BuffaloBill Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Will the Bills retain a kickoff specialist this year? If so, is this good or bad? Why? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freddie's Dead Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 They shouldn't. Kickoffs come out to the 25 this year, so if Carp can't handle both, cut his ass and use the cheaper option in Gay. Bills can't afford to waste a roster spot on the new Brad Daluiso. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Best Player Available Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 IMO it is a waste of a roster spot. With the rule change (again) this season it will Be interesting to see how coaches deal with touchbacks when spotting the ball on kickoffs On the 25. This could change things. IMO kicking the ball to the 1or2 yard line and making The returner earn those 25 yards is the way to go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machine gun kelly Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 With these rule changes, any kicker should handle everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drinkTHEkoolaid Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Bad. Waste of a roster spot. A regular kicker should be able to get touchbacks 85% of the time. What A a kickoff specialist good for, a 90 or 95% touchback rate? A net gain of 5% increase in findings doesn't justify a roster spot to me. I would rather see some type of gadget 2pt conversion specialist with that spot. That would add more value. Or check even a depth player at a critical position where we don't want to release a talented player Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VirginiaMike Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 I don;t wee having a KO specialist. While you don't use that last spot when everyone is healthy, we know that injuries will occur and having added depth in the O-Line or secondary is great. 1 punter, 1 kicker - that's it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blokestradamus Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) Bad. Waste of a roster spot. A regular kicker should be able to get touchbacks 85% of the time. What A a kickoff specialist good for, a 90 or 95% touchback rate? A net gain of 5% increase in findings doesn't justify a roster spot to me. Only Pat McAfee and Justin Tucker had touchback percentages above 85 last season. Buffalo ranked 23rd with 50% of touchbacks (including all 4 of Dan Carpenter's being returned). Jordan Gay's stats alone would put him 15th in the league in TB %. Since the rule change, Gay has a TB rate of 56.9%. Dan Carpenter has a 46.8% TB rate (including 2 years in Miami, inherently better climate). That's 10.1% more kickoffs not coming back. Roughly about 7-8 per season on average. Just as a Bill, Dan's % drops to 39 (which obviously drives that discrepancy up further). One thing to consider with the new regulations is hang time. Dan's leg can barely get into the end zone half the time and, because he lacks the kickoff leg, his kicks have a flatter trajectory when he forces the distance. Therefore less time for the coverage unit to cover ground. Gay is a much more nuanced kickoff man. He has better natural leg strength. He can kick high and long. He's much more likely to eliminate risk by kicking a touch back and he's more likely able to give the coverage unit time to cover. He's shown the ability to kick directionally with hang time too. As long as Dan Carpenter nails his FG/XP duties, Jordan Gay is a net asset. He's better for ST and he saves Carpenter's leg. If Dan has a repeat of 2015, it's harder to justify keeping him. He's rather good at his specialist role but pointless if he's helping to spell a liability. Edited July 8, 2016 by Blokestradamus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HT02 Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 My short answer on this is, it depends. If Carpenter returns to almost automatic as he was two years ago, but can't reach the end-zone consistently then yes, I'm fine with that. Ideally the answer is no but does anyone know if Gay has been given a chance to try extra points and field goals? If Gay can't consistantly hit field goals and Carpenter is inconsistant then the Bills should bring in a 3rd option into camp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pine Barrens Mafia Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Waste of a slot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 The problem I have with this is why do we have to carry a specialist that no other team in the league has to carry. Im my opinion Carp is on thin ice anyways......Rex did not like the chippies he was missing last year at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommonCents Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 The problem I have with this is why do we have to carry a specialist that no other team in the league has to carry. Im my opinion Carp is on thin ice anyways......Rex did not like the chippies he was missing last year at all. Carp was money the year before, I think last year he had a reoccurring hamstring injury that hampered him. If Carpenter kicks like its 2014 then no one will bat an eye at Jordan Gay doing the kick offs. With the new rule, hang time is going to be more important than ever. As Blokes said above, when Carp is going for distance he kicks a line drive....not good. Our special teams in general are concerning, I don't like any of the returner options we have and I'm not expecting Easley back for the start of the season. He was one of the best gunners in the league last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD in CA Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 A kickoff specialist is merely a public announcement that the team was too incompetent to procure the services of a decent kicker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John from Riverside Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Carp was money the year before, I think last year he had a reoccurring hamstring injury that hampered him. If Carpenter kicks like its 2014 then no one will bat an eye at Jordan Gay doing the kick offs. With the new rule, hang time is going to be more important than ever. As Blokes said above, when Carp is going for distance he kicks a line drive....not good. Our special teams in general are concerning, I don't like any of the returner options we have and I'm not expecting Easley back for the start of the season. He was one of the best gunners in the league last year. We did sign several vet guys (particulary linebackers) for their ST's capability.....there was one in particular that was a TOP guy (a linelinebacker I think) As for returners....I dont see anyone special....but with the new rules its probably gonna be a lot of touchback's anyway? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CommonCents Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 We did sign several vet guys (particulary linebackers) for their ST's capability.....there was one in particular that was a TOP guy (a linelinebacker I think) As for returners....I dont see anyone special....but with the new rules its probably gonna be a lot of touchback's anyway? I see a lot of teams trying to perfect the hang time and coverage instead of giving the opposition the 25 yard line. I think the competition committee screwed the pooch with this rule change. I think that extends Gay's tenure in Buffalo unless Carp falters badly in the preseason and is replaced with a stronger legged kicker. I'm not so worried about having the best returner in the league, I just want a guy that can hold on to the damn thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirby Jackson Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 I'm in the minority in this. You can't have teams returning kicks if you can't. It's giving them a chance to make a play that you don't have a chance to make. Now the simple answer is that you should have a kicker capable of both. If you have a really accurate kicker that struggles with kickoffs I'm fine with a specialist. He's every bit as important as Larry Dean. The Bills used to have that but last year Carpenter really struggled. I would have replaced the entire kicking position this year. If you keep Carpenter (which it looks like) I'd rather Gay take up the last roster spot versus your 7th CB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I don't care for the loss of the roster spot. And yes, i consider it a lost spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Ideally your K should be able to do both. If he's a good FG kicker and deficient in KO's, keeping a specialist isn't a bad idea. This year however, you don't need to keep one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Hammersticks Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I like having a kick-off specialist. If Carpenter gets hurt, do you want the result of the game on the leg of Marcel Dareus? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3rdand12 Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I like having a kick-off specialist. If Carpenter gets hurt, do you want the result of the game on the leg of Marcel Dareus? How do other teams respond to an injury to the lone kicker? bring on the DT !! Garrison Sanborn is at the ready. been practicing the onside flutter ball Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augie Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Dareus kicking would have a special level of entertainment value! I mean, I'd rather have the points, but still..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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