What impact will Buehler actually have?

[Alexander]

All of you who think this kid is going to do anything other than kickoff need to take a reality pill.

Good athlete will get you practicing at other positions in college - it doesn't cut it in the NFL where most of the players you are going against have played their positions for years.

I agree. This talk that equates him to a "safety or linebacker" on coverage is merely an attempt at further legitimizing the fact we spend a draft pick on a kickoff specialist.

It is nice to imagine he's not only going to kick the ball but be some sort of equalizer on coverage but that is completely unrealistic. Like any kicker, if he's the one you are depending on to make tackles you are doing it wrong.

 

[cobra]

All of you who think this kid is going to do anything other than kickoff need to take a reality pill.

Good athlete will get you practicing at other positions in college - it doesn't cut it in the NFL where most of the players you are going against have played their positions for years.

A kicker does not kickoff and then walk off the field. The kicker has coverage responsibilities too.

Beyond that, I guess you have missed the reports of him playing on punt coverage teams and possibly holding for Folk.

The point was not that he will be a backup safety. The point is that on special teams, he can do more than just kick the ball off and then disappear.

 

[cobra]

It's obvious that some people are just wholly against a kickoff specialist. Fine. That's there choice.

It's not an unheard of proposition, but it would be a rarity for this team. And new ways of doing thing are considered bad.

I don't think having a kickoff specialist is any more odd than having a long snap specialist taking up a spot..

 

[AMERICAS_FAN]

Parcells used to say 10 yards of field position is equal to a point scored. So we're talking about potentially 4 or 5 points a game in our favor if this guy kicks off as well as advertised. That is huge to me.

Aren't most NFL games (over 90%) decided by 7 points or less? And aren't more than 50% of those decided by 3 points or less? If that's the case then Dallas needs at least 30-yards of improved filed position to swing 3 points in their favor. That can drstically change the W-L column in their favor. The question then becomes, "Can Buehler provide a 30-yard improvment in filed position"?

 

[tchoice23]

It gives unbridled joy to Hostile. And that trumps anything else King David brings to the team.

 

[AbeBeta]

A kicker does not kickoff and then walk off the field. The kicker has coverage responsibilities too.

Beyond that, I guess you have missed the reports of him playing on punt coverage teams and possibly holding for Folk.

The point was not that he will be a backup safety. The point is that on special teams, he can do more than just kick the ball off and then disappear.

That "point" is overplayed. If he is valuable enough to be on the gameday roster then we are damn sure going to want him to act like a kicker -- his job is not to run down and stick his nose in tackles. He will be hanging out around the 50 as a last line of defense. He still is a kicker and you don't want your kicker pretending he is one of the grown ups

 

[AbeBeta]

I don't think having a kickoff specialist is any more odd than having a long snap specialist taking up a spot..

Then why is it that 90% or more teams have a LS specialist but far fewer have a kickoff specialist?

 

[cobra]

He still is a kicker and you don't want your kicker pretending he is one of the grown ups

And there you go, folks. You see the inherent prejudice. In AbeBeta's world, all kickers are little wussies who just kick the ball and try to throw their bodies in front of the big mean real athletes. In that worldview, you are not going to get anywhere discussing the matter with AbeBeta.

Back here in reality, though, it is a fact that Buehler has the size and athleticism to contribute in ways beyond just kicking the ball. He is physically capable of doing it because he is one of the grown ups. It will be minor contributions here and there, but he can provide value.

 

[Alexander]

It's obvious that some people are just wholly against a kickoff specialist. Fine. That's there choice.

It's not an unheard of proposition, but it would be a rarity for this team. And new ways of doing thing are considered bad.

I don't think having a kickoff specialist is any more odd than having a long snap specialist taking up a spot..

It mostly depends on whether or not you can afford it numbers-wise.

If we were talking about unlimited roster spots, it would not be an issue. Of course there is a place for a kicker who can swing the field possession our way. But at what cost? An extra lineman? Defensive back? Linebacker?

Fact is, we are going to have to have this player active each and every game in most cases. And we might in a best case scenario get five plays out of him. That means we have to have fewer players active than normal at certain positions (for example, dressing four WRs instead of three, four CBs instead of five).

A KO specialist is a luxury, just as a snapper is. But I think the two positions are completely different in both scope and utility. A snapper will long and short snap, on field goals and also punts. Often the snapper is a player who can possibly play backup center, defensive line, tight end or linebacker.

The simple fact of the matter is that it is very likely we will have to burn not one, but two roster spots on specialists who do nothing but their assignments. That's why they have Matt Stewart seeing if he can snap well enough to dump LaDouceur. That's why we also want safeties who could be cornerbacks. Again though, it is bit of a moot point since we will likely have two specialists dressed and active every game.

I cannot think of a single kickoff specialist who ever did more than kick off. That is the difference between your comparison. It is not the same, unless that snapper does nothing else or isn't at least capable of doing something else in a worst case scenario. Are you convinced he can? I am not.

To me a snapper is far more important than a kickoff specialist, even if he is Superman and capable of zooming down the field and stopping the returner in his tracks with his heat vision.

