MURTR Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Lindell was never that great on kickoffs....Powell has some size to him, anyone know if he could potentially handle kickoff duty as well? Potter seems like a wasted roster spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattsox Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Lindell was never that great on kickoffs....Powell has some size to him, anyone know if he could potentially handle kickoff duty as well? Potter seems like a wasted roster spot. Agreed. There should never be 2 Kickers on a roster. Absolute Garbage we're holding an extra roster spot for a Kicker. Pick one Dummy!!!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigc14120 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 This is a great question. And Potter did not consistently hit it out of the park last week either. I am guessing that Lindells leg is not longer up to the NFL standard on kickoffs, and there is not choice here, with the Bills paying for Lindells experience/reliability in field goals with an extra roster spot. And, just maybe, Potter takes over the field goal duties next year. We will see.....but we are on the outside looking in. I am sure that Nix/Gailey have a gameplan here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playman Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 i start to doubt that chan has any gameplan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) This Powell roster spot is a glaring example of terrible head coaching. When a team has as many holes as the Bills It's a waste. Is there any wonder that yet another season is flushed because of terrible front office staff. Maybe they're keeping him because they know they will not compete for the prize. Which BTW is a major goal of any franchise that is successful year in and year out. Some will be ecstatic here with 8-8. Not me. There are other roster spots with questionable players. I'll give Ruvell Martin as a example. A dumpster dive player, on a team with more than their fair share of players that wouldn't even be in the league, His special teams play is barely adequate. if not for Nix/Gailey a lot of these guys would be bagging grocery's by now. I won't even go to the quarterback position in which we have 3 plus a clown named B Smith. Some of our roster moves remind me of college coaching mentality, where the rosters are larger, players are kept for any number of reasons. The pro game is ultra competitive. People like Bellicheck, and others know the high value of a roster spot. They don't sign quarterbacks then stash them as inactive. You cannot win championships that way. Rant over. Edited October 17, 2012 by Best Player Available Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaattMaann Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 potter is handling kick off duty....?? im confused Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDH Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 One has to wonder why we have a kickoff specialist in the first place. Take a look at these stats from last year and this year. 2012 - The Bills are ranked 15th in the league in touchback percentage at 50%. - They are ranked 15th in the league in opponents avg. starting field position at 23.9. 2011 - The Bills ranked 30th in touchback percentage at 24.05% - They ranked 1st in the league in opponents avg. starting field position at 20.4. It would appear that the only reason to have a KO specialist is to avoid injuries on kickoffs because the stats don't back up wasting a roster spot. Last year the Bills kicked off 75 times so if that number is matched this year the added kick off coverages saved will be roughly 19. So the Bills avg. 3.5 yards worse in opponents avg. starting spot and they save the potential injuries from covering 19 extra kicks by having a KO specialist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 potter is handling kick off duty....?? im confused Ha! fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 One has to wonder why we have a kickoff specialist in the first place. Take a look at these stats from last year and this year. 2012 - The Bills are ranked 15th in the league in touchback percentage at 50%. - They are ranked 15th in the league in opponents avg. starting field position at 23.9. 2011 - The Bills ranked 30th in touchback percentage at 24.05% - They ranked 1st in the league in opponents avg. starting field position at 20.4. It would appear that the only reason to have a KO specialist is to avoid injuries on kickoffs because the stats don't back up wasting a roster spot. Last year the Bills kicked off 75 times so if that number is matched this year the added kick off coverages saved will be roughly 19. So the Bills avg. 3.5 yards worse in opponents avg. starting spot and they save the potential injuries from covering 19 extra kicks by having a KO specialist. alternatively, our coverage may be worse (as indicated by the better average start despite many kicks going right to the 20), meaning that the extra touchbacks are saving us even more in the field position game. just another way to look at the numbers without context. or that this early in the season the sample size is just still pretty small. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cody Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 2012 - The Bills are ranked 15th in the league in touchback percentage at 50%. - They are ranked 15th in the league in opponents avg. starting field position at 23.9. 2011 - The Bills ranked 30th in touchback percentage at 24.05% - They ranked 1st in the league in opponents avg. starting field position at 20.4. Wow. Can you update this weekly and let me know the link to your source of information? This is the argument against Potter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pondslider Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Opponents avg. starting field position includes after punts right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Opponents avg. starting field position includes after punts right? Depends on the source. Could be just kickoffs referenced, or everything (including turnovers which would have potential to skew) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zow2 Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I didn't have a problem with Potter's kick offs last week. AZ has a dangerous return game and he booted them to the back of the end zone or out of it. I think the Cards player came out once and was tackled well short of the 20. I'm sure if Powell could boom them out of the end zone they would've considered it already. