FWST Blog: David Buehler on his first game

[dcfanatic]

Wow, the expectations for Buehler's kickoffs are unreal.

Just so people actually get some perspective, here are the top three touchback percentages for each season since 2000 --


2000 -- 18.8, 16.0, 15.7
2001 -- 22.0, 16.7, 16.4
2002 -- 22.7, 21.6, 17.4
2003 -- 32.4, 17.0, 15.3
2004 -- 32.9, 19.4, 18.6
2005 -- 26.7, 25.3, 21.6
2006 -- 35.8, 25.3, 25.0
2007 -- 32.4, 22.1, 21.3
2008 -- 33.3, 32.4, 31.0


Only seven teams (four different kickers) in the past nine years have had higher than 27 percent touchbacks. If Buehler gets even 20-25 percent, he'll be among the best in the NFL.

Then he should stop kicking 8 out every 10 into the End Zone in all the training camp practices.

 

[AdamJT13]

Then he should stop kicking 8 out every 10 into the End Zone in all the training camp practices.

You mean in the Alamodome with a practice ball, not against a 17 mph wind with a K-ball?

 

[Four]

I hate fans who hate players for the team they root for, what the hell is the point?

High school teams you root for you root for every player on the team, bad or not, you root for them, why the hell is it different in the pros?

the game is the game

 

[dcfanatic]

You mean in the Alamodome with a practice ball, not against a 17 mph wind with a K-ball?

Or at USC.

Like last season.

 

[dcfanatic]

I hate fans who hate players for the team they root for, what the hell is the point?

High school teams you root for you root for every player on the team, bad or not, you root for them, why the hell is it different in the pros?

the game is the game

I hate people who have no clue what a message board is used for.

:laugh2:

 

[Four]

I hate people who have no clue what a message board is used for.

:laugh2:

I am pretty sure it isn't supposed to be used for self promotion

could be wrong though, no one ever gave me a memo.

And no a message board does not exist for "fans" to prove they are only a fan of winning.

 

[dogunwo]

I am pretty sure it isn't supposed to be used for self promotion

could be wrong though, no one ever gave me a memo.

And no a message board does not exist for "fans" to prove they are only a fan of winning.

That was kind of cold

 

[AdamJT13]

Or at USC.

Like last season.

They don't use K-balls in college, either. They don't even use NFL balls.

 

[LarryCanadian]

What exactly is a K-ball? Is the practice ball actually different (softer in general, less inflated, lighter?) or are practice balls just worn in a lot more and less hard and less slick than a new one?

I mean, I know there was a whole new rule change after the Romo slippage with that hold in the Seattle game, in terms of introducing new balls into the game.

And yes, I realize the ball used in the CFL is totally different from the one used in the NFL (and not just the lines/circles on either end).

LarryCanadian

 

[AdamJT13]

What exactly is a K-ball? Is the practice ball actually different (softer in general, less inflated, lighter?) or are practice balls just worn in a lot more and less hard and less slick than a new one?

K-balls are new balls used during games and only for kicking. They're harder and not broken in at all, and kickers can't kick them as far as footballs that are broken in.

Here's what some kickers say about the K-balls --

"A ball in practice is not the same as the game ball. The game ball is going to be a little bit harder because they're newer. So you have to take that into to account too. ... Kicking in college we used Nike balls and for the most part it was pretty broken in compared to what we kick in the NFL now." -- Connor Barth

"The interesting thing is that you can get a good K-ball or a bad K-ball. A K-ball is not a different ball in anyway than the regular game ball; it's just a ball that has not been broken in. The balls the quarterbacks use, they'll take them down, they'll rub them, they'll break them in, and use them throughout the week to have them not be so new. The K-balls are brand new right out of the box. You're not allowed to do anything to them. You're not allowed to kick them at all before the game. You can get a good new ball, or a bad new ball. The difference between a good new ball and a bad new ball is probably about 10 yards on a kickoff or a field goal. If you get a bad ball when you go to kick off, I'll even tell our guys on our kickoff team, 'Hey it's a bad ball, be ready for a short kick.' Because I know regardless of how well I kick it, it's not gonna come down probably any deeper than the 10-yard line." -- Jay Feely

"The K-Balls are not good balls for performing football duties -- catching, holding, kicking, punting. Nobody really likes the K-Balls. The kickers somehow, the punters somehow, were punished when they came up with this K-Ball rule." -- John Carney

 

[JonJon]

K-balls are new balls used during games and only for kicking. They're harder and not broken in at all, and kickers can't kick them as far as footballs that are broken in.

