Coach55 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 Is it just me, or has the quality of NFL kickers deteriorated materially this year. Some teams' kicking situations are so bad to the point where they have become a revolving door (Haushka hasn't helped us, but we are in way better shape than others). My question is, why do some of these teams keep going after consistently crappy kickers (NY Jets for example) and not go for a retired vet such as Dan Carpenter, who is only 33 and has put up pretty consistent numbers his entire career. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 should hire the Steeler lineman who was talented with the boot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baba Booey Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 Pouncey??? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SlimShady'sSpaceForce Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 #KickersArePeopleToo its been a rough outing this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msw2112 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 Kudos to the OP for bringing up this topic. I mentioned something similar in a different thread that was critical of Hauschka. He had a bad game vs. the Browns and it was costly to us, but our kicking situation is far from the worst in the league. Kicking seems to be a problem league-wide this year, more than I can ever recall seeing in the past. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenorthremembers Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 5 minutes ago, msw2112 said: Kudos to the OP for bringing up this topic. I mentioned something similar in a different thread that was critical of Hauschka. He had a bad game vs. the Browns and it was costly to us, but our kicking situation is far from the worst in the league. Kicking seems to be a problem league-wide this year, more than I can ever recall seeing in the past. He is 33rd in the league in FG %, the only player who has a worse percentage than him in the league is the guy the Titans cut after we played them. If youre going to rely on a good defense in low scoring games you better have a hell of a kicker. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 (edited) I think this is something that's been building over the last few years, kickers reliability send to be getting worse and teams are scrambling to find someone reliable. I wonder if alot of the issues are mental, the older kickers are retiring and younger ones coming in aren't as mentally tough to handle the pressure that's been put on the position? They let it go to their heads after missing 1-2 and they can't deal with it Either that or the NFL is juicing the balls like MLB did to get more homers? Edited November 15, 2019 by apuszczalowski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thenorthremembers Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 4 minutes ago, apuszczalowski said: I think this is something that's been building over the last few years, kickers reliability send to be getting worse and teams are scrambling to find someone reliable. I wonder if alot of the issues are mental, the older kickers are retiring and younger ones coming in aren't as mentally tough to handle the pressure that's been put on the position? They let it go to their heads after missing 1-2 and they can't deal with it Either that or the NFL is juicing the balls like MLB did to get more homers? It may just be this year is an anomaly. The league average has been around 84% the last five years, its 80% this year. I would imagine some of the same kickers that got the league to 84% last year, are still kicking this year. This is the lowest its been since 2003. I imagine youll see it go back up next year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JROC INTEL Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 I thought I was the only one who noticed this. Ever since the extra point was made longer it seems like kicking has become much more problematic. I never remember it being this bad as it has the past few years . I am glad extra points are more difficult though. Makes games more interesting. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Turk Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, msw2112 said: Kudos to the OP for bringing up this topic. I mentioned something similar in a different thread that was critical of Hauschka. He had a bad game vs. the Browns and it was costly to us, but our kicking situation is far from the worst in the league. Kicking seems to be a problem league-wide this year, more than I can ever recall seeing in the past. Well I'm not sure about that. How many kicks have we passed up because McDermott has concerns about his range? Very few teams will pass up 53 yard FGs during the course of a game, especially when it would give you the lead, but we do regularly, which makes me think McD has no confidence in his ability over 50 yards right now...which was shown to be correct when he was SHORT from 53... For a team that doesn't score many points, not having a kicker who can hit what is a very makeable FG because he doesn't have the leg anymore is kind of inexcusable and puts a lot of pressure on the offense which hasn't been shown to be good in those circumstances of converting 4th and short plays. Edited November 15, 2019 by matter2003 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 I hate long FGs anyways, unless it is 3rd and a million from the 35 you should go for the first (based on the game situation of course) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigSky Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 Who was the kid we had in camp this year? Seemed like he did pretty good. With House struggling so much it might be worth taking another look at him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 16 minutes ago, Reed83HOF said: I hate long FGs anyways, unless it is 3rd and a million from the 35 you should go for the first (based on the game situation of course) you mean like 3rd and 4 with 52 seconds left and a time out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 2 minutes ago, row_33 said: you mean like 3rd and 4 with 52 seconds left and a time out? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
