Rubes Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Probably a tougher call at this point than I was thinking. Originally, I thought it would be a simple choice: pay the man. He came in at the last minute right before the season started, and proceeded to have one of the best seasons by a Bills kicker in their history. He was extremely reliable, especially from long distance, which is just about the best you can ask from your kicker. He scored the third most points in a season by a Bills player in franchise history. But such reliability comes at a price. As reported in the BN, the average salary of the 10 highest paid kickers in 2013 was $3.153 million. Bear in mind that Rian Lindell, one of the best kickers in Bills history, had a salary of $2.1 million when he was released. One area that Carpenter struggled a bit was kickoffs. As reported in the BN, he had just 34 total touchbacks, which ranked 23rd in the NFL. Only 41 percent of his kickoffs were touchbacks, which ranked 28th in the NFL. And of course, waiting in the wings for his second chance is Dustin Hopkins, he of the strong leg and rookie salary. So...what would you do?
CodeMonkey Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Pay the man, but with minimal guarantee. Let him compete with Hopkins in camp and preseason. If Carpenter wins out, he gets paid. If not, no harm to the Bills.
stony Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 (edited) Really like the guy, but gotta go with Hopkins given we drafted him. I don't feel bad for Carpenter though, he's kicked his way onto some roster with this year's performance. Seemed like a class dude too. Edited January 15, 2014 by stony
KD in CA Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Of course not, he's a kicker. Kickers are streaky and go from very solid to very shaky all the time. There's no reason to pay a journeyman like Carpenter more than an average salary on a one year contract.
Mark Vader Posted January 15, 2014 Posted January 15, 2014 Pay the man, but with minimal guarantee. Let him compete with Hopkins in camp and preseason. If Carpenter wins out, he gets paid. If not, no harm to the Bills. Gotta agree with this statement. I like Carpenter, and he's not that old, although the low number of touchbacks is a concern.
Rubes Posted January 15, 2014 Author Posted January 15, 2014 Gotta agree with this statement. I like Carpenter, and he's not that old, although the low number of touchbacks is a concern. I think he'd be very unlikely to accept that offer, knowing that there will probably be several other teams willing to pay him at least as much with more guarantee.
3rdand12 Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 I hope Whaley is smarter than us, especially me. Because i dont know the answer. One thing though. Dan Carpenter kicked ass last season for us. Touchbacks are not the answer anyways, deep kicks and good coverage are. stupid stat. I would keep Carp. But its not my money and we have needs. again
Ed_Formerly_of_Roch Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 Yes but that will cost you a big signing bonus which then you'd take a hit on the cap if you cut him. If that's really your plan to have a competition and potentially cut him, then wouldn't bother giving him big bucks which likely then would mean he's gone. Pay the man, but with minimal guarantee. Let him compete with Hopkins in camp and preseason. If Carpenter wins out, he gets paid. If not, no harm to the Bills.
Security Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 Until the Bills can stop the run it doen not matter, they cannot really compete.
4merper4mer Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 Really like the guy, but gotta go with Hopkins given we drafted him. I don't feel bad for Carpenter though, he's kicked his way onto some roster with this year's performance. Seemed like a class dude too. I agree with this post. He did really do great for us though and if they end up keeping him I won't be upset. I am 55/45 in favor of Hopkins.
Max997 Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 My concern is they are stupid enough to franchise Carpenter in fear of losing him and just let Byrd walk Carpenter had a great year and I'd like to see him back but not if it takes a similar deal to what Chicago gave to Gould Of course not, he's a kicker. Kickers are streaky and go from very solid to very shaky all the time. There's no reason to pay a journeyman like Carpenter more than an average salary on a one year contract. Completely disagree with this. And How is Carpenter a journeyman kicker? He's played for two teams. It's also going to take more then an average salary on a one year deal to sign him after the year he had
Formerly Allan in MD Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 Really like the guy, but gotta go with Hopkins given we drafted him. I don't feel bad for Carpenter though, he's kicked his way onto some roster with this year's performance. Seemed like a class dude too. We drafted Williams, Losman, Maybin etc. etc. etc. They should still be on the team because we drafted them?
oman128 Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 carpenter is like a bird in the hand, and Hopkins is like two in the bush.
billsfan_34 Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 Really like the guy, but gotta go with Hopkins given we drafted him. I don't feel bad for Carpenter though, he's kicked his way onto some roster with this year's performance. Seemed like a class dude too. Just cuz you draft someone, esp in the 6th rd doesnt mean alot to me. Let them compete thats what makes a team stronger. Im all for EJ earning his keep also, not just handed the keys.
Nick the Greek Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 (edited) What I don't like about Carpenter is his inability turn kickoffs into touchbacks. Too often he allows opposing teams to return kickoffs, and the Bills seem to have a problem stopping returns. If Hopkins has a more powerful leg, I'd like to see him start. Edited January 16, 2014 by ldandria
4merper4mer Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 carpenter is like a bird in the hand, and Hopkins is like two in the bush. That is funny but this is the wrong place for dirty jokes IMO.
plenzmd1 Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 Great topic Rubes...i was pondering this the other day as well. What sucks is that we have no idea how Hopkins will handle the winds/weather in the Ralph .Boy played HS in Texas and college in Florida... I assume cause he was on IR, he could not get on the field to practice and kick late in the year to see how he could handle the Hawk!. I mean, IMHO that is what the Bills kicking job comes down to no?? Being able to hit 48 yarders in the cold/wet and wind in November and December? I think accuracy rates are so high now, most if not all kickers at the NFL level can kick in easy conditions...
stony Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 We drafted Williams, Losman, Maybin etc. etc. etc. They should still be on the team because we drafted them? We drafted him because he was considered one of, if not, the top kicker in the entire draft. He has not kicked in a regular season game yet!!! He won the training camp battle and got hurt. All those guys you mentioned were on the roster for years before the team decided to cut ties with them. Just cuz you draft someone, esp in the 6th rd doesnt mean alot to me. Let them compete thats what makes a team stronger. Im all for EJ earning his keep also, not just handed the keys. I'm fine with this. Hopkins won the job outright in camp last year, seems to have the talent. Makes a lot more sense to me to keep a cheap investment instead of paying a vet 3 mil per season. Especially when we have a certain safety who is gonna want a lot of money.
Wooderson Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 I'd like to keep him around, but not at 3 million. What I loved seeing was Nick Folk shank a kick in the Ralph wind and Carpenter pound it right down the middle from a deeper yardage. That's important.
dpberr Posted January 16, 2014 Posted January 16, 2014 I'd pay Carpenter. Known quantity and one less hole to fill on the roster.
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