For you Gostkowski haters

[Seanzayyy]

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

What I did discover is who is the worst FG kicker in the league....

http://www.behindthesteelcurtain.co...steelers-kicking-shaun-suisham-jason-kapinosa

The Steelers Scott Suisham

In this article it explains of how bad Scott is and dead last in The NFL with a 73.1 average

If it comes down to the Pats and Steelers in the AFCCG and a field goal is needed to win it,I certainly would feel MUCH,MUCH more secure with Stephen to hit it up through the uprights than PItt with Scott.

 

[Gwedd]

He's no Scott Sisson.

Thanks, man. I thought I'd permanently repressed all the memories of "Missin' Sisson". Now I can return to those nightmares and frustrations of seasons past. Might as well drag out the Tony Eason pics too.

Sigh.

 

[SeymourTrophies]

The only problem with Gost is that he misses some easy ones, easy being a relative term when you're referring to kicking a frozen oval. The miss against Jacksonville in 07 and the giants game this year stick out to me as head-scratchers. As long as the confusing shanks stay that few and far between, I'm okay with him.

I've had the comedic relief of watching the Maryland teams struggle with their kickers through the years. It puts Gost into perspective. At least when Gost misses, you're confident his intention was to make the kick. Does anyone remember Suisham's contribution to last year's super bowl? Juuuuuuust a bit outside.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

To be honest, I haven't seen a lot of "hate" here of Gostkowski. I've seen some people ask the legitimate question of whether he'll be as ice as Vinatieri if a Conference of League Championship hangs in the balance, but I don't think that's hate. You can criticize those people for "asking an unanswerable question," but I don't think it's hate. In any event, if the Pats advance in the playoffs beyond getting blown out in the Divisional round, he might have a chance to answer that question.

Otherwise, what's not to live in the stats that the OP posted. We're lucky to have him.

 

[Jackson 2]

It's something to monitor. The Ghostowski pre-injury was probably worth the contract. I believe he was perfect in the 2006 playoffs and I really don't remember him missing any key FG's in any playoff games altogether. His kickoff distances were crucial too. But if next year comes and he is still middle of the pack in FG% and towards the bottom in TB%, we've got to part ways with that contract. Same argument when we let AV go and went with Ghost in 2006, when you feel someone new can come in and provide the same if not better production for a small fraction of the price, you've got to opt for change. It worked then until Ghost's injury 4.5 years later. But like I said I'm willing to wait till next year to see if this is a trend.

Thanks for the reasoned response. I still really like him. Perhaps, for me, it was missing the 27 yarder (a glorified PAT) just before half-time in our loss to the Giants which sticks in my mind. It was at home, no weather involved as I remember and it ended up being huge in that game. But, I think labeling anyone who is uneasy about G. as a "hater" is really extreme.

 

[mgcolby]

He's no Scott Sisson.

Ah...good ol' missin sisson....

 

[mgcolby]

Thanks, man. I thought I'd permanently repressed all the memories of "Missin' Sisson". Now I can return to those nightmares and frustrations of seasons past. Might as well drag out the Tony Eason pics too.

Sigh.

Ah you beat me to it! But nice call on Eason.

 

[PATRIOTSFANINPA]

Ah you beat me to it! But nice call on Eason.

I always wondered what could have been if we took Marino before Eason

 

[ctpatsfan77]

It's something to monitor. The Ghostowski pre-injury was probably worth the contract. I believe he was perfect in the 2006 playoffs and I really don't remember him missing any key FG's in any playoff games altogether. His kickoff distances were crucial too. But if next year comes and he is still middle of the pack in FG% and towards the bottom in TB%, we've got to part ways with that contract. Same argument when we let AV go and went with Ghost in 2006, when you feel someone new can come in and provide the same if not better production for a small fraction of the price, you've got to opt for change. It worked then until Ghost's injury 4.5 years later. But like I said I'm willing to wait till next year to see if this is a trend.

Even before his injury he wasn't excelling at TB%. I can think of at least three possible reasons for this:

(1) Cold. Gillette is, on average, one of the toughest stadiums to kick in. If he got to play in a dome 10 games a year, he'd do a lot better.

(2a) Opinion of Pats KO coverage. It could be that teams think that they can run it out past the 20.

(2b) Teams feeling the "need" to run it out. It may well be that teams feel the need to attempt a big return to make up for the fact that the Pats tend to score lots of points.

 

[Patsfan1102]

Saw people hating on him also.... Sayin he isnt booming it through the uprights everytime....BECAUSE HES TOLD NOT TO!!!! you want them to return it and get practice with your special teams. Come playoff time that'll be HUGE

 

[supafly]

I wouldn't rank him in the top 5 kickers in the NFL, in terms of being able to go out and easily boot one from 55 yards, but I think he does a great job for what he's asked to do.

When there are a number of kickers who seem to be able to consistantly hit from 55+, there are also a number of somewhat uneducated fans who expect that from "their" kicker too. While that is somewhat understandable, they do not take into account other outside factors and variables.

I think that Belichick knows his range, and that is somewhat limited to the early 50's, but that's pretty impressive when you take into consideration other variables such as where he kicks 50% of the time, cold weather etc.

He does hold the Patriots all-time FG success percentage, and that makes him 6th in the NFL overall. It also should be noted that the all-time long FG from Gilette stadium is "only" 52 yards.

