I was surprised to say the least when BB decided not to go for that 48 yd FG. Does that mean that he has lost faith in Gost? Was it a blip? Would he look to sign an FA? Or... or.. or??? How about a late round pick on a kicker?
I was surprised to say the least when BB decided not to go for that 48 yd FG. Does that mean that he has lost faith in Gost? Was it a blip? Would he look to sign an FA? Or... or.. or??? How about a late round pick on a kicker?
I actually do take offense this statement because a kicker was the difference in winning (or being tied at the end of regulation) the superbowl.
Think about 12 months of studying, film room sessions, workout, practices, games, injuries, drafts and everything that goes into a single one loss elimination tournament. Think about Oregon State missing a lousy extra point in Baton Rouge a few years back to lose against the #1 team. Think about the Bills and their legacy. THINK ABOUT THE SNOW BOWL AND HOW MUCH THAT HAS CHANGED EVERYTHING.
I don't think they did not have faith in Gost. He has proven to be a fairly solid kicker. I just think they thought they could get a first down and in turn make that 7 points rather than three. Gost is 15/19 at 30-39yds, 5/9 40-49, and 1/1 50+
Gostkowski's kickoffs are still top-notch, he's an above-average kicker and you probably won't find better than him in anything after the 4th rd, and I don't think we take another kicker that high.
BB didn't trust the O-line to block on a long field. He felt the chances of surrendering a game changing play on special teams outweighed the 60% chance of making the FG. The safe play was actually to go for it on 4th down, which the Pats did. The risky play was to kick the FG.