Kicking

[Hoop Fan]

What if the Giants kicker had not kicked the ball out of bounds last night? Or Cundiff had not made the 52 yarder? Would the Cowboys REALLY be any different as a team today? No, but they would be left for dead right now by everyone. Bear with me. Now, what if that tipped 47 yard field goal by the Baylor kicker did not somehow float over the goalpost and what if McMurtry's kick slides through? Field goal kicking is almost a separate game than football itself. When these kicks go one way or the other, it shapes the entire way we view a team and the future. If we had won the Baylor game 10-7, the entire persective would be different. But we would still be the same football team, with the same future potential. We also tend as fans to think what happened in past years is relevant to this year. Really its not. Its a trap that everyone falls into. Its partly the reason I like hoops as my favorite sport, less random specialists such as kickers and goalies. Someday a kick is actually going to go our way at SMU and we will win a thrilling/important game on the Hilltop.

[DallasDiehard]

Good points. A week ago, everyone wanted to run Cundiff out of town. Now he walks on water. Likewise, some folks are ready to hang McMurtray. But Hoop Fan is right - kicking is so quirky. Baylor's kicker gets a kick deflected and it floats through. Martin Grammatica gets a kick deflected (that's not taking into account those that were completely blocked) and it falls 20 yards short. I've even seen low kicks that were HELPED wheen they were tipped, because the hand actually lifted the ball higher without slowing the ball down too much. Let's give McMurtray the benefit of the doubt for a while and see how he does when he's given a chance. Last year's yanking was brutal (and a bad move.) Remember, a few years ago, Jacob Crowley couldn't hit anything, and then came out in his senior (I think) year and had a terrific season. Kickers need their confidence to have a chance.

[ClassOf81]

Try putting a golf ball when everyone's telling you that you stink. It starts to feel like you're trying to push a bowling ball into a key hole -- not easy to do.

[Pony_Fan]

The fact of the matter is special teams needs more ATTENTION

[OldPony]

AMEN Pony_Fan. Kicking is stroke and repetition. It does not require the same level of concentration as putting. A good kicker builds his own confidence by hitting the field goals whether in practice or games. A missed kick doesn't destroy confidence either. It the repitition of making them over and over that lets a kicker know he can do it.

[Hoop Fan]

My point was not about kicking technique or pyschology, but kicking field goals is not just repetition. A big part of it is mental. McMurtry will come around or Wolcott will. We will not lose games on field goals forever.

[Dement-ed]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Pony_Fan:
<B>The fact of the matter is special teams needs more ATTENTION</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

The thread about Today's Startlegram talks about Bennett spending more time and attention on special teams. He's a big proponent of special teams play - I doubt we'll see the special teams meltdown we saw in Waco again this year.

[gostangs]

i don't expect a meltdown, but special teams is one of those area where talent differences are most apparant - I will be very nervous anytime we are kicking a punt or a kick-off based on what I have seen from both OSU and SMU.

[FloridaMustang]

Is anyone coaching or serving as a mentor for the kickers? When I was there, they were almost entirely separate from practice with no direction whatsoever.

Is that how you develop a good kicker?

[OldPony]

Most of the time kickers work in isolation. Ususally only a few minutes each day involve coaching. That is watching tecnique and correcting flaws, then the kicker works on his own again.
Special teams as a whole aren't the most talented people on the field but those with an attitude. It doesn't take great strength,speed or stamina to cover kicks and punts. It takes great desire and reckless abandon. Punt recievers and kick recievers MUST be aware of their position on the field. If the fast, tricky runners can't do it, go with someone who won't break any but will make the right decisions. Special teams are attitude and can be a source of priode for the guys who aren't talented enough to help any other way. Remember the 13th man from ATM?.

[JasonB]

Kicking is very much a mental game. HOwever, practice alone doesn't help you out. Performance does.

Let's go over the current example:
- McMurtray nails tons of FGs in fall practice, the scrimmages, and looks terriffic.

