[personal] RE: [Husker] UT-NU Observations from the Press Box

[Skylar Dodds]

Hello Husker Fans,

Very few kickers can hit from 58 with any sort of consistency. Seeing
as how 28% of all 50+ yard field goals are made from 4 kickers (see
below), it seems obvious that 50+ yard field goal kickers are not the
norm. Let's be frank here, we're not just talking about 50, we're
talking about 58 which is a lot closer to 60, a near impossible range
for ANY kicker. In fact, only 5 kickers in the HISTORY of the NFL have
kicked 59 yards or longer (Tom Dempsey, Jason Elam, Steve Cox, Morten
Anderson, and recently Matt Bryant). But sure, most high school kids
can do it.

I would even say that very few kickers can hit from 45+ with
consistency. Even out of our more recent kickers, I would think Josh
Brown (career high of 58 btw and 9/15 from 50+ in the NFL) would be
one of the few that can do it regularly.

NCAA Stats on 50+ yard kicks:
All Div I schools: 36 of 86 or 41.9% from 50+, 0 of 3 from 60+ (CU 0-2
and New Mex 0-1)

Attempts: 55 schools have attempted 50+ kicks, Only 4 schools have
attempted more than 2 (WF 4-6, OSU 2-4, KSU 2-3, Colorado 2-4).  Of
those 55, 27 have never made one (49.1%)

If a bunch of HS kids can kick 50+ regularly, they sure seem to forget
when they get to college and the NFL.

-- 
Go Skers,
 Skylar                            mailto:Sklarbodds at cox.net

JV> Steve,

JV> I could have sworn from my seat that it was just inside the 45, which
JV> would be a 62-yard attempt but I could be wrong. Either way it is a kick
JV> that is way outside of our guy's range, even with the wind - which while
JV> at his back was also swirling pretty heavily. Anyone catch how the
JV> balloons swirled around field level after the first touchdown?  

JV> My job takes me to a lot of college and NFL games and a fair amount of
JV> HS games too and to imply that there are all kinds of HS kickers who can
JV> routinely make 50+ yard field goals or that there are random kids
JV> walking the campus in Lincoln right now that could make them also might
JV> be a little misleading and probably a lot absurd. 

JV> Consider that in the NFL, home to arguably the sport's best kickers,
JV> through Week 7 only 13 of the 30 leading FG kickers in the NFL have a
JV> long field goal make in excess of 50 yards and that NONE has a FG make
JV> like the 58 yd FG people are suggesting that we should have tried. In
JV> fact only 1 kicker in the NFL period (who is not in the top 30 in FG
JV> makes) has a make of 58 yards +, and that is Matt Bryant of Tampa Bay
JV> (who kicked a 62-yarder to win the game on Sunday). Further, through
JV> Week 7 in the NFL, 11 teams or nearly 1/3 of the league, haven't even
JV> attempted a FG in excess of 50 yards and amongst teams that have
JV> attempted at least one the results are 19 makes against 44 misses - a
JV> conversion percentage of only 43%. Of those teams, 6 or nearly 20% of
JV> the league have made 0% or none of their 50+ yd attempts. 

JV> So do the special teams need help - absolutely. But, could any kicker on
JV> the roster, your average HS kicker, some mystery student walking the
JV> campus or even your average NFL kicker likely have made a FG of 50+
JV> yards - nevertheless one from 58 yards with a swirling wind - PROBABLY
JV> NOT!!!! 

JV> The hail mary was without question our best option to score and to
JV> suggest otherwise is just an excuse to criticize the coaching staff - at
JV> least in my humble opinion. If you throw the hail mary you have the
JV> chance for an additional penalty (which would have definitely moved the
JV> ball into FG range) or a tip and a catch for the win. Lining up for a FG
JV> lets us all watch the ball flutter through the air and land at the 5 -
JV> not even close to a make and with no real chance for anything else to
JV> happen that could extend or win the game. 

JV> Jeff


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