Japanese kickers and punters we should invite to camp

cowboyed

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Why limit it to personnel of other races. I think kangaroos, ostriches, cows and horses have a kicking role. And you don't have to pay them that much.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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He phrased it in a way that assumes Japanese have better kickers, when this isn't proven. I'm all for bringing in overseas talent to try out for the NFL, but the whole premise of this thread is beyond weird.

It may be a weird premise, but it's just me thinking outside the box. I'm just trying to see what talent is available in the Japanese X-League and how they stack up to available talent here. I presented 3 that I think actually stack up well against the competition here in the US in terms of kicking and punting.
 

Blake

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Why limit it to personnel of other races. I think kangaroos, ostriches, cows and horses have a kicking role. And you don't have to pay them that much.

First original idea in this thread. :clap:
 

sureletsrace

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A couple of y'all are really in here trying to find something to be butthurt about. It's a football league IN Japan. The people who play in said league live in Japan, so they are Japanese. Are some of you really that daft? This guy hasn't suggested Japanese people are better than any other group of people. Geez.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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Why limit it to personnel of other races. I think kangaroos, ostriches, cows and horses have a kicking role. And you don't have to pay them that much.

My angle is more directed to the talent that I'm looking at. I am looking at players that come from an established league that is developing. Plus, it serves 2 purposes. Firstly, it finds talent for us to try out. Secondly, if the player pans out, then we can start picking up more players from that league which helps develop that league. It means that league can produce NFL talent (which I clearly think it can), and it is a legitimate way for someone that doesn't make it in the NFL to develop.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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A couple of y'all are really in here trying to find something to be butthurt about. It's a football league IN Japan. The people who play in said league live in Japan, so they are Japanese. Are some of you really that daft? This guy hasn't suggested Japanese people are better than any other group of people. Geez.

Thank you!!!! I don't understand why some are taking an angle that I'm saying something questionable about the ethnicity of the players. That isn't my angle. As you stated, the players are born and raised in Japan. They play in Japan. Therefore, as you said, they are Japanese. And I think we should see what talent they have. We may be missing talent. I happen to like the way the 3 I suggested stack up to the available competition.
 

irishline

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He phrased it in a way that assumes Japanese have better kickers, when this isn't proven. I'm all for bringing in overseas talent to try out for the NFL, but the whole premise of this thread is beyond weird.

I didn't read what you bolded that way. I took it as trying to find better talent than what we have on the roster. You know scouting. IMO he just meant by scouting a Japaneese football league.

But I suppose I can see why you took it that way.

Hey if you can play then absolutely get a look at them.

This.

Edit: Marucs below nailed it better than I did...
 
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MarcusRock

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He phrased it in a way that assumes Japanese have better kickers, when this isn't proven. I'm all for bringing in overseas talent to try out for the NFL, but the whole premise of this thread is beyond weird.

Sorry, but I think you and others being a bit sensitive here. The dude literally said "trying to find better talent" as in "leaving no stone unturned" to find better talent versus what we have and somehow people interpret it as him calling the Japanese some master race or something. Jeez. If this had been a spotlight on Canadian players (because they do have a league and all), I very much doubt people would take it the same way. I, for one, had never heard of this league so it was educational to me and at least one other. People are revealed through their emotional responses. That much is clear.
 

JoeKing

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Firstly, to the mods, if you'd like to move this to another place, feel free.

As many of you might remember from last year, I was high on a kicker I found from the Japanese X-League (an American Football League in Japan) who I felt should replace our then kicker Brett Maher. I am still quite high on that kicker and will mention him on this list. However, this list is also involving punters. We did not have much help from Chris Jones last year at the punter spot. Perhaps Mike McCarthy is willing to give him another chance. But, I think competition would be good for us. With that said, here are my top 3 kickers/punters in no particular order from the Japanese X-League. Have fun seeing these players. I hope you enjoy it. I will probably add a few more later, but for right now, these are my top 3.

1. Kenta Suzuki - Nojima Sagamihira Rise -

He was both the primary kicker and punter for the Nojima Rise last season. As you may see in the video, he's got a great leg. I think his punting is very similar to former Colts Punter Pat McAfee with how strong of a leg he's got. I also noticed that he angles his punts toward the corners which is very good. This would help us in field position. So, we'd have a chap who can punt for us. Also, he seems to have a good leg for field goals. Thus, he could handle that if something happens to Zurlein or Forbath. I'd also imagine he'd be good at kickoffs given his leg.

2. Takeru Yamasaki Elecom Kobe Finies -

You've probably seen the videos I posted last year of his field goal and kickoff abilities. Here are his punting highlights from last year. I really like this player. He's an excellent kicker and I think he's got very good skill at punting. His kickoffs are very good too. I'd be happy to post his field goal abilities again if requested, but I have a whole thread about this kicker from last year. I think he should also be a viable candidate to bring over to punt from Japan.