Here's what some kickers say about the K-balls --

"A ball in practice is not the same as the game ball. The game ball is going to be a little bit harder because they're newer. So you have to take that into to account too. ... Kicking in college we used Nike balls and for the most part it was pretty broken in compared to what we kick in the NFL now." -- Connor Barth

"The interesting thing is that you can get a good K-ball or a bad K-ball. A K-ball is not a different ball in anyway than the regular game ball; it's just a ball that has not been broken in. The balls the quarterbacks use, they'll take them down, they'll rub them, they'll break them in, and use them throughout the week to have them not be so new. The K-balls are brand new right out of the box. You're not allowed to do anything to them. You're not allowed to kick them at all before the game. You can get a good new ball, or a bad new ball. The difference between a good new ball and a bad new ball is probably about 10 yards on a kickoff or a field goal. If you get a bad ball when you go to kick off, I'll even tell our guys on our kickoff team, 'Hey it's a bad ball, be ready for a short kick.' Because I know regardless of how well I kick it, it's not gonna come down probably any deeper than the 10-yard line." -- Jay Feely

"The K-Balls are not good balls for performing football duties -- catching, holding, kicking, punting. Nobody really likes the K-Balls. The kickers somehow, the punters somehow, were punished when they came up with this K-Ball rule." -- John Carney

Interesting. I never knew that...

 

[RoadRunner]

K-balls are new balls used during games and only for kicking. They're harder and not broken in at all, and kickers can't kick them as far as footballs that are broken in.

Here's what some kickers say about the K-balls --

"A ball in practice is not the same as the game ball. The game ball is going to be a little bit harder because they're newer. So you have to take that into to account too. ... Kicking in college we used Nike balls and for the most part it was pretty broken in compared to what we kick in the NFL now." -- Connor Barth

"The interesting thing is that you can get a good K-ball or a bad K-ball. A K-ball is not a different ball in anyway than the regular game ball; it's just a ball that has not been broken in. The balls the quarterbacks use, they'll take them down, they'll rub them, they'll break them in, and use them throughout the week to have them not be so new. The K-balls are brand new right out of the box. You're not allowed to do anything to them. You're not allowed to kick them at all before the game. You can get a good new ball, or a bad new ball. The difference between a good new ball and a bad new ball is probably about 10 yards on a kickoff or a field goal. If you get a bad ball when you go to kick off, I'll even tell our guys on our kickoff team, 'Hey it's a bad ball, be ready for a short kick.' Because I know regardless of how well I kick it, it's not gonna come down probably any deeper than the 10-yard line." -- Jay Feely

"The K-Balls are not good balls for performing football duties -- catching, holding, kicking, punting. Nobody really likes the K-Balls. The kickers somehow, the punters somehow, were punished when they came up with this K-Ball rule." -- John Carney

Its just a matter of adjusting to it. I am confident Buehler will adjust and set some impressive numbers this season.

 

[AdamJT13]

Its just a matter of adjusting to it. I am confident Buehler will adjust and set some impressive numbers this season.

He can adjust to it, but he still won't be able to kick it as consistently well as a college football or a practice NFL ball. There's a reason NFL kickers don't get as many touchbacks as college kickers, and it's not because NFL kickers have weaker legs.

And according to some people, even being the best kickoff guy in the NFL would be a major disappointment. They're merely expecting him to do what no other kicker has done.

 

[dcfanatic]

I am pretty sure it isn't supposed to be used for self promotion

could be wrong though, no one ever gave me a memo.

And no a message board does not exist for "fans" to prove they are only a fan of winning.

Find a post where I ever dropped a link to my site or my show and didn't provide some sort of content which was most likely appreciated by the Cowboys fans reading, listening or watching it.

What do you provide?

Let me answer that for you because you are a one trick pony.

'Come on guys, don't talk bad about the team. Everything is going to be fine. Let's just all sit around talking about how great this team is right now'.

You should just copy and paste that over and over again.

