Who is Buffalo's emergency kicker?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

25 minutes ago, Bob in STL said:

You can’t be “in the stands”.  You have to be on the active roster and dressed.  

John 'Elvis' Lang count?

[Miyagi-Do Karate]

1 hour ago, Charles Romes said:

Yesterday made me think they ought to have an emergency kicker in the stands every game like an emergency goalie in hockey. 

i actually was thinking the same thing. Like have a kicker on the PS, who we can call up if this happened to us.

[Sherlock Holmes]

ME!!! Put me in coach!!!

 

Edited December 20, 2021 by Sherlock Holmes

[ArdmoreRyno]

If this dude can learn to kick in a few days, it can't be hard for a PROFESSIONAL football player, who probably kicked in HS, to learn how to kick an extra point or short FG.

 

 

[ALLEN1QB]

Who is Buffalo's emergency clapper?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

25 minutes ago, Sherlock Holmes said:

ME!!! Put me in coach!!!

 

Did you need a comma for that statement? 🤨

[MAJBobby]

1 hour ago, Big Turk said:

With how well McD is usually prepared, I would be very surprised if he didn't already have this situation prepared for ahead of time.

He does. It is Hyde

 

[buffalostu2]

1 hour ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

If I were a kicker struggling to make a team  i'de practice long snapping. A long snapper that can kick would always have a roster spot.

Probably works better the other way around.   You would think the long snapper would have tried a bunch of kicks over time

[Big Turk]

36 minutes ago, ArdmoreRyno said:

If this dude can learn to kick in a few days, it can't be hard for a PROFESSIONAL football player, who probably kicked in HS, to learn how to kick an extra point or short FG.

 

 

 

As someone who played soccer 20+ years and kicked for several years in various flag/touch football leagues, I can tell you that it isn't about simply kicking the ball. With a kicking tee/person holding with no rush, I routinely drilled 55-60 yard FGs. But doing it live in a game is a completely different animal.

 

It is actually one of the most precisely timed plays in football because the entire operation needs to be complete in about 1.5 seconds from snap, to hold, to kick. It took quite some time and a lot of practice to get that down properly with the holder, and in games where the normal holder didn't show up, it was a problem many times.  I'm no expert, but I can tell you it is definitely not as simple in live action as "can this person kick the ball this far through the two poles"

36 minutes ago, ArdmoreRyno said:

If this dude can learn to kick in a few days, it can't be hard for a PROFESSIONAL football player, who probably kicked in HS, to learn how to kick an extra point or short FG.

 

 

 

Again...it isn't about "can he learn how to kick".  In a live setting it is 95% about timing that has been practiced over and over and over again.  The difference between a made kick and a blocked kick in a live setting is probably a few tenths of a second. It would be near impossible for a player who hasn't had any practice with timing to do this in a live game randomly.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Big Turk

[MJS]

The Punter and the Kicker should be required to practice the other guy's job for a few minutes every day. Same with all the other specialists. It's amazing that the Panthers had nobody. Did they think a kicker could never get hurt?

[jwhit34]

I am surprised that there aren't more kicking specialists who learn to do both. I am thinking that if you can both punt and kick proficiently, you are almost guaranteed a 15+ year career as long as your skills hold up. Coaches love position flexibility, what if they only had to carry 1 kicking specialist? 

 

I kind of remember Brian Moorman being pressed into action to kick at one point and he was pretty good. There have been punters over the years who doubled as kickoff specialists, so if they can do that it would just be a matter of working on the precision of FGs and PATs. 

[ArdmoreRyno]

2 minutes ago, Big Turk said:

 

As someone who played soccer 20+ years and kicked for several years in various flag/touch football leagues, I can tell you that it isn't about simply kicking the ball. With a kicking tee/person holding with no rush, I routinely drilled 55-60 yard FGs. But doing it live in a game is a completely different animal.

