Bass struggling at minicamp (and now at training camp)

[Buffalo_Stampede]

25 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

He's not going to be any better this season.  Once you get the yips and lose your mental edge in your specialty, it rarely returns.  The mistake we made was prematurely extending his contract. Can we just once let a player's first contract play out first.  He's going to break our hearts again.   Count on it....

That’s not true.

[BufBills83]

This was like, the last post I wanted to see about Bass.  I have been very critical of him and I want the Bills to bring in competition because I don't want to be worried about missing a 44 yard field goal in a crucial playoff game.  If he continues to struggle, another option has to be explored.

[aristocrat]

The kicker position is maybe the second most important position besides qb in the nfl. Games are mostly decided by 3-4 points and if you miss a kick or two that's the difference. Kickers are the highest scoring position players and to have a guy that is struggling worries me for the year. He better get a hold on what's going on or we're gonna lose some close games.

[Eastport bills]

This guy is going to crush the team in big spots and you can bank on it. Evaluation of our kicking game has been sorely lacking by the brain trust. He has different mechanics from his early seasons. His kicks tail off much more than the solid strikes you see from the top guys. His confidence is down from the amateurish misses in the playoffs and he probably thinks Sean will go with him no matter what. My prediction is that they are forced to replace him by mid season.

[Niagara Dude]

On 6/12/2024 at 10:17 PM, Einstein said:

 

I just never felt confident with him last season. The Bills should bring in another legit guy for training camp.  This is where Sean loses to other top HC,  is he able to make tough choices and cut a guy who has been around for some time and just not performing.  We shall see but missing 3 kicks from 45 yards and in is concerning no matter who is holding. 

[Doc]

9 hours ago, SCBills said:

I know some awful people went at Bass after the KC miss, but if we’re being honest…

 

If we had any faith in our defense that game (or ever in the playoffs), he’d be viewed in a much harsher lens. 
 

That miss was unacceptable and even worse was we all knew he was going to miss it.  
 

Tie game and who knows.  Probably a 1% chance we force another turnover or stop them, but we’ll never know … and we all knew that we’d never know the second our highly paid kicker walked out there to kick a normal FG for any NFL kicker. 
 

He gets a subconscious pass from a lot of us because we all knew his FG didn’t matter. 

 

I didn't expect him to miss.  And even though it probably wouldn't have changed the outcome of the game, he gets no pass.  He can't miss those types of kicks period.

[Goin Breakdown]

What worries me is even the ones he makes look like he wants to miss. 

[Nephilim17]

Yikes. 

 

With the Bills luck, our WRs will come through, play better than anyone expected and Bass will undo it all with a bad kick. If his struggles continue for long, they need to look at other options.

[Gregg]

From another Bills board.

 

Although Buffalo Bills fans want Bass to be cut, his contract likely makes it unlikely for him to be released as one fan pointed out. Bass signed a four-year contract extension through the 2027 season and has a $7,380,000 dead cap if he's released, so the money is tough to move on from the kicker....

[VaMilBill]

On 6/12/2024 at 7:27 PM, WotAGuy said:

Dude went from Bass-o-matic to Bastard in one season. 

I would rather have Vlad Ducasse kick at this point. 

[Doc]

2 minutes ago, Gregg said:

From another Bills board.

 

Although Buffalo Bills fans want Bass to be cut, his contract likely makes it unlikely for him to be released as one fan pointed out. Bass signed a four-year contract extension through the 2027 season and has a $7,380,000 dead cap if he's released, so the money is tough to move on from the kicker....

 

It would be a $4.3M cap hit this year and $3M next year.

[VaMilBill]

2 minutes ago, Gregg said:

From another Bills board.

 

Although Buffalo Bills fans want Bass to be cut, his contract likely makes it unlikely for him to be released as one fan pointed out. Bass signed a four-year contract extension through the 2027 season and has a $7,380,000 dead cap if he's released, so the money is tough to move on from the kicker....

If he’s losing you games because he can’t kick, then you eat the cost

[Gregg]

20 minutes ago, VaMilBill said:

If he’s losing you games because he can’t kick, then you eat the cost

 

I agree with you but if he doesn't get cut that could be the reason why.

[boater]

7 hours ago, Niagara Dude said:

I just never felt confident with him last season. The Bills should bring in another legit guy for training camp.  This is where Sean loses to other top HC,  is he able to make tough choices and cut a guy who has been around for some time and just not performing.  We shall see but missing 3 kicks from 45 yards and in is concerning no matter who is holding. 

The decision to cut Bass would be a collaboration of Beane and McDermott.

 

At this moment in time, Beane is probably saying No to cutting Bass, for all the salary cap reasons discussed here.

[Fan in San Diego]

Cut bait now. Should have never extended him.

[Mikie2times]

4 minutes ago, Fan in San Diego said:

Cut bait now. Should have never extended him.

[Putin]

2 hours ago, VaMilBill said:

If he’s losing you games because he can’t kick, then you eat the cost

Bah - Bye 👋🏻 

[Scott7975]

On 6/12/2024 at 10:17 PM, Einstein said:

 

 

I said like midseason or before that last season that there was something wrong with Bass.  Everyone acted like I was crazy and gave me the "kickers miss kicks, Bass is fine" type of line.

 

I can only imagine needing a field goal in the AFCCG with like 2 seconds on a stopped clock and being well in range and the dude shanks it or even just an xtra point. 

Edited June 14 by Scott7975

[Chaos]

10 hours ago, aristocrat said:

The kicker position is maybe the second most important position besides qb in the nfl. Games are mostly decided by 3-4 points and if you miss a kick or two that's the difference. Kickers are the highest scoring position players and to have a guy that is struggling worries me for the year. He better get a hold on what's going on or we're gonna lose some close games.

The chiefs recognize the value of a kicker. It’s not just percentage. The kicker determines how much of the field is scoring range.  

[BigAl2526]

It does put the Bills in a tough spot.  Of course, Bass has the leg.  A good part of kicking is mental.  Bass is a bit rattled now.  He could get things fixed tomorrow, or not.  The Bills don't have to cut bait right now, but they need to have a plan B in place if it becomes clear Bass's struggles seem likely to continue.  The free agent punter they picked up is also a place kicker.  If they can identify a potential holder, they could have him serve both as punter and kicker.   It's worth thinking about.