Rayner Making Me Nervous

[Packnut]

Every time I read a training camp update, this guy is missing FG's. Now he misses a 39yd CHIP SHOT. You guys know as well as I do that we're gonna be involved in some close games where a fg is gonna decide the winner and I have no confidence in Rayner.

TT has to bring someone else in like this kid in Dallas. Suisham has nailed 2 kicks and appears to have a very strong leg. He'll get cut soon enough as long as Vanderjagt is'nt hurt to bad. Looked like he just tweaked the hammy a bit.

[BallHawk]

Edinger would be an improvement. Not a huge one, but I agree, we will be in close games and we need someone who can convert in those situations. As of now, Rayner is not it.

[Packnut]

Rayner

I just went back and checked all the blogs at Packernews.com and Rayner has missed a helluva lot of kicks in the 25-40 yd range. We're screwed if TT is'nt paying attention on this one.

[Packers4Glory]

nope..stick w/ this kid...even if he struggles give him this yr and most of next yr.

He has a helluva leg and as I posted in a dif thread sometimes you have to give guys like this some time to develope. Look at Neil Rackers first 2 yrs in the lg...he sucked. now he is one of the top 3.

I'm sure he is a bit rusty as he didn't kick FG's last yr so he is still getting his feel for kicking FGs back. He was good at MSU and can be good in the NFL as well.

I'll deal w/ the growing pains and hope he works and continues to develope.

its nice to have a big leg kicking FGs and kickoffs.

give him time..might as well w/ all the young pups on this roster in need of time and patience.

[vince]

I'm iwth you P4G, but if this kid misses one or two chipshots in crucial game situations, it ain't gonna be pretty for him...

[HarveyWallbangers]

He was good at MSU and can be good in the NFL as well.

He may have potential, but the kid wasn't that good at Michigan State. That's what scares me. His FG% was pretty poor--even by college standards.

[Rastak]

nope..stick w/ this kid...even if he struggles give him this yr and most of next yr.

You could lose 2 or 3 games over the course of that time though. I don't think McCarthy is going to want that. That's why young kickers bounce around so much. A coach just can't stomach the losses an inconsistent kicker can deliver, so they get cut and eventually pan out just fine somwhere once they develop that consistency.

[Bretsky]

Very likely that Grammatica is available from New England. New England drafted the kid I really wanted in Gastrowski. Power Leg with good accuracy.
Early reports out of NE were he may be cut and put on practice squad due to experience; but he's been excelling lately and IMO a team like the Packers would pounce on him if he were cut.

So we could grab Automitica Grammatica

[pittstang5]

Very likely that Grammatica is available from New England. New England drafted the kid I really wanted in Gastrowski. Power Leg with good accuracy.
Early reports out of NE were he may be cut and put on practice squad due to experience; but he's been excelling lately and IMO a team like the Packers would pounce on him if he were cut.

So we could grab Automitica Grammatica

I wanted Gostowski too, but I think NE took him in the 4th round which, imo, was a tad early. I'd hope TT is all over that if he gets cut, but I too believe Grammatica will get let go before Gost.

[Astonishment]

any untested kicker would make me nervous...in fact Cundiff made me nervous.

[mngolf19]

nope..stick w/ this kid...even if he struggles give him this yr and most of next yr.

You could lose 2 or 3 games over the course of that time though. I don't think McCarthy is going to want that. That's why young kickers bounce around so much. A coach just can't stomach the losses an inconsistent kicker can deliver, so they get cut and eventually pan out just fine somwhere once they develop that consistency.

It is a virtual guarantee that a bad kicker will cost you at least 1 game per year. Can't afford to give any away when your not a "great" team.

[BooHoo]

I am confident TT has one eye on the waiver wire.

[Packnut]

Waiver

I am confident TT has one eye on the waiver wire.

I sure hope so!

[mmmdk]

I think Rayner has a slightly more than 50% chance to become our kicker. The rest I'd bet on Gramatica, he's way better than Cundiff.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I guess Rayner was a little better than I thought in college. I saw he was 22 of 29 in 2003 and 22 of 31 in 2004, and I wasn't impressed. However, he had a ridiculous amount of 50+ yard kicks. In 2003 he had 8 of them and in 2004 he had 7 of them. His stats when you take that into consideration (and the wide hashes in college) are pretty good.

2003 - 22 of 29
18 of 21 under 50 yard FGs
4 of 8 on 50+ yard FGs

2004 - 22 of 31
20 of 24 under 50 yard FGs
2 of 7 on 50+ yard FGs

Not bad for a young kicker with a big leg.