Grizzafted

So Leinart looks as much like Brady as anyone I've seen in the last five years, takes the Arizona Cardinals 50 yards down the field on arguably a top-three defensive unit, brings the ball to the 20 a la SBs XVIII and XVI, and.....bam, kicker blows it from 40 yards out.

Do you trust Gostkowski in that situation? Who is Brady if he has Gostowski kicking for him the last few years? Maybe 1-1 in the Superbowl?

I've said it before, and last night punctuated the point: letting Vinatieri go was a horrible move, worse than Branch, Law, or McGinest. I really hope that doesn't come back to bite the Pats in the ass, especially considering that this year's team is not exactly built for speed.

*bye week panic attack over*
(but, seriously, I'm not seeing good things out of their kicking game. Can he make that 40 yarder? He's going to have to at least once or twice this year.)

Bella*chick

Wasn't Rackers the best kicker in the league last year?

Anyway, there is no way BB would be stupid enough to kick the damn FG with 1 minute left, especially when his QB is efficiently moving the ball down the field. The Cardinals playcalling was so atrocious I still can't even believe what a saw after a night's sleep.

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BelichickFan

Yeah he was. And the snap was bad. Sure, the holder caught it and got it down. But the snap was high which throws off the timing. The second I saw the holder have to reach fairly high for the snap I knew the kick was in serious jeopardy.

zippo59

The Cardinals had a meltdown one offense with two fumbles returned for TD's. THAT is why they lost, not because some kicker missed a field goal.

He should have made the kick. If anything this proves that spending tons on your kicker (Rackers is one of the highest paid in the league) is maybe not the best thing to do. It's not like AV has never missed important kicks. I trust that Gostkowski will develop into a very good kicker. But if the Pats offense implodes like the Cardinals did I will not be blaming Gostkowski for the loss.

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Unofficial Kevin Faulk supporter.

Grizzafted

Yeah I agree here, in a major way. That 2nd and 2 had PA endzone shot written all over it. It's amazing to me how these coaches all seem to turtle up right at the crucual moment when the game is at their fingertips.

But the issue here isn't, "did the Cards fold the tent and start playing like Special Olympians with 15 minutes left" (yes they did), it's "can your kicker make the big kick under the lights in a huge game." AV might have missed some kicks here and there, but when the pressure got intense, he got focused. You can't coach that. It's one in a million, and it has more to do with your parents and your childhood than it does anything else.

You could see it in Rackers face last night that he was shaky before the kick.

bosfan

Great game, it was good to be able to get into a game that didn't involve the Pats. Thats NFL football - it ain't over till its over, or is it when the fat lady sings? Anyway FUN game........

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Alk

You bet I'm questioning the value of a good kicker. I just watched the best kicker from last season shank a chipshot game winning fg. I still don't miss Adam.

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ironwasp

40 yards is never a chip shot. Especially with a game on the line.

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JackBauer

Gostkowski is the man.

Willie55

You could???

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