Special Teams kind of Special

[Patler]

I get that patler, but my bigger concern is the WAY his kicks look. Some kickes boot from the hash, the ball takes off and then straightens out....funky like, but when crosby kicks it is dead nuts straight on. If the kick is from one hash he has to try to squeek it in that post to make it, if he pushes or pulls it, it continues to fade way too much and he pretty much misses every time outside of 45 this season.

Statistically he matches up ok, but he missed 2 game winners last year and I can't quantify this, but I just don't "like" his kicking. I feel like is almost definately missing from 50+ and for a guy with a mountain of leg he should be better on long ones.

I guess we just disagree. I basically like the way Crosby kicks. Heck, he almost made the 69 yard attempt last year, in Green Bay on Dec. 28, game temp. at 22 degrees and a fairly good cross wind. As I recall, it was dead center, just a little short. Very few guys in the league would have had a shot at that.

This year he has hit from 45, 46, 48 and 52.
He has missed from 49, 51, 55 and 55.
50% on kicks over 45 yards. I like that he kicks a straighter ball. Once he figures out the angle on the real long ones, he should be great at it because he kicks a straight ball, and has less variation from kick to kick.


He has plenty of leg for the longest kicks they ever will try, he just doesn't always control it well enough yet. That's not surprising. A lot of young kickers struggle on the long ones, and many coaches hesitate to even try 50+ yard attempts for that reason. It took Longwell half of his career before he learned to kick the long ones, and now he is very good at it. In his first six seasons, Longwell was just 6/13 on kicks over 50 yards. Crosby is at 7/15 after just two and a half seasons.

I think Crosby is good right now, and could end up being one of the best in the league. He needs a little more seasoning.

[Patler]

A little more on the 50 yard attempts:

Scobee is 2/5 this season on 50 yard attempts. His longest is 52.
Crosby is 1/4. His longest is 52
Brown is 2/3. His longest is 53.
Seven kickers have attempted 2. Each has made one. Five from 50, one from 52, one 53.
Ten kickers have tried one, seven made it. Two from 50, one each from 51, 52, 53, 54 and 55.

Only 20 kickers have attempted kicks from 50 yards or more. Collectively they are 19/36.

More importantly, Crosby is 13/14 from inside 50 yards, and his miss was from 49. I don't see anything wrong with that.

[MichiganPackerFan]

I think they're taking too many chances with a 50%ish success rate kicking 45+. Especially if Crosby isnt ready to kick them. There's a lot of risk of having a 50% chance getting 3 points at the risk of giving your opponent great field position .

[denverYooper]

I think they're taking too many chances with a 50%ish success rate kicking 45+. Especially if Crosby isnt ready to kick them. There's a lot of risk of having a 50% chance getting 3 points at the risk of giving your opponent great field position .

Maybe they figured his chances of making it were better than the O's were of converting or the punt team's were of successfully covering the punt .
But I think it's more than looking at the numbers and saying, ok he's about 50% on 50+ yarders, we'll roll with that here.

I really think that it gets back to what Patler mentions about Crosby needing seasoning. My guess is that the coaching staff figures that at some point he's going to begin to hit those 50+ fgs a lot more consistently and that he just needs work in that range and in game situations to make it click. If they are right, he *could* be a real weapon.

[KYPack]

Another concern w/ Crosby is his kick-offs. He basically beat Rayner on his ability to nail long kickoffs.

Like, where'd they go?

I think Crosby has a live leg, but his kick-offs don't reflect that skill. The guy has been way short on many efforts this year.

Supposedly, MM went to Slocum after the kick to Harvin after they squibbed to him earlier. Slocum seems to be shaping up as Mike Stock Jr.

MM needs to let somebody else send 'em in & concentrate on coaching this team.

I, too, thought we were a wily bunch to be keeping all these ST maniacs that will give us an edge in the 3rd phase. We kept the horses, but they ain't pulling a heavy enuff load.

