http://boston.cbslocal.com/2018/05/14/patriots-punters-corey-bojoquez-ryan-allen-nfl/
Sets up competition for punter job With Ryan Allen
Sets up competition for punter job With Ryan Allen
Is this true? It suppose it might be net punt numbers wise. But it seems like 2 or 3 times last year Allen was instrumental in wins (pinning teams deep).Allen hasn't really been good the last couple years and it seems like one of the more easily upgradeable spots.
He also gave up a 5th best in the league 4.6 yards returned per punt. That's pretty good.Ryan had a bad year and it's a position that could use an upgrade. His stats are all towards the bottom of the pile: http://www.espn.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/punting/sort/puntsInside20
Last good year was 2015.
He doesn't punt that much but when he does it's usually with better field position than most yet his Inside 20 numbers are still bad (26th ranked this tear, 21 last year).He also gave up a 5th best in the league 4.6 yards returned per punt. That's pretty good.
And only one punter Bosher, from Atlanta had fewer punts. If you look at % of Punts inside the 20 he would have certainly looked like he had a better year.
I’d have to ask to what end?Competition is good, even though I would have said that this is one sport where I see very little need for it.
If we're talking the kicking game, I'd like to, and rather, see someone brought in to compete with Gost. He's quietly hurt them in several big games (AFCCG against Denver, SB 51 and SB 52) with missed extra points. The middle example worked out well, of course. And I know that part of the job is kickoffs and in particular placing the ball at the one or so to set up a return to less than the 25. But still, I'd like to see Gost get challenged a bit.
It's not about money. It's about potentially finding a kicker who will kick FGs and XP better than Gost. Gost has been really good at times and is good, as I wrote, on kickoffs. At the same time, his misses have been huge, and there were times last year when it seemed like he had the yips.I’d have to ask to what end?
To somehow get Gost to focus more? Kick better? Or to legit look for a replacement?
If it’s the former, I don’t personally buy into some narrative that bringing in a street FA or UDFA is somehow going to make him perform at crunch time. Reasonable minds can differ though, I just don’t see the need for a dog and pony show.
If it’s the latter, moving on from him only saves $3.5M. Does that savings make you feel better trotting Blair Walsh out there in a big moment?
Gost has had some hiccups at inopportune times, but the one season you could cite as ‘bad’ our own resident kicker was calling for it being an undisclosed injury. Given that BB was the one that spearheaded the XP being moved back, I’m going to assume he expected his own kicker to miss one or two here or there.
This was sly.Could also just be a case of saving bullets in the preseason . Kinda like when they brought in that kid from South Dakota State to give Bahr’s leg a breather.
Your have a much rosier view of the average NFL kicker than most. This is how Ghost has stacked up over the last 7 years (arbitrary cutoff point because of laziness). He had a down year in 2016 but very much recovered in 2017. Even then, his down year is slightly below average for a starting NFL kicker. You are claiming a kicker can come in off the street and be a top 15 kicker in the NFL. Which is crazy talk.It's not about money. It's about potentially finding a kicker who will kick FGs and XP better than Gost. Gost has been really good at times and is good, as I wrote, on kickoffs. At the same time, his misses have been huge, and there were times last year when it seemed like he had the yips.
That miss against Denver contributed mightily to the loss, as the Pats failed on a two point conversion his failure necessitated at the end. Had they not fantastically executed two two point conversions against the Falcons, the Comeback would have failed, and Gost would own a part of it. Last year's SB was a combo platter of suck, mostly tied to the D, but Gost again missing contributed.
This is not to say that he's the Devil and they should replace him at all costs. But seeing if they can find his replacement, and only choosing him if he is clearly an upgrade (which seems unlikely), is something that I think they should try.
I'm not claiming it will happen or it's even likely. But I don't see any harm in trying. At worst, whoever they bring in is someone they have more information on in the event of a Gost injury.Your have a much rosier view of the average NFL kicker than most. This is how Ghost has stacked up over the last 7 years (arbitrary cutoff point because of laziness). He had a down year in 2016 but very much recovered in 2017. Even then, his down year is slightly below average for a starting NFL kicker. You are claiming a kicker can come in off the street and be a top 15 kicker in the NFL. Which is crazy talk.
4th, 11th (2 missed XPs)
18th, 17th (3 missed XPs)
5th, 1st (0 missed XPs)
2nd, 1st (0 missed XPs)
6th, 1st (0 missed XPs)
18th, 1st (0 missed XPs)
12th, 1st (0 missed XPs)
Vinatieri missed two FGs in the SB against the Panthers. These things happen, even to the greatest kicker of all-time. Dan Bailey missed two XPs last year despite being one of the best kickers in the league in 2015 and 2016. Justin Tucker was just 4-for-10 in 2015 on 50+ yard FGs before going 10-for-10 in 2016. Steven Hauschka has a 3-game stretch every year where he literally forgets how to kick. Roberto Aguayo happens. Zane Gonzalez made 75% of his kicks last year. Greg Zuerlein almost lost his job after making just 67% of his kicks in 2015 and then throws up a 95% accuracy last year including 6-for-7 on 50+ kicks.It's not about money. It's about potentially finding a kicker who will kick FGs and XP better than Gost. Gost has been really good at times and is good, as I wrote, on kickoffs. At the same time, his misses have been huge, and there were times last year when it seemed like he had the yips.
That miss against Denver contributed mightily to the loss, as the Pats failed on a two point conversion his failure necessitated at the end. Had they not fantastically executed two two point conversions against the Falcons, the Comeback would have failed, and Gost would own a part of it. Last year's SB was a combo platter of suck, mostly tied to the D, but Gost again missing contributed.
