QOD: Should the Bills trust that Tyler Bass will return to form?

[BuffaloBill]

With kickoffs being a whole different animal Bass will has a more focused role on the team. The Bills have shown no desire to try to move on from him. Should they after his drop in performance last season?

[Dablitzkrieg]

He's going to lose us a game or two next year

[eball]

He’s one of my two “players I hope I’m wrong about” alongside Von.

 

Kickers are a strange breed.  When they have confidence they can’t miss, but when it goes…oy vey.  Really hoping we learn that Bass had some sort of nagging injury or something last year, or that he regains his mojo.  Right now I’ll be holding my breath on every kick.

 

To answer your question — I sincerely doubt the Bills are “ignoring” last season’s decline and Beane is keeping his eyes peeled on who is out there if they don’t see a difference during TC and preseason.

 

[Gregg]

If he struggles in TC and preseason, I would think Beane will bring someone in for competition. If Bass loses that competition, then bye-bye.

[Jauronimo]

You can never trust that a kicker will return to form when the issues are mental.  They can hope but there had better be insurance options.

[JP51]

I never trust kickers unless that trust is earned. Right now I dont think they should trust him... but should give him a chance to earn that trust... but as the poster above said... they better have a solid plan B.... IMO

[BeastMaster]

1 hour ago, Dablitzkrieg said:

He's going to lose us a game or two next year

That would be a massive failure on the part of this team's staff if they didn't recognize this and moved to fix the issue

 

I personally think you're being overly pessimistic, but who really knows

[SoCal Deek]

They tweak golfers swing mechanics….baseball hitters stance and swing….quarterbacks throwing motion…etc. If the Bills crack coaching staff can’t correct the routine slice that Bass has developed then they need a new coaching staff AND a new kicker. 

[Negan]

I would like to see some competition in camp, I feel this dude is a head case.  And barely makes his kicks anymore.

 

Wouldn't it be nice to have a kicker like Butker who you can count on? 

 

I can't count on Bass anymore and we should look at available kickers.

Edited Wednesday at 12:34 PM by Negan

[NoSaint]

I keep echoing: I’d love to know what happened last year. 
 

either way, huge questions about why we didn’t at least have a guy added to the practice squad last season 

[Slippery Rubber Mats]

No.

 

They must bring another kicker to camp while they see if there is an issue with Bass.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited Wednesday at 01:37 PM by Slippery Rubber Mats

[Beast]

He’ll be fine. He had a rough go from 30-39 yards last year. Every other distance was on par with his career stats. 

[dpberr]

Absolutely not.   I think if his kicking looks fragile in camp, they need to execute the Plan B at that position.  

 

 

 

 

[Your Brown Eye]

This is why we should give players nicknames prematurely

[Gregg]

8 minutes ago, dpberr said:

Absolutely not.   I think if his kicking looks fragile in camp, they need to execute the Plan B at that position.  

 

 

 

 

 

Especially in Orchard Park where the conditions especially late in the year make it one of the most difficult stadiums to kick in.

[Royale with Cheese]

3 hours ago, Jauronimo said:

You can never trust that a kicker will return to form when the issues are mental.  They can hope but there had better be insurance options.

 

Even if Bass is at a career high in the regular season, any kick between 35-50 in the playoffs....I won't be confident and will expect the worst.

[Bookie Man]

He's proved that he can get in his own head. I'd say no. 

[finn]

Even with the appalling injuries in the playoff game against KC, the Bills would likely have won if Diggs and Bass, supposedly two of the most reliable players on the team, hadn't choked. Even if he's perfect in the regular season, I won't trust him in the playoffs, not after last season. You want your kicker to be an asset, but at the very least he can't be a liability. That's what he was last year. Time to bring in real competition. 

[Punching Bag]

IMO it is hard to judge with their current staff.  They need to hire someone experienced in kicking to work with just kickers.

 

They also need to do an extensive workup on his physical state since he took several shots last year, some cheap ones.

I can see a Gregg Williams type of opposition coach to instruct player "sweep the leg" knowing he has physical issues.

 

 

[HappyDays]

In my mind this is a rebuild year with little chance of a championship, so I'm good with giving Bass one season to get over his yips. If he doesn't, then finding his replacement next offseason absolutely has to be a priority.