Gostkowski

[QuantumMechanic]

What the hell are you talking about ? Just because the ball ended up in the right spot it doesnt automatically follow that Ghost was in the right point in his entire motion and timing to hit the ball properly.

And in fact he wasn't. He had to completely come to a stop and then try a flat-footed kick. Once I saw him stop my big worry was that it was going to be blocked and returned the other way for six. I was amazed it got as close as hitting the upright!

 

[luuked]

Maybe in the regular season but in the playoffs he can't even be counted on to even hit an extra point.

Yeah I mean what the hell is a 95% XP rate over his career and 89.5% FG rate in the postseason alone. What a scrub..

 

[Froob]

That was an interesting playcall by Joe Judge going with the classic fake fake field goal. Great call if it goes in, really caught the Eagles off guard.

 

[signbabybrady]

Yeah I mean what the hell is a 95% XP rate over his career and 89.5% FG rate in the postseason alone. What a scrub..

Checkout his playoff XP rate since the XP was moved back. Then come talk. He drops to %85 in the playoffs under the new rule.

 

[jam757]

Rather than a dumb trick play that made Brady look ridiculous and exposed him to risk... how about the 4th down deep play on 3rd and 5 instead - and then kick what I believe was a 52 yard FG if it doesn't work.

Those 3 points would have been useful.

Why does Bill do this in Super Bowls!?!! Why go for it on 4th and f'n 13 against the Giants in 2007! Why not kick a 52 yard FG in a dome when your kicker made one from 60 plus this season and has mostly been money on long kicks??? It's like Bill loses all confidence in him and changes the way he would normally call a game. Points pissed away time and time again.

 

[signbabybrady]

Why does Bill do this in Super Bowls!?!! Why go for it on 4th and f'n 13 against the Giants in 2007! Why not kick a 52 yard FG in a dome when your kicker made one from 60 plus this season and has mostly been money on long kicks??? It's like Bill loses all confidence in him and changes the way he would normally call a game. Points pissed away time and time again.

Exactly. BB does not trust him in the clutch.

 

[jam757]

Just wanted to add that I do want to keep Ghost and still feel he is one of the best kickers in the game. Hopefully they can work something out on a more agreeable number. Finding a good kicker is not always a certainty.

 

[jam757]

Exactly. BB does not trust him in the clutch.

If that is the case then I guess they should find another kicker (although I don't agree with that). I personally think that kicking a long FG when they might be struggling is actually the best thing for a kickers confidence. Hey, I love Bill, and still defend him as the greatest coach of all time but he makes some peculiar decisions sometimes, coaching 101 blunders.

 

[ivanvamp]

Yea that whole 1.6% he is taking up in cap space in 2018 is a friggan boat anchor.

Agreed, but the Eagles just won with a rookie kicker. I've no doubt the Patriots could find a more than adequate kicker and use that savings on defensive help.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Agreed, but the Eagles just won with a rookie kicker. I've no doubt the Patriots could find a more than adequate kicker and use that savings on defensive help.

Maybe. Elliot missed an XP too.

Change for the sake of change isn't the right decision.

 

[EddardSnow67]

He was 92.5% for the season. You have absolutely no idea how hard it is to plant your foot to kick and then have he hold be completely reset.

There's a reason no one is complaining about Gostkowski, which is that there's no reason to complain about Gostkowski.

 

[PatsFanSince74]

I've never tried to kick a FG, let alone under the pressure of a SB, so I'll let those who know more about that than I know criticize Gostkowski for the miss on the botched snap.

But, I think that ST in general didn't do their usual great job on KO's.

One of the real advantages that I always felt the Pats had in games this year...even if the Offense or Defense was a little off, was that their opponents often had to start deep in their own territory after a KO. The average Eagles starting position was outside the 25 yard line on Kickoffs.

The average opposition return of a NE KO this season was 18.9 yards.

The average return in the SB was 24.5 yards (not including a 10 yard penalty for an illegal block). That's 5.6 yards more (or 30%) per return in a game of inches.

The Pats never stuffed the Eagles inside the 20 on a kickoff, which they did often during the Regular Season and in other Playoff Games. Aside from the penalty play, the Pats only held the Eagles inside the 25 once (at the 23).

Little things add up to big things.

 

[jam757]

He was 92.5% for the season. You have absolutely no idea how hard it is to plant your foot to kick and then have he hold be completely reset.

There's a reason no one is complaining about Gostkowski, which is that there's no reason to complain about Gostkowski.

