Should we bring in another kicker?

[Deus Irae]

Are you counting those kickers who kick a majority of their games indoors at the same level as those who kick in much rougher venues?? It also seems you are counting his great almost historic years against him. But basically you are saying that anything less than 90% is grounds for dismissal. Clearly you wasted a lot to time so you could snidely remark. "anything else Ken"

BTW- Goskowski is the Pats "Kicker" not just their FG kicker. When you replace him you will need to replace the rest of his game that doesn't seem to matter to the yahoo fringe of our fandom.

Ken, this is the last time I'm going to deal with your nonsense, because I'm tired of your garbage brand of homerism. You simply can't help yourself.

I was defending Gost. In the first page, response #19, I posted a one word response to the O.P.: "Why?" In my second post, I sarcastically asked if they should have signed Aguayo, while defending Gost. I have defended Gost over and over. I'm sorry you couldn't actually think past a gotcha moment to see my obvious defense of Gost, I'm sorry your head was too far up your ass not to double down with the post I'm quoting here, and I'm sorry that you're such a ridiculous homer that you're a useless poster.

But that's the way it is, and I'm done with you. Go be ridiculous with someone else.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

That time has passed as it would have been better for a full camp competition. Can't really bring in one now

 

[Ras-IR Dowling]

I'm all for aguayo getting another shot and I hope he does well but I'm gonna reserve judgment since he's going to be playing in the Windy City.

 

[XLIX]

And he had several close calls too. He's not as reliable as he once was. Thats nothing to go and replace him over but that's just a fact. He is one of the best at forcing returners to fall short of the 25 though...often quite short.

He is every bit as reliable as any other extended point in his career. He had a down year, but he is showing no downward trend.

The only change is XPs are tougher, so he is no longer 100% in that category. People are overreacting to 2 prominent missed XPs in the past 2 years, but Gostkowski is hardly the only kicker missing those every once in a while.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

If anyone knows whether another kicker is needed it's belichick. The fact that he didn't draft or sign another one after ghost's struggles tells me he still believes in him. It's probably a mechanics issue.

 

[Biffins]

Anyone have a video of the shake of the head BB gave to Joe Judge, the Special Teams Coordinator when Gost missed the FG in the preseason game.

I think that said it all.

 

[Sciz]

Aguayo was last year's worst starting kicker and wasn't doing any better so far in camp, and he was claimed on waivers. That means that in the collective eyes of NFL decision-makers, the best free agent available right now is still worse than last year's worst starting kicker. I'm all for competition, but there's nobody out there.

 

[MainePatsFan26]

Let's have it people.
I think we should have someone at least breathing down Ghosts neck.

If the endgame is getting Ghost to play better and not replace him, the decision would come down to his personality. Some players benefit from competition, while others let the competition cloud their thinking. In a difficult position like kicker where it is easy to get psyched out, I'm not sure adding more pressure is the recipe for success.

In all honesty, maybe Ghost needs to meditate or do yoga or something like that. Get centered, since most of his misses seemed like he was out of sorts. He knows the mechanics and has the physical tools. It is just a matter of getting his head right.

 

[ivanvamp]

Last year, Ghost was middle of the pack in FG% (tied for 15th at 84.4%). But just to show you how small a sample size it is, and how big of a difference one kick can make, if he makes just one more kick, he's suddenly at 87.5%, 6th in the NFL in FG%.

We all wish he would drill everything, but he's at WORST an average kicker in the NFL in terms of accuracy, he has a great leg from distance, and he's the BEST at kickoffs. He's still a weapon for this team.

 

[sean10mm]

Here's the secret about kickers: they're pretty much all flakes, it's just a matter of degree. NONE OF THEM are consistent really.

Look at Vinatieri. The dude has had an unimpeachable career as a kicker, he's rightly a Patriots hero, and his FG% was all over the place with no discernible pattern at all.

2003 was right in his career prime and he hit <74%. That's just trash. Yet 2002 and 2004 were both over 90%. He has 7 seasons under 80% and 5 seasons over 90%. He shanked PATs in 7 seasons back when they were chip shots, then went 44 for 44 for the long range ones at 44 years old.

He made physically impossible distance kicks in snowstorms. He missed 12 postseason field goals, including at least one chip shot in a Super Bowl. And this is a living legend tier kicker!

The bottom line is that even elite, HOF caliber kickers have a lot of variance year to year. If you dump a guy for 1 down year then Vinatieri gets fired like a half dozen times, which is nonsense of course.

 

[Jackson 2]

If anyone knows whether another kicker is needed it's belichick. The fact that he didn't draft or sign another one after ghost's struggles tells me he still believes in him. It's probably a mechanics issue.

Then it's one helluva long-lasting mechanics issue. Been going on for nearly 2 years. I think it's a mental/confidence issue.

 

[Biffins]

What a fantastic night by Gostkowski. Thank god. Hopefully he can get some confidence back and keep going and have a great season.

 

[dafoe2016]

I don't know. I'm just happy we let the most clutch kicker in the history of football walk over a measly 500k. I feel so confident with Ghost lining up to kick important FGs and PATs. I'm sure the Giants were pretty happy about in 2007 too.

Bill doesn't miss many, but he missed this one.

 

[Bruins29]

I don't know. I'm just happy we let the most clutch kicker in the history of football walk over a measly 500k. I feel so confident with Ghost lining up to kick important FGs and PATs. I'm sure the Giants were pretty happy about in 2007 too.

Bill doesn't miss many, but he missed this one.

Ghost is a better kicker than AV. Sorry it dosent fit your narrative.

 

[WaterfallJumper]

Ghost is a better kicker than AV. Sorry it dosent fit your narrative.

I'm pretty sure he's just a troll.

 

[Bruins29]

I'm pretty sure he's just a troll.

Pretty much. I am not sure why I respond to this idiot.

 

[dafoe2016]

Pretty much. I am not sure why I respond to this idiot.

Or, someone can have an opinion that is different than yours. That doesn't make them a troll or an idiot. Adam is arguably the most clutch kicker in the history of the NFL. Ghost is not clutch. Even a childish ****head like you should be able to wrap your mind around those two facts.

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Its too late to bring in another kicker. That time has passed.

 

[Dagg]

Not sure if you guys watch hard Knocks but I love the guy who sits behind Aguyao and Folk swearing and insulting them while they are kicking, he cracks me up. Aguayos form needs alot of work IMO he kind of abbreviates his follow through which may lead to some of his issues he needs some work.

 

[meatface]

I wonder if there is a single topic that we as a community can be remotely rational on. Its apparently not kickers