US Egg Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 Maybe the Hauschka didn't "Feel Ideal" is some sort of kickers syndrome. .....and only realized after a bad game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nextmanup Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 1 hour ago, thenorthremembers said: It may just be this year is an anomaly. The league average has been around 84% the last five years, its 80% this year. I would imagine some of the same kickers that got the league to 84% last year, are still kicking this year. This is the lowest its been since 2003. I imagine youll see it go back up next year. This is exactly right. This stuff goes up and down; it's unpredictable, and there is no "explanation" for it. It will likely improve next year as you say. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMF2006 Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 16 minutes ago, BigSky said: Who was the kid we had in camp this year? Seemed like he did pretty good. With House struggling so much it might be worth taking another look at him. I guess you missed him kicking for the 49ers Monday night. Shanked the game winner after making his first 3. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 9 minutes ago, JMF2006 said: I guess you missed him kicking for the 49ers Monday night. Shanked the game winner after making his first 3. That is also his 3rd team this year after he was cut for missing FGs Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAJBobby Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 5 hours ago, msw2112 said: Kudos to the OP for bringing up this topic. I mentioned something similar in a different thread that was critical of Hauschka. He had a bad game vs. the Browns and it was costly to us, but our kicking situation is far from the worst in the league. Kicking seems to be a problem league-wide this year, more than I can ever recall seeing in the past. actually it is with a 61.5% rate with the highest cap hit of any kicker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reed83HOF Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldTimeAFLGuy Posted November 15, 2019 Share Posted November 15, 2019 5 hours ago, SlimShady'sGhost said: #KickersArePeopleToo its been a rough outing this year. ...wonder if an extra point being in essence a 33 yd FG takes its toll on a PK......in addition to true FG's.......these guys may be fragile and overworked...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProcessTruster Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 7 hours ago, thenorthremembers said: It may just be this year is an anomaly. The league average has been around 84% the last five years, its 80% this year. I would imagine some of the same kickers that got the league to 84% last year, are still kicking this year. This is the lowest its been since 2003. I imagine youll see it go back up next year. 80% vs 84%? if that is the comparison then this is a non-issue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xwnyer Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 7 hours ago, Coach55 said: Is it just me, or has the quality of NFL kickers deteriorated materially this year. Some teams' kicking situations are so bad to the point where they have become a revolving door (Haushka hasn't helped us, but we are in way better shape than others). My question is, why do some of these teams keep going after consistently crappy kickers (NY Jets for example) and not go for a retired vet such as Dan Carpenter, who is only 33 and has put up pretty consistent numbers his entire career. deflated balls ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hebert19 Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 I'd argue that there are no woes. Instead the league was blessed with good kickers for about 10 years or so where 85 to 90 percent was expected. Instead the real average for history to league of more like 80. The down year comes from guys who were solid getting older and no new young kickers taking their place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJS Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 It's been going on for a couple of years now. But yes, it is a growing problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orlando Tim Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 I believe a few years back the NFL stopped letting kickers prep ball the same ways they use to- maybe as result of deflategate?- making the balls just slightly less perfect for kickers. Of course it could also be more long kicks are being attempted be previously. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BarleyNY Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 9 hours ago, Coach55 said: Is it just me, or has the quality of NFL kickers deteriorated materially this year. Some teams' kicking situations are so bad to the point where they have become a revolving door (Haushka hasn't helped us, but we are in way better shape than others). My question is, why do some of these teams keep going after consistently crappy kickers (NY Jets for example) and not go for a retired vet such as Dan Carpenter, who is only 33 and has put up pretty consistent numbers his entire career. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/we-thought-nfl-kickers-would-keep-getting-better-but-this-year-theyre-struggling/ “For decades, NFL placekickers have been on a seemingly never-ending quest for perfection. Conversion rates increased relentlessly each year like numbers on the National Debt Clock. But a funny thing happened on the road to forever. The field-goal success rate this season is at its lowest level since 2003. And the decline of 4.2 percentage points to 80.5 percent from 2018 to 2019 is the greatest year-to-year drop in efficiency since that from 1975 to 1976, dinosaur days when square-toed kickers still roamed.” Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 (edited) They B worded that kicking was too good now they B word it isn’t good enough B word B word B word Edited November 16, 2019 by row_33 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ethan in Cleveland Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 Context is everything. Until the bad miss last week he had made 44 in a row under 40 yards. And all of his other misses have been from 50+ yards this season. McD is putting him in bad situations. He's not as good as he was two years ago but he is plenty good enough. As other's on this board have said, unless they need a FG to tie or win late in a game, they should start thinking about playing 4 down offense until they hit the opponents 30 yard line. If they know they will go for it on fourth down then it opens up a lot more possibilities on 3rd down Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak-O Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 8 hours ago, OldTimeAFLGuy said: ...wonder if an extra point being in essence a 33 yd FG takes its toll on a PK......in addition to true FG's.......these guys may be fragile and overworked...... It's still very few kicks for a period of 3 hours. Compare it to any soccer player. They can't be overworked. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddo Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 Tbh, I suspect it's a whole variety of factors, including having to kick further on a regular basis on kick offs etc. where they will be being told to clear end zones. My view on this would be that technically, they are having to put more effort into every kick, and in doing so, it makes them a touch more prone to errors. Ideally, you would want to kick with exactly the same form on every kick, but I don't think they are able to do that in todays NFL. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Brown Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 13 hours ago, Reed83HOF said: Let's provide some context. He hasn't had a 20 to 30 yard field goal attempt right now because the Bills are awesome on the red zone. He's missed one between 30 and 40 (out of three) and one between 40 and 50 (out of seven). He's missed all three from 50 plus. One was nearly impossible in the wind against Philly near the end of the half (56 yarder). One was a 62 yard attempt against the Bengals. The other......well we all saw last week. He's also nearly perfect on extra points with his one miss a block (18 of 19). I'm not panicking. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CSBill Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 It seems to be a league wide epidemic. We can credit two wins (Jets, Titans) to bad opposing kickers, and one loss (Browns) to Bills games. I still general faith in Hauschka, I think he is prefect on extra-points this year, but he is becoming a concern. And I wonder, it seems like there have been opportunities for 50 yard+ kicks that McDermott is passing up. Has he lost faith in his kicker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ILBillsfan Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 20 hours ago, BigSky said: Who was the kid we had in camp this year? Seemed like he did pretty good. With House struggling so much it might be worth taking another look at him. He made the kick to force ot in the Seattle game but he missed badly to win it from 47. Paid particular attention to see how he did knowing the issues from the Cleveland game Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Punching Bag Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 On 11/15/2019 at 1:05 PM, Reed83HOF said: I hate long FGs anyways, unless it is 3rd and a million from the 35 you should go for the first (based on the game situation of course) Since it is never "3rd and a million from the 35" obviously that means you never go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoSaint Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 (edited) On 11/15/2019 at 10:53 AM, thenorthremembers said: It may just be this year is an anomaly. The league average has been around 84% the last five years, its 80% this year. I would imagine some of the same kickers that got the league to 84% last year, are still kicking this year. This is the lowest its been since 2003. I imagine youll see it go back up next year. I’m also not sure the average fan is picking up the difference in their teams kicker going 20/25 vs 21/25 as much as it being luck of the games you saw or coverage on high light shows Edited November 16, 2019 by NoSaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benderbender Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ridgewaycynic2013 Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 9 hours ago, CSBill said: It seems to be a league wide epidemic. We can credit two wins (Jets, Titans) to bad opposing kickers, and one loss (Browns) to Bills games. I still general faith in Hauschka, I think he is prefect on extra-points this year, but he is becoming a concern. And I wonder, it seems like there have been opportunities for 50 yard+ kicks that McDermott is passing up. Has he lost faith in his kicker? Gase’s googlies bringing bad mojo to NFL kickers, particularly the AFC East! ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoCal Deek Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 So the real question is if House Money is no longer able to do it from beyond 45 yards why does the coach keep trotting him out there? Just go for it! Aren’t they tracking this stuff at OBD? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
row_33 Posted November 16, 2019 Share Posted November 16, 2019 Bills went from a recent coach who wasn’t aware that kickers can be good from 50 + to one who settled for a 53 yarder just to tie it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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