aluminum seats
Pro Bowl Player
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CLICK HERE to Register for a free account and login for a smoother ad-free experience. It's easy, and only takes a few moments.It's when SG has missed. Arizona a FG as long as the old XP lost the game. Denver 2015 AFFCG he hits that XP and that game would have gone to OT. 2016 SB just when they start a comeback he missed an XP which was the lowest point of that game for me. He was lucky to get bailed out. 2017 SB missed FG and XP. 2018 SB missed a FG.
All of these were at important parts of the game.
The tap dancing people do to try to make AV a better kicker than SG is funny. And it always ends up being a "clutch" discussion. Then when its show that SG was just as clutch if not more than AV, the tap dancing starts again.
People have forgotten most of Vinatieri’s misses. I swear some people think he never missed a kick. But that snow game ... that was effing magical.
The AV and SG debate is pointless. They are both outstanding kickers, but AV is more fondly remembered due to the kicks he had.
Pats go for it on 4th and 3-4 now in situations because they are confident in the ability to convert - they are trying for a knockout punch. Also the game is different than 15 years ago - settling for 3 less desirable now. If they did not believe in Ghost hitting a 45 yarder - there would be a different kicker in NE.Biggest difference is I can think of a half dozen instances the Pats did something else besides let Gostkowski try a 43+ yarder. So the stats you showed mask the avg yardage tried. They only use Ghost for sure thing situations. They go for it on 4th or other things with Gostkowski.
Biggest difference is I can think of a half dozen instances the Pats did something else besides let Gostkowski try a 43+ yarder. So the stats you showed mask the avg yardage tried. They only use Ghost for sure thing situations. They go for it on 4th or other things with Gostkowski.
Pats go for it on 4th and 3-4 now in situations because they are confident in the ability to convert - they are trying for a knockout punch. Also the game is different than 15 years ago - settling for 3 less desirable now. If they did not believe in Ghost hitting a 45 yarder - there would be a different kicker in NE.
As stated by bormio. Its a different game now that greatly favors the offense. Plus perhaps BB has more faith in Brady now.
So that is not a fair statement.
Biggest difference is I can think of a half dozen instances the Pats did something else besides let Gostkowski try a 43+ yarder. So the stats you showed mask the avg yardage tried. They only use Ghost for sure thing situations. They go for it on 4th or other things with Gostkowski.
good but not greatKicking in the playoffs:
Vinatieri: 56-69 (81.2%)
Gostkowski: 39-44 (88.6%)
Where people have some kind of point is in the XP area, though even there it's misleading. Gost has missed 4 (88-92 for 95.7% versus Vinatieri at 7071 for 98.6%), but all of Gost's misses have been post 2014 rules changes, and that's when Viniatieri's miss came, as well.
Post 2014 playoff XP:
Viniatieri: 4-5 (80%)
Gostkowski: 31-35 (88.6%)
We just had a Super Bowl where the QB talked the coach into going for the field goal over the attempted 4th down, in what was obviously a high pressure situation. The kicker made the kick.
Yet, for some reason, we've still got people banging on the anti-Gost drum. It's ridiculous. I'm all for higher standards for better teams, but at some point you've got to accept that better is not the same as perfect, and that having higher standards cannot be the same as demanding constant perfection.
You know it’s an amazing kick, into the snow, into the wind....I couldn’t even see the ball go through, had to read the refs and the players reaction.....greatest kick EVER!!!,Hey, they're both great kickers. But, and this is not a knock on SG...
...few kickers can claim this kind of moment.
Hey, they're both great kickers. But, and this is not a knock on SG...
...few kickers can claim this kind of moment.
Just a data point. One of the things that has been said about Gostkowski is his relative lack of "clutchness" and "signature kicks" (as a result of the Patriots offense going into overdrive).
But if you look at kicks in the fourth quarter and OT, in one-score games (Pats leading or trailing by 8 or less):
- Vinatieri, career: 79/92, or 85.9%
- Vinatieri, with NE: 38/46, or 82.6%
- Vinatieri, with Brady as starter: 25/27, or 92.6%
- Gostkowski: 44/46, or 95.7%