Japanese kicker (just a reminder)

[RustyBourneHorse]

I would say there are probably a few kickers with experience in both college football or the NFL I'd try out before him. The NFL is a whole different ball game and atmosphere with increased pressure. Seems like a feel good story, I just think when you're looking for a kicker from Japan, desperation has kind of set in.

I hear you to an extent, but I'm thinking it's trying something new.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

I hear you to an extent, but I'm thinking it's trying something new.

In other words, while the pressure of kicking a game winning field goal for the Rice Bowl (the national championship in Japan) is certainly different from kicking a game winning field goal in the Super Bowl, I don't see the problem with trying Yamasaki. Sure, the pressure is different, but, from the videos I've seen, he's got a great leg and seems to have very good accuracy. I'd like to see us give him a try out. Other than Forbaith, I'm not sure of FA kickers that is like for us to bring in on the US side. Is it desperate to sign Yamasaki? Who knows. But, why not take the chance? If it doesn't work, well we're not much better off than we are now with kickers. It's at the very least a different idea. And, excluding the Tokyo Dome where the Rice Bowl is played, Yamasaki kicks outdoors for pretty much the entire season. And yet, as the video shows, he still puts them through. Think what he can do indoors with our stadium. I say have a go with him. What have we to lose by trying him?

 

[Reverend Conehead]

If this guy from Japan is good, I say give him a shot. We've had a foreign kicker before. Tony Fritsch was a soccer player they found in Austria. At first he couldn't even speak English, but he did a great job for us, including that successful onsides kick that helped us come from behind to beat the 49ers in that playoff game in '72.

 

[RustyBourneHorse]

If this guy from Japan is good, I say give him a shot. We've had a foreign kicker before. Tony Fritsch was a soccer player they found in Austria. At first he couldn't even speak English, but he did a great job for us, including that successful onsides kick that helped us come from behind to beat the 49ers in that playoff game in '72.

Exactly! I'm not that far outside the box. This is the same organisation that signed him, and he changed the kicking position from a straight on kick to a football-style kick. I wonder what Yamasaki would do. Seems fitting that we'd turn to him. And at what point did we sign him?