Mason crosby

[b bulldog]

Just wanted to give him his props for an excellant game. Kickoffs were very good and his fieldgoals were all good. Good pick TT!

[Maxie the Taxi]

Glad you mentioned him. All the touchbacks are great for the field position game. Takes pressure off of Special Teams.

[Rastak]

On a similar note, how'd you guys like Longwell. He was driving the ball pretty well on kickoffs, like Crosby was.

Looks like the Packers kept the right guy.

[Lurker64]

On a similar note, how'd you guys like Longwell. He was driving the ball pretty well on kickoffs, like Crosby was.

What I don't understand is, why did he never do that in Green Bay? I wonder if the Applebee's Diet gave him Heavy-Leg, or something. Hell of an accurate FG kicker, but his kickoffs landed around the 20 a lot when he was here.

I think that after this game we can safely conclude that "kicker" is probably one of the positions of least concern so far for both of these teams, though.

[Maxie the Taxi]

What I don't understand is, why did he never do that in Green Bay?

I seem to remember reading somewhere that when Longwell was here they tried to get him to concentrate on hangtime by kicking it high. Maybe it was Sherman's idea. Then, again, maybe it was the snow and cold...or Applebee's.

[Rastak]

On a similar note, how'd you guys like Longwell. He was driving the ball pretty well on kickoffs, like Crosby was.

What I don't understand is, why did he never do that in Green Bay? I wonder if the Applebee's Diet gave him Heavy-Leg, or something. Hell of an accurate FG kicker, but his kickoffs landed around the 20 a lot when he was here.

I think that after this game we can safely conclude that "kicker" is probably one of the positions of least concern so far for both of these teams, though.

There was an article in the local paper earlier in the year where he said he completely changed his workout routine. Hired some trainer and worked like hell on getting his leg strength improved and he's been doing quite well. That FG he missed in overtime against Detroit was 52 yards and clanged three quarters of the way off the upright.

[Patler]

What I don't understand is, why did he never do that in Green Bay? I wonder if the Applebee's Diet gave him Heavy-Leg, or something. Hell of an accurate FG kicker, but his kickoffs landed around the 20 a lot when he was here.

I have explained this before, and no one wants to believe me. About two years before he left, there was an article in the Milwaukee Journal that said Sherman's philosophy for several years had been to kick higher and toward a corner. It allows the coverage to collapse toward the sideline kicked to and pin the return man against the sideline. You sacrifice initial distance for a much less chance of a long run back. Sherman explained it in the article, not Longwell. Sherman said he preferred a directional kick to the 5-10 over a straight away kick that is returned from the endzone, because the long run back is much greater in the latter scenario. He said he preferred it especially outdoors late in the year.

Earlier in his career, Longwell kicked longer on kickoffs.

[Maxie the Taxi]

What I don't understand is, why did he never do that in Green Bay? I wonder if the Applebee's Diet gave him Heavy-Leg, or something. Hell of an accurate FG kicker, but his kickoffs landed around the 20 a lot when he was here.

I have explained this before, and no one wants to believe me. About two years before he left, there was an article in the Milwaukee Journal that said Sherman's philosophy for several years had been to kick higher and toward a corner. It allows the coverage to collapse toward the sideline kicked to and pin the return man against the sideline. You sacrifice initial distance for a much less chance of a long run back. Sherman explained it in the article, not Longwell. Sherman said her preferred a directional kick to the 5-10 over a straight away kick that is returned from the endzone, because the long run back is much greater in the latter scenario. He said he preferred it especially outdoors late in the year.

Earlier in his career, Longwell kicked longer on kickoffs.

I knew I wasn't imagining things. I remember reading something like that.

[Patler]

There was an article in the local paper earlier in the year where he said he completely changed his workout routine. Hired some trainer and worked like hell on getting his leg strength improved and he's been doing quite well. That FG he missed in overtime against Detroit was 52 yards and clanged three quarters of the way off the upright.

Interesting, because he did the same thing a number of years ago in GB. They even talked about how he worked out early every morning before going to the golf course he lives on.

He was 4 for 5 on fieldgoals longer than 50 yards in 2005, his last year in GB.

[Rastak]

There was an article in the local paper earlier in the year where he said he completely changed his workout routine. Hired some trainer and worked like hell on getting his leg strength improved and he's been doing quite well. That FG he missed in overtime against Detroit was 52 yards and clanged three quarters of the way off the upright.

Interesting, because he did the same thing a number of years ago in GB. They even talked about how he worked out early every morning before going to the golf course he lives on.

He was 4 for 5 on fieldgoals longer than 50 yards in 2005, his last year in GB.

