DC.COM: Blog: Can The Cowboys Afford To Keep Two Kickers?

[5Stars]

Hey! Your not so stupid......we trotted out 43 players on game day on several occasions last season.

OH, SNAP!


I hear you...

(stupid cowboy moderators)

 

[speedkilz88]

Hey! Your not so stupid......we trotted out 43 players on game day on several occasions last season.

A lot less than that against the Eagles.

 

[Cbz40]

A lot less than that against the Eagles.

That's for sure Sir.....

 

[Vinnie2u]

I think Buehler is good enough to play HB in the NFL... If so Cricket might be in jeopardy of losing his job..

 

[NextGenBoys]

I dont think it really hurts our active 53. I think it hurts our active 45 that we bring to games.

We will most likely go light on WR, Oline and either S/CB

 

[TD-33]

The fact that keeping two kickers or not is such a tough desicion; knowing it might mean losing someone makes drafting Beuhler look that much better.

 

[DTK]

After watching our coverage teams last year and seeing teams start from anywhere near midfield, I'd say this is a great idea. That extra 15-20 yards of field position not only helps our defense, but also our offense.

Too often our offense had to traverse 70 or more yards just for a score. Part of that was because of the injury to McBriar and the poor punting after his injury. But a lot of it was becaue of poor coverage units. This guy should help.

 

[Hoofbite]

The team held a spot for Pacman and still gives a spot to Carpenter.

A kicking specialist would be infinitely more valuable than Carpenter and infinitely more reliable than Pacman

 

[DBOY3141]

Baltimore and Carolina seemed to do just fine with two kickers last year. We may keep 5 CB's and have D. Smith be the swing CB/S.

Newman
Jenkins
Scandrick
Ball
Mickens

K. Hamiln/D. Smith
Sensabaugh/M.Hamlin

Watkins,Brown,Battle may not have a job come July.

 

[links18]

Once Beuhler starts kicking the ball outta endzone and putting the oppostion on the 20 yard line every single time, people will forget real quick that he's taking up a roster spot. All one really has to do is reflect back to last year and realize just how ****ty our special teams were. This will resolve a lot of the problem in that regard.

Wow, this Buehler kid is going to be under a lot of pressure. What if every kick isn't a touchback? When does he start getting concerned about his roster spot? If they land at the 2 yard line? The 5? The 10? Just what are the expectations for this guy?

I wouldn't rule out a trade to a team that finds itself in need of a kicker later in the preseaon. That is if the kid shows he can make FGs.

 

[Maxmadden]

Wow, this Buehler kid is going to be under a lot of pressure. What if every kick isn't a touchback? When does he start getting concerned about his roster spot? If they land at the 2 yard line? The 5? The 10? Just what are the expectations for this guy?

I wouldn't rule out a trade to a team that finds itself in need of a kicker later in the preseaon. That is if the kid shows he can make FGs.

I expect that when he doesn't kick it deep enough into the endzone for a touchback our much improved special teams will stop them at the 15.

 

[links18]

I expect that when he doesn't kick it deep enough into the endzone for a touchback our much improved special teams will stop them at the 15.

Clearly, if opposing offenses are starting drives after kick offs anywhere outside their own 20 yard line, it reflects a total failure of JJ's entire offseason strategy. :

 

[Doomsay]

There's more to it than that. You only have 53 roster spots. If you keep 2 kickers, you limit the number of developmental players you can keep on your active roster.

That means you could potentially miss out on the Romos, Craytons and Austins of the world. It means you could lose another Matt Moore.

With 12 draft picks that they hope to develop, those roster spots are at even more of a premium.

Bingo, it is very important. I do think that the pathetic state of ST's warrants the extra spot in our case though.

 

[Idgit]

Wow, this Buehler kid is going to be under a lot of pressure. What if every kick isn't a touchback? When does he start getting concerned about his roster spot? If they land at the 2 yard line? The 5? The 10? Just what are the expectations for this guy?

