper Boyer could never fool him and no one in the league ever declared a bad word about him all of which should help make for a smooth operation with the ers Another key factor into Moody s employment will be how he fares on directional kickoffs The NFL is revising the kickoff rules for a second straight season and Boyer estimates that returns will jump from about percent to percent of kickoffs The ers invested a third-round pick in Moody who seemed to wane late in his rookie year Then came his Oct high-ankle sprain on an attempted tackle in kickoff coverage and his sophomore season turned wild never more so than Nov That s when he missed three field-goal attempts got confronted by teammate Deebo Samuel and responded by making the winning kick in Tampa Bay Boyer formerly of the New York Jets called Moody as talented as a kid gets and claimed his special teams counterparts around the league all rated Moody the No kicker in that draft Kenneth Almendares an undrafted free agent from Louisiana is expected to audition at rookie minicamp in current times and Saturday Coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch have stated they ll eventually sign a veteran who Moody must beat out to retain his job Other veterans have come aboard to fix the special teams including Weeks cornerback Siran Neal and linebacker Luke Gifford Boyer commented that reflects the ers taking special teams seriously after it was long thought otherwise in Shahahan s previous years Boyer offered an inspiring testimony on why special teams are vital as if last season s mistakes didn t make that obvious to the ers Related Articles New coordinator Klay Kubiak sizes up ers McCaffrey Purdy wide receivers ers Robert Saleh excited for encore empathetic about organization s woes Can Junior Bergen fix the ers longstanding punt return problems ers Lynch provides update on positive Purdy talks how draft could have detoured Why the ers used a seventh-round draft pick on Indiana QB Kurtis Rourke In this league you ve got win two out of three phases whether that s special teams offense special teams defense or offense defense You ve got to win two out of three Boyer revealed I m here to do the best job I can create a values that it shouldn t be like punishment to play special teams And I think teams around the league that moniker comes out like Oh man I don t want to play special teams It shouldn t be like that you know Boyer added That s how I made a living That s how a lot of people make a living in this league And if you can create a heritage that the guys know you give a damn about them they re going to play for you And that s what I m trying to do