The botched snap FG was almost pulled out but so many really bad things can happen on that play (like a blocked FG) they're probably lucky he simply missed it.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

It would be interesting to see Gostkowski vs. NFL averages. Anyone know where one can get stats for:
* NFL 2017 PAT percentage
* NFL and Gostkowski 2017 FG percentage from 0-19 yd, 20-29 yd, 30-39 yd, 40-44 yd, 45-49 yd, and 50+ yd

 

[jam757]

I've never tried to kick a FG, let alone under the pressure of a SB, so I'll let those who know more about that than I know criticize Gostkowski for the miss on the botched snap.

But, I think that ST in general didn't do their usual great job on KO's.

One of the real advantages that I always felt the Pats had in games this year...even if the Offense or Defense was a little off, was that their opponents often had to start deep in their own territory after a KO. The average Eagles starting position was outside the 25 yard line on Kickoffs.

The average opposition return of a NE KO this season was 18.9 yards.

The average return in the SB was 24.5 yards (not including a 10 yard penalty for an illegal block). That's 5.6 yards more (or 30%) per return in a game of inches.

The Pats never stuffed the Eagles inside the 20 on a kickoff, which they did often during the Regular Season and in other Playoff Games. Aside from the penalty play, the Pats only held the Eagles inside the 25 once (at the 23).

Little things add up to big things.

The special teams were poor the whole game. A few of those Eagles KO returns were dangerously close to being broken for massive gains. I believe Ghost made a tackle on one of them. Sloppy ass tackling the entire game on defense and special teams.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Exactly. BB does not trust him in the clutch.

Did Bill says this?

 

[ivanvamp]

Maybe. Elliot missed an XP too.

Change for the sake of change isn't the right decision.

I didn't remotely suggest "change for the sake of change". I suggested that they could find an adequate replacement and use the money they save to upgrade the defense.

I love Ghost and think he's a weapon. But teams have won many Super Bowls without him and I think the Patriots could too. Remember how we all felt about losing Vinatieri?

 

[RobertWeathers]

I didn't remotely suggest "change for the sake of change". I suggested that they could find an adequate replacement and use the money they save to upgrade the defense.

I hear you and you suggested no such thing.

My point is IMO $3m only consumes 1.6% of a $185m (projected) 2018 cap number.

Getting a rookie kicker in here for ~$2m+ less off the 2018 cap and cut a 92% + veteran kicker who can still boot it just doesn't work for me. Sorry. I don't think the risk/reward jives.

Plus I think they'll have plenty of cap space to bring in players. I don't think $2m moves the needle.

If Gost had a $10m cap number I'm very much on board with your suggestion.

I love Ghost and think he's a weapon. But teams have won many Super Bowls without him and I think the Patriots could too. Remember how we all felt about losing Vinatieri?

I hear you. Who knows what BB will do.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

PFR to the rescue!

2017 NFL Kicking & Punting | Pro-Football-Reference.com

Six players had zero PAT misses, then 4 players had 1 miss, then 4 players (including Ghost) had 2 misses. He was 12th in percentage at 95.7%.

As for FGs, Ghost was 5th in overall percentage at 92.5% with 3 misses.

Breaking it down into yardage bins
* He had no attempts from 0-19yd (there were only 9 attempts from that distance league-wide and all were made).
* He was 16-16 from 20-29yd (he lead the league in attempts and makes from that distance)
* He was 9-9 from 30-39yd (was 16th in attempts and 13th in makes)
* He was 8-11 for 40-49yd. Eyeballing the percentages (PFR doesn't give percentages for the yardage breakdowns) he was around 10th in the league in percentage from there.
* He was 4-4 from 50+. No one who kicked more than 4 made them all.

 

[EddardSnow67]

I've never tried to kick a FG, let alone under the pressure of a SB, so I'll let those who know more about that than I know criticize Gostkowski for the miss on the botched snap.

But, I think that ST in general didn't do their usual great job on KO's.

One of the real advantages that I always felt the Pats had in games this year...even if the Offense or Defense was a little off, was that their opponents often had to start deep in their own territory after a KO. The average Eagles starting position was outside the 25 yard line on Kickoffs.

The average opposition return of a NE KO this season was 18.9 yards.

The average return in the SB was 24.5 yards (not including a 10 yard penalty for an illegal block). That's 5.6 yards more (or 30%) per return in a game of inches.

The Pats never stuffed the Eagles inside the 20 on a kickoff, which they did often during the Regular Season and in other Playoff Games. Aside from the penalty play, the Pats only held the Eagles inside the 25 once (at the 23).

Little things add up to big things.

This I certainly agree with. I'm wondering if the Butler thing compromised our efficiency on kickoff coverage, considering it meant a couple guys who would have played 100% on special teams had to play defensive snaps.