 

It is actually one of the most precisely timed plays in football because the entire operation needs to be complete in about 1.5 seconds from snap, to hold, to kick. It took quite some time and a lot of practice to get that down properly with the holder, and in games where the normal holder didn't show up, it was a problem many times.  I'm no expert, but I can tell you it is definitely not as simple in live action as "can this person kick the ball this far through the two poles"

 

I never said grab anyone off the street. I said they can likely find someone who can kick, especially on a team with NFL players. Most people at that level, probably kicked in high school. You can't tell me Haack, who has kicked since HS, can't work on FG's or extra points. He's not a 20 year pro playing flag or touch football. He's been taught by professionals since he was at Arizona State. 

 

Again, many kicked in HS. Like Welker, I watched him in Oklahoma kick 40+ yard field goals for Heritage Hall back in 1998. He could still kick in the NFL when needed. 

[Hapless Bills Fan]

2 hours ago, MAJBobby said:

Hyde is. He won it in camp hitting 40 yarders. 

 

Why does this not surprise me?  Mr. Hyde one of the best athletes on the team.

 

14 minutes ago, buffalostu2 said:

Probably works better the other way around.   You would think the long snapper would have tried a bunch of kicks over time

 

There was video of Reid Ferguson punting.  He wasn't bad.

[Big Turk]

7 minutes ago, jwhit34 said:

I am surprised that there aren't more kicking specialists who learn to do both. I am thinking that if you can both punt and kick proficiently, you are almost guaranteed a 15+ year career as long as your skills hold up. Coaches love position flexibility, what if they only had to carry 1 kicking specialist? 

 

I kind of remember Brian Moorman being pressed into action to kick at one point and he was pretty good. There have been punters over the years who doubled as kickoff specialists, so if they can do that it would just be a matter of working on the precision of FGs and PATs. 

 

Especially with how devastating it is when a team is without a kicker in terms of the huge disadvantage it puts the team at.

Edited December 20, 2021 by Big Turk

[4BillsintheBurgh]

In some of these blowout wins I'd like to see the backup kicker take a swing at an extra point. It's one thing to be able to do it in practice, but if you're not near 90% from 40 and in as a backup I have to think the numbers swing even more to just going for it on 4th down.

[Big Turk]

1 minute ago, 4BillsintheBurgh said:

In some of these blowout wins I'd like to see the backup kicker take a swing at an extra point. It's one thing to be able to do it in practice, but if you're not near 90% from 40 and in as a backup I have to think the numbers swing even more to just going for it on 4th down.

 

Dude...there are actual kickers who aren't 90% from 40 and in...let alone a backup who hasn't likely practiced at all with the kicking operation.

[klos63]

18 minutes ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

Why does this not surprise me?  Mr. Hyde one of the best athletes on the team.

 

 

There was video of Reid Ferguson punting.  He wasn't bad.

Who would snap the ball?  We would need an emergency long snapper.

[msw2112]

Given the COVID situation, you'd think the league could expand practice squads to include some reserve specialists for these types of situations.  I don't believe that PS guys get paid that much and I'd guess there are plenty of former NFL and college placekickers, punters, and long snappers who would kill for the opportunity.  Yesterday, it benefitted the Bills, but in the future it could hurt them.  It's not that hard to imagine kicker or long snapper going on the COVID list right before a big game with playoff implications, or a playoff game itself.

[Wacka]

Forgot what year it was but was in SD  for the game and was at the Bills  Backer Taiilgate(Pinto Ken and others) . Who walks up and starts talking to us?

 

Steve Cristy. He was cut the week or  two before  by the Bills. "what are you doing here?" we ask. "I'm in town to trey out for the SD kicker". They signed Tuesday morning.

[BearNorth]

I'm old enough to remember when one Cookie Gilchrist, also the starting fullback, was the placekicker in 1962, 8x20 on FG's 14x17 on PAT's. He was replaced the next year by position player Mack Yoho, who wasn't much better.  Daryl Lamonica, the backup QB was the punter in 1963.  We upgraded to Gogolak and Maguire in 1964.