Reprint  

Feely gets his wish with Dolphins jersey

By Edgar Thompson

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Friday, March 09, 2007

Former New York Giants kicker Jay Feely, whom the Dolphins signed Thursday to replace Olindo Mare, won't show off the No. 13 jersey he wore constantly as a child. But Feely, 30, will fulfill his lifelong dream of playing for Dan Marino's former team.

"He wore this Dolphins jersey; you couldn't take it off of him," Feely's father, Tom, recalled of Jay's early childhood in Minnesota. "He talked about playing for the Dolphins one day. Of course, he was thinking of playing quarterback."
Feely, who signed a three-year, $6 million contract, will take over for Mare, 33, a native of Hollywood who also grew up watching Marino. But Mare became less reliable last season and was deemed too expensive for next season

Feely, who took up soccer when he and his family moved to Florida when he was 10, never made it under center as a football player. But he has done pretty well for himself.

He became a high school All-America for Tampa Jesuit High and played at Michigan before he began an NFL career heading into its seventh season.

He spent the first four seasons in Atlanta. In two seasons with the Giants, Feely connected on 58 of 69 field goals, or 84 percent - the best percentage during a two-year span of any Giants kicker. Last season, he finished with 107 points, hitting 23 of 27 field-goal attempts.

In 2005, Feely led all NFL kickers with a team-record 148 points, including three field goals from 50 yards or longer.

Feely kicked a 36-yard field goal in overtime to carry the Giants past the Philadelphia Eagles, effectively knocking the Eagles out of playoff contention.

"He's really mentally tough," said Tom Feely, a high school coach since 1974. "That's a real important quality."

Dad should know. During his son's high school career, Feely researched the position well enough that he now runs a kicking school and has coached hundreds of clients from around the world.

He uses video of his son as a primary teaching tool.

"I use Jay as my model," Tom said.