This is not to say that he's the Devil and they should replace him at all costs. But seeing if they can find his replacement, and only choosing him if he is clearly an upgrade (which seems unlikely), is something that I think they should try.
It's just people look back and remember the highlights. Vinatieri was fantastic as you said but missed big kicks as well. Hell, look at Tim Thomas, who single handedly won the Bruins the 2011 cup because he was standing on his head for the entire run and stole them a bunch of games. It's not like he ever gave up 3 goals in a game in that run.Vinatieri missed two FGs in the SB against the Panthers. These things happen, even to the greatest kicker of all-time.
My point is that Gost has had some very important misses and while his numbers are otherwise excellent, and they probably will not replace him, that looking at other guys during training camp is might help/couldn't hurt kind of move.So your point boils down to the idea that they should do look to improve their roster at every position. I'll be sure to alert the proper people to make sure Bill knows his kicker is only a top 10 kicker and not the best in the league.
It's poor roster management at camp. The Patriots have 90 roster spots they can bring to training camp. Let's say Ghost falls back a little and is a top 15 kicker instead of a top 5 kicker. The likelihood that someone off the street is better than a top 15 specialist is quite low. Even then, the marginal gains you are getting from this new kicker are fairly minimal, with only a couple million in cap savings. It is certainly lower than the likelihood that the 90th man on the roster carves out a role on special teams or something. Both are low but when you have a finite amount of available resources, I would go with the strategy that has the higher likelihood to benefit your team.My point is that Gost has had some very important misses and while his numbers are otherwise excellent, and they probably will not replace him, that looking at other guys during training camp is might help/couldn't hurt kind of move.
If I was saying "replace Gost!111!!" at all costs, I would get your reaction more. But why not kick the tires? How does that hurt? Like I said earlier, one benefit is that they will know more about a possible replacement if Gost gets injured, as happened several years ago mid season.
In no particular order:My point is that Gost has had some very important misses and while his numbers are otherwise excellent, and they probably will not replace him, that looking at other guys during training camp is might help/couldn't hurt kind of move.
If I was saying "replace Gost!111!!" at all costs, I would get your reaction more. But why not kick the tires? How does that hurt? Like I said earlier, one benefit is that they will know more about a possible replacement if Gost gets injured, as happened several years ago mid season.
For his playoff career, Gostkowski is 78/82 in XP and 34/38 in FG. As for big spots, none of the three missed kicks you focus on were in the fourth quarter; in each case, he hit kicks after. The Broncos kick looms large because the offense was terrible that day, and the Eagles misses (one of which wasn't his fault) loom large because the defense played like third-graders. They get average performances from those units and Gostkowski's misses are forgotten. It's not like he blew a game-winning kick.All fair points, SN. My bias — which is likely clouding my judgment on this — is that I don’t trust Gost in big spots and likely blame him more than most for what happened in the games I mentioned. I do see him having the yips in big spots, and it worries me. But I hear your points, and they are well taken.
Another part of the Gost narrative for me is that he missed a FG during the 2007 playoff run which arguably contributed to Bill's odd decision to go for it on 4th and 13 and eschew a makeable FG in the Game that Shall Not Be Mentioned. Yes, that was a long time ago (and I believe his rookie season), and to pin BB's decision on Gostkowski is unfair. But it sticks in my head and combines with some of the misses we've discussed.For his playoff career, Gostkowski is 78/82 in XP and 34/38 in FG. As for big spots, none of the three missed kicks you focus on were in the fourth quarter; in each case, he hit kicks after. The Broncos kick looms large because the offense was terrible that day, and the Eagles misses (one of which wasn't his fault) loom large because the defense played like third-graders. They get average performances from those units and Gostkowski's misses are forgotten. It's not like he blew a game-winning kick.
What Gostkowski doesn't have is a signature game-winning kick to offset the misses you remember (like Vinatieri's chance for redemption against Carolina). That strikes me as more unfortunate timing than anything. He's hit his last seven fourth-quarter playoff FG attempts, but none of those were in one-score games. He hit two go-ahead fourth-quarter FGs in the 2007 AFCCG vs Indy, but they ended up blowing both those leads. His one game-winning playoff kick was in the Marlon McCree game in Gost's rookie year. But in the regular season, he's been 24/25 in fourth quarter/OT FG attempts for the tie or the lead. I remembered that one miss off the top of my head but very few of the hits, which just goes to show how little we appreciate Gostkowski's greatness.
Speaking in agreement - isn’t that the definition of “camp body”? Really not much different than a 12th WR.Having an extra P or K in camp is useful even if you have zero expectations of them beating out the incumbent for multiple reasons:
1: takes reps in practice so the ST units can practice their roles without exhausting your starter
2: is on hand in case your starter gets hurt in camp
3: is a known entity in case your starter gets hurt or underperforms during the season
You won’t get any insights on his clutch kicking (even assuming such a skill exists) in the preseason.All fair points, SN. My bias — which is likely clouding my judgment on this — is that I don’t trust Gost in big spots and likely blame him more than most for what happened in the games I mentioned. I do see him having the yips in big spots, and it worries me. But I hear your points, and they are well taken.
The difference is a 12th WR can compete for a practice squad spot, but you're not going to have a specialist on the PS unless there are unusual circumstances (like your PK has a balky hamstring and you might need to activate the PS guy late in the week).Speaking in agreement - isn’t that the definition of “camp body”? Really not much different than a 12th WR.