TheLynchTrain Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 (edited) Today went a long way toward sealing that deal. You all saw the train wreck of a kick that Folk missed. Then Carp comes in and kicks two 40+ yarders dead nuts through the same set of uprights, cool as a cucumber. He's been very, very good. Not sure how you let him go now. Wonder if we could at least get a late-round pick for Hopkins. Keep carpenter thru final cuts battling Hopkins to be safe. If there is a chance to trade Hopkins, that'd be pretty sweet. How were the winds today on their field? I saw reports of 25 mph gusts forecasted. While it would be awesome get something in return for Hopkins (hey even a conditional 15 pick), I don't think any team would trade away a pick for a guy that hasn't played a down yet in the NFL, even if he had an awesome college resume. In a performance driven league, I think we have to go with Carpenter at this point. Since he's got a one year deal and knows we have a drafted kicker under contract for three more years, he'll definately demand (and deserve) a multi-year contract. This will ensure we keep him - unless Ralphy wants to throw a mil or two guranteed away for spring and summer practices. While Capenter has been an excellent kicker this year (and has proven to be an excellent kicker with a pro bowl), the knock on him throughout his career has been his lack of leg strength on kickoffs. Its not killing us this year, but it does still leave something to be desired. I could see us keeping both of them and having Hopkins serve as our kickoff specialist. Either way, while it sucks we drafted a kicker this year, the results are still what we wanted - a top flight kicker who's been a defintie upgrade to one of my least favorite players the last few years, Rian Lindell. No, no and no. That's not the way you handle this situation. Hopkins is a super talented kicker with a big leg. I love the year Carpenter is having but this is the "good" Dan Carpenter. Results today don't necessarily predict the results of tomorrow. I know it's scary to go with the unknown but you gotta give Hopkins a chance to compete for the job in training camp. You have to have some vision as a coaching staff. I don't want to see Carpenter turn into the guy Miami cut while Hopkins has a successful 10 year career with the Patriots or Jets. You gotta see what you have in Hopkins before letting him walk. I agree with you here on giving Hopkins a chance this offseason. Maybe I'm overestimating the leverage a kicker may have, but I think in order to keep Carpenter we have to give him a multi-year deal. If he keeps up his level the next 5 games, he'll have the numbers of being a top 5 kicker with the pedigree of having a pro bowl in 2009 under his belt and a few years of 110+ points. He's also been screwed over by the Dolphins for having one bad year; that taste most likely hasn't left his mouth and he'll want some security. No way he'll sign a one year deal to go back and "compete" with a guy under contract for 3 more years when he has a chance to be the "guy" somewhere else. Either way, I think this is a good problem to have. Edited November 18, 2013 by TheLynchTrain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave mcbride Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I think the basic lesson here is never, ever draft a kicker or punter. You can always find one, and the decent ones are all roughly the same. And there are a lot of decent ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Security Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 I think Hopkins is still the guy next year. We drafted kickers 2 years in a row. Carpenter has been the Bills most consistent player in reality, he has been solid. It will be very open for the competition next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
26CornerBlitz Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 This tells me quite a bit about Carpenter's performance yesterday: Great Job #2! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EasternOHBillsFan Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 OK, that's it... here are the straight facts for those who think Carpenter is fake: Rian Lindell, after a couple years as the Seahawks kicker, wasn't THAT great, but we signed him. Many great seasons later, we had to let him go. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/2489/rian-lindell Now, by circumstance, we pick up Carpenter after our drafted kicker comes up injured. What does he do? Kicks butt LIKE HE HAS SINCE HIS ROOKIE YEAR. Screw the open competition.... sign Carpenter to a multi-year deal, and retain Kopkins for kickoffs IF possible. Looking at Carpenter's numbers should have every Bills fan onboard, point blank. http://espn.go.com/nfl/player/stats/_/id/11688/dan-carpenter Carpenter is actually better than Lindell, which is insane but true. Do the right thing, Bills. Extend this guy SOON. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leelee Phoenix Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Definitely keep Carpenter. It shows you how easy it is to get a quality kicker today, he was cut by a few teams while being among the most accurate kickers ever along with adequate kickoff strength. Hopkins can go. Stupid moves drafting kickers in back-to-back seasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John in Jax Posted November 18, 2013 Share Posted November 18, 2013 Lol, did you not see Folks field goal attempt? Was that the wind taking it, or was that just a rotten shank? It looked liked one of my errant 5-iron shots! LOL It seemed like everything else (long passes, punts, other FGs) that went in that direction was not affected by the wind too much (maybe EJ's TD pass to Graham was, although all year long EJ has been short on a lot of his long passes, so I wasn't sure). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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