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Posted

He's not talking out of his ass at all. The misses against Cleveland and Pitt (especially Pitt - it was a chip shot) were big time pressure misses. Lindell has gotten better - much, much better - but those two were huge misses.

What Big Cat said. What's Lindell's percentage in the 4th quarter of close games? Hmm?

Posted

great kick! glad someone remembered to make a thread about it. the way it hit the net, id guess it wouldve been good from 70.

 

anyone bashing Lindell is simply trying too hard to be an a-hole during these already depressing times. he's one of the few quality players we have.

Posted (edited)

Another comment on the infamous Pittsburgh miss of which some knuckleheads can't let go -- yes, it was six years ago, and it came with 14:49 to go in the 4th quarter. Hardly the stuff of "missed pressure kicks that cost the Bills the game." We all know why the Bills lost that day, and it wasn't because Lindell missed a chip shot that would have made the score 23-20 (Buffalo trailing).

Edited by eball
Posted

Another comment on the infamous Pittsburgh miss of which some knuckleheads can't let go -- yes, it was six years ago, and it came with 14:49 to go in the 4th quarter. Hardly the stuff of "missed pressure kicks that cost the Bills the game." We all know why the Bills lost that day, and it wasn't because Lindell missed a chip shot that would have made the score 23-20 (Buffalo trailing).

E, you sure bout that. I could have sworn in the deep recesses of my beer addled brain the kick would have put them up by 4 or 7..but no earthly clue how to look it up!!

Posted

"Often missing in the clutch"? Serious? Do you have stats on his 4th quarter kicks to validate that perception?

 

A "clutch" kick does not necessarily mean "at or near the end of the game with the score close". Clutch can mean lots of things. I consider a kick in an important game with a one score lead that can be made a two score lead with a FG clutch. I consider a kick against the wind with the play clock very low pretty clutch. I consider any kick over 52 yards clutch, accounting for the angle at which a kicker generally has to place the ball (right into defenders hands, more or less).

 

But to answer our question about 4th quarters, Lindell was 77.8% in the 4th Quarter in 2009, 50% in the 4th Quarter in 2008, 100% in 2007, 85.7% in 2006.

 

He has had few bad years, but has generally been about league average or above league average in the 4th Quarter. I think the kick that stands out to me the most is the missed kick on MNF against Cleveland. We always remember the devastating misses more than the miraculous makes. That's the life of a kicker.

 

We love Steve Christie because he made a lot of game-tying and game-winning field goals in the dying seconds. But if you look at his statistics, he also missed A LOT of easy ones. I'm talking... he would not be good enough to be an NFL kicker these days. I remember in '99 during the Music City Miracle game, Christie hit that 41-yard field goal to give Buffalo the lead, and the thing barely cleared the cross bar. I thought to myself, "He doesn't have it anymore".

 

We should enjoy Lindell while we have him. He's not particularly great in the closing seconds, though not awful either. But outside of that, he has probably been the most accurate kicker in Bills history.

Posted

E, you sure bout that. I could have sworn in the deep recesses of my beer addled brain the kick would have put them up by 4 or 7..but no earthly clue how to look it up!!

Paul, you are correct. At the time the Bills were up 17-16, so Lindell's kick would have put them up four. Doesn't change my assessment, though. ;)

Posted (edited)

Paul, you are correct. At the time the Bills were up 17-16, so Lindell's kick would have put them up four. Doesn't change my assessment, though. ;)

Lindell did struggle early on with the Bills at times, and I think it was between the 2004 and 2005 seasons that he altered his plant foot slightly during field goal attempts. He was a completely different kicker after that and I've always associated the change with the adjustment to his kicking mechanics.

Edited by Punch
Posted

Lindell did struggle early on with the Bills at times, and I think it was between the 2004 and 2005 seasons that he altered his plant foot slightly during field goal attempts. He was a completely different kicker after that and I've always associated the change with the adjustment to his kicking mechanics.

 

There were also a couple of seasons where a shoulder problem affected his kicking motion.

 

He's been money since it was corrected. And IIRC he's still got a better % than Christie, which means he has a better percentage than a lot of other kickers.

 

People, let it go and stop hating on one of the best position players on the team.

Posted

no i would have to say brian mvp moorman has been

Any time there's an argument about who a team's consistently best player has been, and any time that argument comes down to a choice between the kicker and the punter, it's a bad sign!

Posted

This clutch talk is making my head hurt. Good kickers are more likely to make big kicks than poor kickers because they're better kickers. Vanderjet and Kaeding clearly had/have some mental issues but those guys are in the minority.

 

A "clutch" kick does not necessarily mean "at or near the end of the game with the score close". Clutch can mean lots of things. I consider a kick in an important game with a one score lead that can be made a two score lead with a FG clutch. I consider a kick against the wind with the play clock very low pretty clutch. I consider any kick over 52 yards clutch, accounting for the angle at which a kicker generally has to place the ball (right into defenders hands, more or less).

 

Your thoughts on Vinaterri missing two chippshots vs. Carolina in the Superbowl? While it meets your big game criteria and I think could've put them up 2 scores, they were not going into the wind in a dome and they weren't over 52 yards. I don't remember where the playclock was. Perhaps we can split the difference and call it 1 clutch miss.

Posted

Let us rejoice and be glad that the kicking game is something that is not a cause for concern on this team. It was so great to see a big kick like that with the game on the line, on the road, and with so much room to spare. Haven't had too many moments for exultation this season, but that was one of them.

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