Football Outsiders on Gostkowski

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

His kick offs have been great yet I am worried about him come crunch time.

Be careful...

Dem's fighting words around these parts...

Armen Da Crap Fan

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

They are also saying this:

"Gostkowski is the No. 1 kickoff guy in the NFL..."

"Field goals are a different story, of course..."

http://sportsline.com/nfl/players/playerpage/411579




"Player News

According to the Boston Herald, the Patriots might be considering a kicking change because of rookie Stephen Gostkowski's struggles. The Herald asked "at what point will they consider bringing in a veteran to assume some of the duties?" According to the statisticians at Pro Football Prospectus, Gostkowski is the No. 1 kickoff guy in the NFL, being the only kicker to average 70 yards off the tee. Through four weeks, Gostkowski is tied for second in the league in touchbacks (six) and the Pats are fourth in opponents’ average start position (21.2-yard line). Field goals are a different story, of course. The Pats are tied for 29th in the league in field goal percentage, as Gostkowski has made only 3-of-6 attempts. He’s had two short-range attempts blocked (from 29 and 37 yards out) and he wasn’t even in the same zip code as the uprights on a miss from 48 yards in Cincinnati on Sunday.

(Updated 10/04/2006). "

 

[Oswlek]

Be careful...

Dem's fighting words around these parts...

Armen Da Crap Fan

Armen, I enjoy your contributions to this site, but I think you are off base with your take on Gostkowski.

First, who would you propose that NE cut to make room for a second kicker, particularly now with several injuries in the secondary?

Second, would it a) help or b) hurt Gostkowski's development if you strip FG duties from him? Probably not a).

I don't like it any more than you do that I no longer feel that 3 points are guaranteed once NE crosses an opponents 30, but I don't like the prospect of weakening the team further to put a bandaid over the issue.

 

[Armen Da Pats Fan]

Armen, I enjoy your contributions to this site, but I think you are off base with your take on Gostkowski.

First, who would you propose that NE cut to make room for a second kicker, particularly now with several injuries in the secondary?

Second, would it a) help or b) hurt Gostkowski's development if you strip FG duties from him? Probably not a).

I don't like it any more than you do that I no longer feel that 3 points are guaranteed once NE crosses an opponents 30, but I don't like the prospect of weakening the team further to put a bandaid over the issue.

Oswlek...

Good questions and I'll admit, I haven't thought it through that far...

And I will say I would not cut Gostkowski or anyione to make room for a new kicker, because I think he could be good kicker based on his pre-season performance and his kickoffs...

So, the answer to the first question is I wouldn't cut him - I would try to put him on the PS (if possible) and have someone like Gramatica simply replace him until Gostkowski is ready to kick at this level. (I am not sure if we can put him on the practice squad or not. Not sure how that works for kickers. If we can't, it's a moot point anyway.)

The second question, about his development, is an entirely different one. I don't think we should be "developing" at this level in the regular season. So, if Gostkowski needs some more development, he needs to do it somehwere else where it could not potentially cost us games.

A veteran kicker would give us more stability while we bring Gostkowski along.

Bottom line is at this point, honestly, I don't want him out there in a 17-17 divisional game against Miami or New York with :37 left having to kick a 41-yard field goal to win it!

That's all I'm saying...

ADPF

 

[CaffeineMan]

The problem with making a judgement on Gotti now is that all we can see is the end result for 4 games this year so far. We can't see what the coaching staff sees, so I'm not sure we can tell if his performance is likely to improve or not. It would be pretty easy to bail and find a vet kicker who's a known quantity. But I'm not sure it's worth it, given that for half his responsibilities the kid's been absolutely stellar. Choosing a rookie kicker is something of a short-term risk for a long-term reward. I hope the Pats will be patient here, since I think it could pay off. And I mean pay off later this year, not just in future years.

 

[Amnorix]

I'm amazed and very happy at the patience people on here are showing for Ghost.

Of course, he hasn't cost us a game yet, and that's when it will hit the fan, if/when that happens.

But it's very legitimate to note that opposing offenses RARELY get past the 25 yard line with this guy, whereas with AV they were OFTEN in the 25-35 yard range for starting field position.

I don't mind block FGs so much, as usually that means protection at least as much as angle of kick. The 48 yard miss WAS from 48, although what worried me there was it wasn't even close. It was WAAAY wide right.

But he's a rook, so we have to give him a chance, especially with the points he's NOT letting the other team score. Right now he's the Alex Gonzalez of the Patriots, great defense, but not so great offense. We need him to be a bit more like Jeter or whatever, defense AND offense.