I wouldn't rule out a trade to a team that finds itself in need of a kicker later in the preseaon. That is if the kid shows he can make FGs.

Rule it out. When was the last time a team traded for a kicker on another team's active roster? Much less a backup? Kickers are readily available on the FA market. That comment was just a throw away comment some 'expert' (was it Mosely) made after the draft, not knowing why we really drafted Buehler.

I wonder if missing out on Unger had us decide to pass on Loadholt and get a player that might backup and both guard and tackle. It'd explain the reach on the Brewster pick if he were unique on their board as a two-position OL.

 

[ologan]

Not to mention that if he's able to help out in other areas of special teams, such as the punt team in some capacity (since he can tackle apparently), he wouldn't really be wasting a roster spot after all.

This is exactly right. Every time we kicked off last year,it was like we only had 10 people on the kickoff team,because once the foot hit the ball,the kicker was useless. This guy will kick off,and from what I read,will actively try to knock somebody's head off on down the field. Another "lunch box" player added....And I think we added a few of them this last weekend.

 

[Bob Sacamano]

I wonder if Bueller has good enough hands to hold for FGs? Imagine if he'd been holding in the Seattle game when Tony dropped the snap... He'd have blown that Seattle safety into next week.

Of course, Bueller would've just picked up the ball himself, kicked every Seahawk out of the way, and walked in for the TD.

 

[Beast_from_East]

The guy was drafted to kick the ball into the endzone, thats his job. Carolina led the NFL in touchbacks with 34% if I remember correctly. So based off this, I would say that at least 1 out of every 3 kickoffs need to be a touchback to justify his roster spot.

For those wondering, yes, Carolina uses a kickoff specialist as well. So it looks like the bar is already set at about 35%.

Anything less than this and he is a wasted pick since Folk is money of FGs. So to answer your question, if less than a third of his kicks are touchbacks then his job is in jeapordy. He was drafted for touchbacks and this is not a social club, he either does his job or we cut his arse.

 

[SaltwaterServr]

The guy was drafted to kick the ball into the endzone, thats his job. Carolina led the NFL in touchbacks with 34% if I remember correctly. So based off this, I would say that at least 1 out of every 3 kickoffs need to be a touchback to justify his roster spot.

For those wondering, yes, Carolina uses a kickoff specialist as well. So it looks like the bar is already set at about 35%.

Anything less than this and he is a wasted pick since Folk is money of FGs. So to answer your question, if less than a third of his kicks are touchbacks then his job is in jeapordy. He was drafted for touchbacks and this is not a social club, he either does his job or we cut his arse.

Looking at a few of his highlight films from USC, the kid does well enough to kick THROUGH the endzone, not just into it. There was one or two in the reel where he hit the cross bar on the goal post.

The thing is that he kicks them high enough and deep enough that even a kick three yards into the end zone is going to leave more than enough time for our coverage to get down field and inside the 20 for a tackle. The new anti-wedge rules really favor a kicker who can get it at least 4 yards deep with a decent hang time as well.

We drafted this kid to make kick-offs boring again. If not, it's 11 on 11 instead of the 10 coverage guys trying to make a tackle. He'll probably be a gunner if not a blocker on punts too. I can see him being used in a variety of roles that other players such as 3rd string LB'ers used to fill.

 

[Clove]

A really stupid question from a stupid Cowboy fan.


Is it really hurting the team as a whole by just keeping ONE guy on the active 53?

I mean, just one guy out of all the others?

I just don't understand how keeping one guy instead of another player active would really hurt?

For once in my life, I'll allow myself to agree with 5stars. I really don't think we need an extra LB who's going to stink of the bottom of the roster with mediocrity, Folk can nail FGs all over the field, while this new guy can just slam them through the back of the end zone, zero time off the clock, zero chance of bringing the ball back for a TD.

 

[webby75216]

Can he do onside kicks or is that still nick folk job.