Are we that secure across the roster at several positions that we could afford to go light on gamedays simply because we are obligated have two specialists? I am not prepared to think we are.

We are playing with numbers. The principle behind the idea is okay, except most teams cannot or will not afford themselves to indulge in the luxury. It will make the inactive lists tougher to do each week.

 

[cobra]

That means we have to have fewer players active than normal at certain positions (for example, dressing four WRs instead of three, four CBs instead of five).

I cannot think of a single kickoff specialist who ever did more than kick off.

There are only 22 starters. Then there are another 10 or so players who play significant amount of time.

There are at least 10 players on a gameday roster who don't really see any action in the game. They are just there "in case." They are legitimate backups.

Buehler will in fact see playing time each game on every kickoff. He can also back-up. Be a backup holder (or starting one maybe). He could be a backup up-back in the punt formation. Or a backup blocker on a return. So he could play various positions as a backup, in addition to his primary responsibilities. In short, he can provide more value than the 10 or so emergency back-up players in that he will play while also offering security at various spots.

 

[ThreeSportStar80]

He'll kick the ball in the endzone and will knock someone out covering kicks, enough said!

 

[AbeBeta]

And there you go, folks. You see the inherent prejudice. In AbeBeta's world, all kickers are little wussies who just kick the ball and try to throw their bodies in front of the big mean real athletes. In that worldview, you are not going to get anywhere discussing the matter with AbeBeta.

Back here in reality, though, it is a fact that Buehler has the size and athleticism to contribute in ways beyond just kicking the ball. He is physically capable of doing it because he is one of the grown ups. It will be minor contributions here and there, but he can provide value.

It doesn't matter if he is tough or not. He's a kicker and he is not used to the sort of violent contact that he'll experience in the NFL - you think because he played safety in community college that he can tackle at this level? If his value is putting the ball in the end zone, the last thing you want is him trying to be all macho and **** and getting himself hurt.

He is a kickoff specialist and nothing more. Folks need to get that into their heads.

 

[dallasfaniac]

The argument is that he is taking a backup spot that could be filled with a DB, LB, OL, etc. but what about kicker? Folk is fresh off hip surgery; who's to say how he will hold up over a whole season of field goals and kickoffs. With Buehler, you know returns are going to be shorter and if they happen to return, know he has the speed, strength and tackling ability to be a better last line of defense. As far as those backup spots, confidence in Buehler's kickoffs would allow taking the better backups at a given position, not the better special teams players to game day.

 

[reddyuta]

Not to understate the importance of field position but I don't think his impact will be tremendous, he'd have to really do a great job consistantly to justify keeping 2 kickers "forever", if he's also an accurate field goal kicker then maybe he could be trade material at a later date.

you mean Folk will be trade material.If buehler can kick FGs like Folk or even better then we might actually be able to trade Folk sometime in the future.

 

[Baileyneverfailey]

you mean Folk will be trade material.If buehler can kick FGs like Folk or even better then we might actually be able to trade Folk sometime in the future.

Hold up now partner. You could argue that Folk is one of the top 3 or 4 field goal kickers in the league right now, especially when you consider how many long ones he's hit(especially the legendary Buffalo finish), so don't go trying to trade him just yet.

 

[garyv]

In my opinion this is how I look at it.....having him doing Kickoffs is a huge asset regardless of what many might think. One being 80% or more of his Kickoffs could be in the Endzone meaning opposing teams will start at the 20 yard line rather than the 30 to 40 yard line they were starting at last season. This is huge for the Defense and plays an even bigger roll on Field position. I trully believe that his leg could land a 7 point swing in every game. I also believe that with him handling the Kickoffs will save Nick Folks Leg in the long haul for strictly kicking FG's. Only the course of the season will tell but I like the Drafting of him rather than a WR on OL that doesn't play or make an impact.

 

[Seven]

'Bout a nine-five on the richter scale..................

 

[Apollo Creed]

He'll help us out with a lot of invisible yards, but unless they learn to tackle and cover better it won't matter.

 

[dadymat]

That "point" is overplayed. If he is valuable enough to be on the gameday roster then we are damn sure going to want him to act like a kicker -- his job is not to run down and stick his nose in tackles. He will be hanging out around the 50 as a last line of defense. He still is a kicker and you don't want your kicker pretending he is one of the grown ups

if he is using roster spot as a second kicker i want him to do everything he is capable of doing to make an impact......and he is a grown up you do know he is 6'2" 227# ? (thats bigger than the average SS) and very athletic.....if he has an X factor we should take advantage of it.....
don get me wrong I think his only contributions will be on kick offs...but if he can hit...i say let him hit

 

[Jay]

I cannot think of a single kickoff specialist who ever did more than kick off. That is the difference between your comparison. It is not the same, unless that snapper does nothing else or isn't at least capable of doing something else in a worst case scenario. Are you convinced he can? I am not.

I cannot think of a single kickoff specialist that can run the 40 as quick as Buehler or rep 225 pounds twenty-five times.