3. Toshiki Sato Kicker IBM Big Blue

An excellent kicker. He's considered in The Player's Choice Top 25 Players in the Japanese X-League (https://www.___GET_REAL_URL___/s/ww...s-poll-top-25-players-in-japans-x-league/amp/). He'd be good to bring in.

Why is a championship game being played on dirt? And why are you spending so much time scouting out a freaking kicker? We have two veteran kickers already that will kick it out in training camp. This weak crap should not be added to the mix.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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I didn't read what you bolded that way. I took it as trying to find better talent than what we have on the roster. You know scouting. IMO he just meant by scouting a Japaneese football league.

But I suppose I can see why you took it that way.



This.

Edit: Marucs below nailed it better than I did...

Exactly! I was more or less scouting the Japanese X-League and stated what I found.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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Sorry, but I think you and others being a bit sensitive here. The dude literally said "trying to find better talent" as in "leaving no stone unturned" to find better talent versus what we have and somehow people interpret it as him calling the Japanese some master race or something. Jeez. If this had been a spotlight on Canadian players (because they do have a league and all), I very much doubt people would take it the same way. I, for one, had never heard of this league so it was educational to me and at least one other. People are revealed through their emotional responses. That much is clear.

Thank you Marcus. And yes, it isn't a well known fact here in the US that they even have a league in Japan. In the video that explains the Japanese X-League that I posted later, one of the players from the United States even said he had no idea they played until a coach told him about the league. So, why not see what's there?
 

glimmerman

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My angle is more directed to the talent that I'm looking at. I am looking at players that come from an established league that is developing. Plus, it serves 2 purposes. Firstly, it finds talent for us to try out. Secondly, if the player pans out, then we can start picking up more players from that league which helps develop that league. It means that league can produce NFL talent (which I clearly think it can), and it is a legitimate way for someone that doesn't make it in the NFL to develop.
We usually find a good kicker. We had a hiccup. We got used to our last good one. Same with the punter. Need to look high and low.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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Why is a championship game being played on dirt? And why are you spending so much time scouting out a freaking kicker? We have two veteran kickers already that will kick it out in training camp. This weak crap should not be added to the mix.

As far as the kickers go, we do need competition at punter, and if you watch the videos, all three of the prospects that I suggested also punt. I think they punt well actually. As for why they kick on dirt at times, I believe I explained this already, but I will explain again. Baseball is a very popular sport in Japan. So, they have a lot of baseball stadiums. A lot of these baseball stadiums have become multipurpose stadiums to accommodate American Football. Essentially, think the NFL many years ago when there were a lot of dual-purpose stadiums. It's the same concept in Japan. These teams don't have the money that the NFL currently has. So they can't really build their own stadiums. Thus, sharing stadiums makes the most sense for them financially. Think the Cowboys in the 70s could have afforded AT&T Stadium? Think the Cardinals, who at that time we're in St. Louis, could afford their own stadium? Why else did they play in Busch Stadium where they shared with the baseball team?
 

glimmerman

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Why is a championship game being played on dirt? And why are you spending so much time scouting out a freaking kicker? We have two veteran kickers already that will kick it out in training camp. This weak crap should not be added to the mix.
One reason for me is because we had the worst ST I have ever seen the last few years. Last year it cost us games. A lot of that falls on JG feet for allowing it. So now I want it scrapped and rebuilt. Lol. Our ST was really bad bro.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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One reason for me is because we had the worst ST I have ever seen the last few years. Last year it cost us games. A lot of that falls on JG feet for allowing it. So now I want it scrapped and rebuilt. Lol. Our ST was really bad bro.

That it was, and the more competition the better. And these are players who would be hungry to make the roster. They'd be traveling a very long way to try and win the job.
 

RustyBourneHorse

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Wow I learned something today with this thread. I had no clue there was a league in Japan. Are the field dimensions/goalposts the same?

There's a video from the Japan X Bowl 2019 on YouTube. It's long cuz it's the entire game, but do have a look. I think you might be surprised.
 

MarcusRock

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Why is a championship game being played on dirt? And why are you spending so much time scouting out a freaking kicker? We have two veteran kickers already that will kick it out in training camp. This weak crap should not be added to the mix.

For a league like this (or any non-NFL league for that matter), kicking is probably THE most transferrable thing to the NFL. You mean to tell me that if there was a guy there that could regularly boom 60-yard FGs or a guy averaging 50+ yards per punt that you wouldn't bring him over for a look because "we signed a few guys?" If I think a guy is better than Greg the Leg, I'd tell Greg to hit the bricks and absorb any money loss associated with him because I made the team better.
 
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