- In week 1, drills a long field goal and hits is PAT.

- Then, there is week 2. He doesn't have an attempt in the first half. hits is PAT. Then comes out and warms up before the second. I swear, he missed almost every try. Some he hooked. Most he pushed wide (which is a sign of not being confident). He missed his last 4 or 5 attempts, including his second to last try, which was a 37 yarder that was wide right AND short.

Based on how he kicked at that time, I knew there was no way in heck he was gonna make that last field goal. and sure enough, he pushed it wide left.

A lot of his misses were pushes (wide left with a lefty kicker). This is normally the result of one of two things:

1) He had a horrible, horrible practice week and lost his confidence.

or

2) He picked up some injury that isn't allowing him to kick through the ball.

I have no idea what is wrong. But let me tell you something else - I am a right footed kicker. I know a lot about kicking. That said it would be VERY difficult to coach a left footed kicker. I think if he has some problems with technique, the fact that he is left footed probably hurts as far as getting it resolved quickly... just a thought .

[ReedFrawg]

A topic after my own heart! As most of you know, I was a kicker at TCU in the mid-90s. Anyway, Hoop Fan is dead-on about field goals changing the course of a game and affecting the entire mood around a team. Earlier this morning someone on the radio said the Cowboys had a good shot to be 3-1 with games coming up against the Jets and Cards. If they had blown that game, everyone would be writing them off.

As far as kicking goes, most college coaches don't know squat about kicking. They yell at the kicker to keep his head down when he misses a kick during practice and that's about it. Then they send the kickers/punters off somewhere to practice on their own. A kicker/punter is a specialist but he has no one with any knowledge to actually help him improve technique or spot flaws in his kicking motion. Imagine a QB trying to perform without a coach to work on and improve his throwing motion. That's why kickers and punters are generally a crapshoot...they are left to develop themselves into better players, unlike any other position on the field. And its ironic how many games come down to a FG and everyone wonders why kickers choke. There motion hasn't been refined to the point of being able to perform under intense pressure. If Bennett wants to hire a part-time kicking consultant, I am available. JMHO.

Good luck against OSU!

[ReedFrawg]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by ReedFrawg:
<B>A topic after my own heart! As most of you know, I was a kicker at TCU in the mid-90s. Anyway, Hoop Fan is dead-on about field goals changing the course of a game and affecting the entire mood around a team. Earlier this morning someone on the radio said the Cowboys had a good shot to be 3-1 with games coming up against the Jets and Cards. If they had blown that game, everyone would be writing them off.

As far as kicking goes, most college coaches don't know squat about kicking. They yell at the kicker to keep his head down when he misses a kick during practice and that's about it. Then they send the kickers/punters off somewhere to practice on their own. A kicker/punter is a specialist but he has no one with any knowledge to actually help him improve technique or spot flaws in his kicking motion. Imagine a QB trying to perform without a coach to work on and improve his throwing motion. That's why kickers and punters are generally a crapshoot...they are left to develop themselves into better players, unlike any other position on the field. And its ironic how many games come down to a FG and everyone wonders why kickers choke. There motion hasn't been refined to the point of being able to perform under intense pressure. If Bennett wants to hire a part-time kicking consultant, I am available. JMHO.

Good luck against OSU!</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Should be "Their" motion, not "There". Sorry, but I had to correct this because I hate that misstake when other people make it!

[FloridaMustang]

ReedFrawg- I was part of many practices last summer and up to the Tech game. Then, at least, the kickers recieved no direction. No coaching, nothing. They practiced for awhile before practice, stoof around for half an hour and took turns kicking into the net. They could have had a barbeque over in the corner and I don't think anyone would have cared as long as they were present on the correct field for special teams practice.

Kicking may be a very mental game, but can you tell me that if we had a kicking coach that our kicking game wouldn't improve?

[click]

Reed Frawg,please e-mail at [email protected]----its about the kicking thread