 

[Tricorn Hat]

So who would folks rather have, Vinatieri?

If Gostkowski misses short and long kicks, how does he have a better FG% than Adam playing for the Pats?
This year, when he's supposed to be having trouble, he's still got a better %
than Adam had with the Pats.

His kickoffs have always been longer than Adam's.
He's made some fine special team tackles.

Like in Pittsburgh, FGs at Foxborough aren't as easy as in domes.
Hasn't he always kicked fine in the clutch?

 

[Coach42]

I was unaware that there were Gostowski haters. Apparently no one on this team is above ignorant fan's scorn.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Even before his injury he wasn't excelling at TB%. I can think of at least three possible reasons for this:

(1) Cold. Gillette is, on average, one of the toughest stadiums to kick in. If he got to play in a dome 10 games a year, he'd do a lot better.

(2a) Opinion of Pats KO coverage. It could be that teams think that they can run it out past the 20.

(2b) Teams feeling the "need" to run it out. It may well be that teams feel the need to attempt a big return to make up for the fact that the Pats tend to score lots of points.

Well, before the injury we were kicking off from the 30. I don't think many kickers were getting a ton of TB's then. But if you took the KO's from Ghost pre-injury and moved them up 5 yards, I would bet a great majority of them would be TB's, and that's kind of what I was hoping for after the rule change. With how inconsistent our KO coverage has been, it would be huge for us if he could boom them out the end zone.

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Thanks for the reasoned response. I still really like him. Perhaps, for me, it was missing the 27 yarder (a glorified PAT) just before half-time in our loss to the Giants which sticks in my mind. It was at home, no weather involved as I remember and it ended up being huge in that game. But, I think labeling anyone who is uneasy about G. as a "hater" is really extreme.

Yep, also missed a very makeable FG in Pittsburgh that in the past he'd make in his sleep. It was a huge miss too at the time, could have made it a one score game. There were a couple others too this year. No denying he's been less reliable this season, but hopefully he bounces back next year.

 

[DaBruinz]

It's something to monitor. The Ghostowski pre-injury was probably worth the contract. I believe he was perfect in the 2006 playoffs and I really don't remember him missing any key FG's in any playoff games altogether. His kickoff distances were crucial too. But if next year comes and he is still middle of the pack in FG% and towards the bottom in TB%, we've got to part ways with that contract. Same argument when we let AV go and went with Ghost in 2006, when you feel someone new can come in and provide the same if not better production for a small fraction of the price, you've got to opt for change. It worked then until Ghost's injury 4.5 years later. But like I said I'm willing to wait till next year to see if this is a trend.

Being a FG kicker is about consistency. And that is what Ghost has brought the Pats. Hence why he's rated in the top 10 ALL TIME of FG kickers based on %.

As for the TB%, that is not an accurate way to judge him, especially, as pointed out, that there is a very good chance that the Pats aren't wanting him to kick TBs since they are limiting teams so well with their Kick Coverage.

 

[DaBruinz]

Thanks for the reasoned response. I still really like him. Perhaps, for me, it was missing the 27 yarder (a glorified PAT) just before half-time in our loss to the Giants which sticks in my mind. It was at home, no weather involved as I remember and it ended up being huge in that game. But, I think labeling anyone who is uneasy about G. as a "hater" is really extreme.

Go back and look at the Miami game thread. You'll see the haters that I am referring to.

As for the miss against the Giants, not sure how it ended up being "huge" in that game when the offense couldn't do squat for the better part of 3 quarters to begin with. Nor could the defense actually stop the Giants offense to end the game..

 

[DaBruinz]

Well, before the injury we were kicking off from the 30. I don't think many kickers were getting a ton of TB's then. But if you took the KO's from Ghost pre-injury and moved them up 5 yards, I would bet a great majority of them would be TB's, and that's kind of what I was hoping for after the rule change. With how inconsistent our KO coverage has been, it would be huge for us if he could boom them out the end zone.

As I pointed out, our kick-off coverage is excellent. They are 6th in the league allowing only 21.6 yards per return. If it was last year, I'd agree that the coverage was inconsistent, but that just isn't the case.

 

[patfanken]

DB, why would you care about what is said in the "game day" thread. The only people who post in that thread, are ******s, fans that can't wait to say "we're doooooomed.....and me.

1. On statisics. Its what we want to believe. IIRC, a fan posted that Gots was 19th in FG percentage at 84. something. Well given that to be in the top ten he'd only have raise his percentage by 2.3% its doesn't seem to be as bad. With stats its often perception

2. BTW- for those of you who are longing for the halcyon days of Adam Venetieri. How quickly they forget those 3 very makable FG he missed in 99, which cost the Pats 2 games and Pete Carroll his job (not that that was a bad thing). OR they forget the TWO FGs he missed early in the 2003 Superbowl. We all remember the game winner, but we forget if he'd made those 2 it would have been a lot less exciting game.

The point here is that Adam Venetieri kicked 3 of the most clutch FGs in NFL history, certainly the 3 biggest ones in Pats history. However it shouuld also be remembered that he missed some too....just like Gots

Complaining about a FG kicker who makes 85% of his attempts, is a solid KO man, and is willing to stick his head in there for a tackle, is the HEIGHT of ridiculousness