[g4orce]

Another thing that goes un noticed is the fact that TED THOMPSON, and no one else is to blame, has not found a punter worth 2 shits since he's been here. He's also found this "strong legged" kicked that cant find the endzone on a kick off if he was kicking from the 50 yard line(ok that might be an over exaggeration but fuck!)



Just two more spots, KEY spots, good ole TT has let slide in "building" this crappy team.

[Patler]

He's also found this "strong legged" kicked that cant find the endzone on a kick off if he was kicking from the 50 yard line(ok that might be an over exaggeration but fuck!)

Of course, we have no idea what they are asking him to do on kickoffs, kick for distance, kick for placement against the sidelines, or kick for hang time.

Crosby was sixth in the league in touchbacks last year, and seemed to be doing well this year early. All of a sudden on kickoffs the team looks like they are scared of everyone, and they have Crosby trying to kick into the corner, squib kicking, what have you. They seem to be getting worse and worse on kickoff coverage.

[Patler]

Another thing that goes un noticed is the fact that TED THOMPSON, and no one else is to blame, has not found a punter worth 2 shits since he's been here.

Problem is, you can't make one out of thin air. There wasn't one when he came, he has tried a lot of different ones, and still hasn't found one. Sure, they likely would have been better with Jon Ryan, but he certainly wasn't and isn't anything special as a punter. There are a lot of punters around that really aren't very good. With punters, supply doesn't meet demand. Almost like QBs, a few really good ones, some OK ones and a bunch taking up a spot until the team finds someone better.

[Fritz]

He's also found this "strong legged" kicked that cant find the endzone on a kick off if he was kicking from the 50 yard line(ok that might be an over exaggeration but fuck!)

Of course, we have no idea what they are asking him to do on kickoffs, kick for distance, kick for placement against the sidelines, or kick for hang time.

Crosby was sixth in the league in touchbacks last year, and seemed to be doing well this year early. All of a sudden on kickoffs the team looks like they are scared of everyone, and they have Crosby trying to kick into the corner, squib kicking, what have you. They seem to be getting worse and worse on kickoff coverage.

First of all, Patler - glad to see you posting! Yay!

Second, what scares me is that you're right, and what I mean by that is that if the team is part way into the season asking Crosby to kick completely differently on kickoffs, I suspect that it means the coach or coaches have realized the coverage units aren't up to snuff.

That's what scares me.

[esoxx]

we just disagree.

Dave Mason - circa 1970

[esoxx]

Another thing that goes un noticed is the fact that TED THOMPSON, and no one else is to blame, has not found a punter worth 2 shits since he's been here.

Problem is, you can't make one out of thin air. There wasn't one when he came, he has tried a lot of different ones, and still hasn't found one. Sure, they likely would have been better with Jon Ryan, but he certainly wasn't and isn't anything special as a punter. There are a lot of punters around that really aren't very good. With punters, supply doesn't meet demand. Almost like QBs, a few really good ones, some OK ones and a bunch taking up a spot until the team finds someone better.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/52221267.html

[Patler]

Another thing that goes un noticed is the fact that TED THOMPSON, and no one else is to blame, has not found a punter worth 2 shits since he's been here.

Problem is, you can't make one out of thin air. There wasn't one when he came, he has tried a lot of different ones, and still hasn't found one. Sure, they likely would have been better with Jon Ryan, but he certainly wasn't and isn't anything special as a punter. There are a lot of punters around that really aren't very good. With punters, supply doesn't meet demand. Almost like QBs, a few really good ones, some OK ones and a bunch taking up a spot until the team finds someone better.

http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/52221267.html

...your point????

[Zool]

I think he's saying he'd rather have Hunter Smith and his 1.5 yards less per kick.

[Bretsky]

I think he's saying he'd rather have Hunter Smith and his 1.5 yards less per kick.

so would I

[Zool]

I think he's saying he'd rather have Hunter Smith and his 1.5 yards less per kick.

so would I

Why? Washington is giving up 5.8 per return and the Packers are giving up over 13 per. Maybe some of that is on the punter but the coverage teams suck, punt and kickoff. Have for quite a few consecutive seasons.