Maybe you start up 'Fourzone'. You seem to know what message boards are about. You aren't happy here. That's obvious because you run around complaining about the other posters and not even talking about the thread topics.

Why do you think we call you 'Five'? I am still waiting to hear that you are his cousin, lol.

 

[dcfanatic]

He can adjust to it, but he still won't be able to kick it as consistently well as a college football or a practice NFL ball. There's a reason NFL kickers don't get as many touchbacks as college kickers, and it's not because NFL kickers have weaker legs.

And according to some people, even being the best kickoff guy in the NFL would be a major disappointment. They're merely expecting him to do what no other kicker has done.

You make a good point.

And even though they changed the rules (it's actually nicknamed the 'Romo Rule') I don't think he will be as good as he was in college.

So why did we need to draft him?

If we didn't have an efficient FG kicker then it would have made a lot more sense. I still think Nick Folk can develop enough of a leg to be able to do what this kid is going to do. And that's after hearing Folk talk about how Read wanted him to do a lot of directional kicking last season.

 

[MapleLeaf]

You make a good point.

And even though they changed the rules (it's actually nicknamed the 'Romo Rule') I don't think he will be as good as he was in college.

So why did we need to draft him?

If we didn't have an efficient FG kicker then it would have made a lot more sense. I still think Nick Folk can develop enough of a leg to be able to do what this kid is going to do. And that's after hearing Folk talk about how Read wanted him to do a lot of directional kicking last season.

...at the meetings when Read was developing his concepts for the special teams, but it may not be too far of a stretch to consider that the reason why he had Folk directional kick was because Folk was haven't difficulties getting a deeper kick.

If you can't kick deep then you kick high and more ideally you kick high and to one corner.

This is all conjecture on my part and we all know what happened to Read. But the decision on Buehler wasn't just because of Read - if I'm guessing.

I would hope that more than one coach/QC assistant had reason to forward Buehler suggestion as a pick to Jerry Jones.

 

[MapleLeaf]

K-balls are new balls used during games and only for kicking. They're harder and not broken in at all, and kickers can't kick them as far as footballs that are broken in.

Here's what some kickers say about the K-balls --

"A ball in practice is not the same as the game ball. The game ball is going to be a little bit harder because they're newer. So you have to take that into to account too. ... Kicking in college we used Nike balls and for the most part it was pretty broken in compared to what we kick in the NFL now." -- Connor Barth

"The interesting thing is that you can get a good K-ball or a bad K-ball. A K-ball is not a different ball in anyway than the regular game ball; it's just a ball that has not been broken in. The balls the quarterbacks use, they'll take them down, they'll rub them, they'll break them in, and use them throughout the week to have them not be so new. The K-balls are brand new right out of the box. You're not allowed to do anything to them. You're not allowed to kick them at all before the game. You can get a good new ball, or a bad new ball. The difference between a good new ball and a bad new ball is probably about 10 yards on a kickoff or a field goal. If you get a bad ball when you go to kick off, I'll even tell our guys on our kickoff team, 'Hey it's a bad ball, be ready for a short kick.' Because I know regardless of how well I kick it, it's not gonna come down probably any deeper than the 10-yard line." -- Jay Feely

"The K-Balls are not good balls for performing football duties -- catching, holding, kicking, punting. Nobody really likes the K-Balls. The kickers somehow, the punters somehow, were punished when they came up with this K-Ball rule." -- John Carney

...did a piece on the K-ball before a Dallas game and they showed the trunk full of new balls still in their packaging, but inflated by officials prior to the game, the first thing I thought was how stiff those balls would be to kick.

As a kicker the best balls to kick are the worn out practice ones. The hide is scuffed so the contact friction patch on your shoe was great. They were soft with worn seam thread so even with a fully pumped practice ball they would compress nicely on impact and rebound off your foot with what seemed greater give and velocity.

They stuck to your foot it seemed for a second longer, come off faster and made an impressive sound.

I've never kicked an official K-ball, but if they are anything like a new store bought Wilson Official there's no kicker in any league who would like those balls compared to a broken in one.

Kicking is impact physics. The longer the object stays in contact with the force before being released the greater the energy transferred. Within reason softer footballs staying in contact with your kicking foot results in longer kicks.