I should look for it. He indicated he completely switched his offseason routine. It was something Tiger Woods had either suggested or uses. Sorry I don't have the detail, it was written this summer and he clearly is playing a different game.


edit: Found an article on it:

Longwell takes workout cues from Tiger
E-MAIL Print Comment 3


Posted: August 4, 2007

MANKATO, Minn. -- Tiger Woods is a role model for golfers of all ages across the world.

It turns out he's also an inspiration to NFL kickers.


Minnesota Vikings kicker Ryan Longwell lives in the same Florida neighborhood as Woods, and the football player says he took a page from the golfer's relentless workout regimen to get ready for his 11th season in the NFL.

"I would just kind of watch him and watch what he does and talk to him on the range a little bit," Longwell said after a practice at training camp. "This guy, on a Tuesday of a tournament week, he's out there running three, four, five miles. On a Tuesday! He says he gets up and works out, even on days that he has a round."

In his first season in Minnesota after spending the first nine years of his career in Green Bay, Longwell was his usual reliable self on field goals. He made 21 of 25 tries and was perfect from inside 46 yards.

Longwell also threw his first career touchdown pass on a fake field goal against Carolina. But as the season wore on, the 32-year-old started to wear down, and his kickoffs suffered.

"Our percentage was great, but a couple of kicks and kickoff-wise, I thought I ran out of gas toward the end of the season," Longwell said.

That's where Tiger comes in.

The two live on the Isleworth Country Club in Windmere, Fla., near Orlando. And Longwell has seen Woods' dedication to working out.

"If the best athlete in the world is trying to get better and still running and lifting while he's playing, then I think there's something to be learned from that," Longwell said.

So the kicker redesigned his routine, concentrating more on "endurance-based stuff" like yoga, plyometrics and kick boxing, all in an effort to build up enough stamina to get him through a long season and keep those drives off his foot flying straight and far.

"If you look back at last year there were a couple of long ones that I'm sure he wishes he could have back," special teams coordinator Paul Ferraro said. "He modified some of his conditioning workouts during the offseason and he is showing some good leg strength right now. I'm looking forward to seeing that."

In the past, Longwell said, he usually did shorter, "power workouts" seeking to build strength. And over the course of a 10-year career, he might have become a little complacent.

"You know, it's not that it hasn't worked over the past 10 years, but you can kind of almost get into a state of normalcy just with 10 years doing the same thing and it working out OK," Longwell said. "But what happens if you did change everything and see what you could do? So that's kind of what I did, just changed it all up and see what I could do."

Now, he's feeling as strong as ever and has no designs on hanging up the kicking shoe anytime soon. He signed a five-year deal before last season that could pay him up to $10 million.

If those kickoffs start sailing closer to the goal line, and his field goal tries keep flying through the uprights, he can expect to earn most of that money.

"I'll keep kicking until they kick me out," Longwell said. "I keep telling (wife) Sarah, 'Every day I keep fooling them and hopefully I can fool 'em for another 10 years."'

------

AP Sports Writer Dave Campbell contributed to this story.

[Patler]

Sounds like he did change the type of workout. The one I recall from his days in GB discussed power workouts for explosiveness. Sounds like he has changed more to endurance training.

Longwell is a funny guy to understand. I always liked him as a kicker, and often defended him here, so I'm not bashing him at all. But...he often dropped the "Tiger Woods is my neighbor" tidbit in interviews when he was in GB, too! It seemed to come up time and time again.

[Patler]

Longwell's comments from 2002 after his rather poor 2001 season:

With weightlifting, Longwell did more reps with less weight. He increased his running to five days a week in which he'd run 21/2 miles three days a week and concentrate on sprints the other two days. He also hired a personal yoga instructor who worked with him three days a week to add flexibility.

"I could lift an ox last year, but it didn't help me kick a football, which kind of backfired," said Longwell, who now weighs 198 pounds, up six pounds from a year ago."

[Rastak]

Sounds like he did change the type of workout. The one I recall from his days in GB discussed power workouts for explosiveness. Sounds like he has changed more to endurance training.

Longwell is a funny guy to understand. I always liked him as a kicker, and often defended him here, so I'm not bashing him at all. But...he often dropped the "Tiger Woods is my neighbor" tidbit in interviews when he was in GB, too! It seemed to come up time and time again.

From what I understand, they actually play golf together. I wouldn't want to play golf with Tiger....when I compete I like to think I at least have a small chance.

[Patler]

From another 2002 article:

During the 2001 off-season Longwell lifted lower numbers of more weight. He got stronger at the expense of leg speed and stamina.

This year, he reverted back to lifting lower weight more times. He also changed his running routine, emphasizing distance over sprints.

His weight is 198, up from 192 last season.

Longwell also hired a personal yoga instructor and worked out with him three mornings each week.

"It's like power stretching," he said. "It's using your own body weight as weight basically. Instead of just stretching, you do it in power moves."

[Rastak]

Well, whatever the combo of workouts this year was, it worked.