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Hindsight Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 (edited) Potter has been the primary reason for our losses Dude cant cover anyone or rush the passer Edited October 17, 2012 by Captain Hindsight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SactoBillFan Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Must be a slow day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miyagi-Do Karate Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 We wouldn't be having weekly potter threads if the guy was doing as advertised--kicking the ball through the endzone. I thought he would have a 90 percent touchback rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vincec Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 We wouldn't be having weekly potter threads if the guy was doing as advertised--kicking the ball through the endzone. I thought he would have a 90 percent touchback rate. Just wait until the weather starts to get cold. He won't get any out of the end zone then. I suspect that he is being kept on to audition for Lindell's job next season. It's probably a waste of a roster spot but really, who would they add that would make any difference at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 I didn't have a problem with Potter's kick offs last week. AZ has a dangerous return game and he booted them to the back of the end zone or out of it. I think the Cards player came out once and was tackled well short of the 20. I'm sure if Powell could boom them out of the end zone they would've considered it already. That's funny...if I recall correctly, Potter only got 1/3 touchbacks vs the Cards and none vs the 49ers.... I remember the Cards game specifically because I had to hold my breath every time Peterson brought it out of the endzone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djp14150 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 The reason for a kick off specialist is to mnmze the opponents ability to return kick offs and start in great field position if not return or a TD I don't have the data available but look at the odds of getting a td or FG based on field starting point. Buffalo this season faces quite a few KO specialists who are dangerous. The jets, browns, cardinals, Seahawks, niners, are teams that have this. You neutralize them by kicking in the endzne and produce touchbacks. This player makes possibly 20 or more yards difference then it's worth a roster pot. By looking at the odds iif you start from the 20 vs the 40 means a team scores on average 7-10 pts less per game means that player is worth a td a game or more. You keep him. That is what Potters job is. If he can't do it you cut him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 (edited) We wouldn't be having weekly potter threads if the guy was doing as advertised--kicking the ball through the endzone. I thought he would have a 90 percent touchback rate. Janikowski doesn't even crack 80 Offhand I don't think many really hit 70 (if any) last year So maybe you were the one offbase? Edited October 18, 2012 by NoSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
You herd it hear last Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Lindell was never that great on kickoffs....Powell has some size to him, anyone know if he could potentially handle kickoff duty as well? Potter seems like a wasted roster spot. the way we've been playing, we need someone that's really good at the onside kick...cuz i think we'll be doin' a lot of that in games to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ganesh Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 alternatively, our coverage may be worse (as indicated by the better average start despite many kicks going right to the 20), meaning that the extra touchbacks are saving us even more in the field position game. just another way to look at the numbers without context. or that this early in the season the sample size is just still pretty small. We simply have a bad Special Teams coach with no passion and a belief that he does not have players and plays scared....Nothing like the one he replaced...April always found a way to work his ST unit instead of throwing up excuses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dennis in NC Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 This is from a Buffalo News article back in May: "Signing with the Bills was more special to me, beyond football, because my kicking coach, Greg Cater, punted here," Powell said, referring to the Bills' punter from 1980 to 1983. "So I've always talked about the Bills. I have a Bills Greg Cater jersey. He told me if I made all-state in high school, he'd give me one of his jerseys, so I have one. It was just weird when I got the call from the Bills. It's like full circle." Cater now works as a pastor in Rome, Ga. But he has been working with Powell since he was 16 on his punting mechanics. "From the first time I worked with him it was obvious he was special," Cater said. "I remember the first time I let him tee the ball up and kick off for me at Darlington [high school]. There's a row of evergreens behind the end zone. He nailed that thing over the evergreens. I said, 'You've got the leg strength. All we need to do is point you in the right direction.'" PS: I wish TSW posters would stop confusing Potter and Powell. It's not that difficult to figure out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 PS: I wish TSW posters would stop confusing Potter and Powell. It's not that difficult to figure out... Which one did the excellent job as the holder on the OT kick? Just kidding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ICanSleepWhenI'mDead Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Powell kicked off the war in Iraq by making that speech to the UN about weapons of mass destruction - - look where that got us. Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Powell should stick to punting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fansince88 Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 The bills have had two kickers for as long as I remember. Why the negativity? Powell and Lindell are both doing well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
San Jose Bills Fan Posted October 18, 2012 Share Posted October 18, 2012 Powell kicked off the war in Iraq by making that speech to the UN about weapons of mass destruction - - look where that got us. Those that don't learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Powell should stick to punting. Wasn't that Colin Campbell, the former NFL Czar of Discipline? He was always after someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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