Flip Johnson Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 I am truly wanting to know: 1. Jordan Gay was on the 2015 Bills as a kickoff specialist. The Bills ranked 24th in the NFL in touchback percentage last year. 2. Gay clearly cannot kick field goals at an NFL level as last week's preseason game indicates. 3. The new touchback rule (ball spotted on the 25) would seem to mitigate against the touchback anyway. Why would any team consider having a kickoff specialist when the advantage of a touchback has been limited? 4. By all accounts Dan Carpenter is having a good camp. And yet I heard John Murphy talking last night about the battle for kicker. Rex's press conference on Saturday seemed to indicate that they wanted to give Gay a chance. How can this possibly still be a battle? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VABills Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 Like last years QB battle. Everyone knew it was over when EJ threw into the tents the second day of practice. But Rex kept up appearances until the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blokestradamus Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 The Bills ranked 23rd in TB percentage. Jordan Gay's stats alone would've ranked 15th. Dan Carpenter and Billy Cundiff had 7 kickoffs between them, all returns. Just for clarification. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmishRifle Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 I think Gay will be cut. Carp has outperformed him in camp per Astro's notes tracking kicks by both. The only lingering concern has to be Carp's injury that he had a year or so ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flip Johnson Posted August 23, 2016 Author Share Posted August 23, 2016 (edited) The Bills ranked 23rd in TB percentage. Jordan Gay's stats alone would've ranked 15th. Dan Carpenter and Billy Cundiff had 7 kickoffs between them, all returns. Just for clarification. OK - thanks - not as bad as I initially thought, but still don't know why you'd consider carrying an extra guy for league average performance. Edited August 23, 2016 by Flip Johnson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
section122 Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 I think Gay will be cut. Carp has outperformed him in camp per Astro's notes tracking kicks by both. The only lingering concern has to be Carp's injury that he had a year or so ago. I agree completely. I think Saturday was Gay's chance to sink or swim and he sunk. If he went perfect I think they could have possibly cut Carp. Now it looks like Gay is gone to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blokestradamus Posted August 23, 2016 Share Posted August 23, 2016 OK - thanks - not as bad as I initially thought, but still don't know why you'd consider carrying an extra guy for league average performance. Crossman likes to mix it up. I don't care for him doing it but that's his thing. Gay could be a consistent 80% touchback guy (not accounting for atmospheric hinderences) but, because of his hangtime, Crossman gets him to kick short and high for the coverage unit. Since the 2011 rule change, Carpenter's average yardage gained on returned kicks is around 24 yards (very rough maths in my head) with his TB% getting steadily worse. In the past 2 years, Jordan Gay's 18.3 yards (16.7 in 2015). For a team that's going to rely on defense, those 5-6 yards per return could be massive for field position. This from ESPN on return yardage on kickoffs puts the Bills best in the league - http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/team/_/stat/returning/sort/yardsPerKickReturn/position/defense I'm not saying having a kickoff specialist is the best use of resources but Jordan Gay is a net asset for this team. Hate the principle but appreciate the player responsible is all I ask. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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