Pats Release Ryan Allen - Jake Bailey is the new punter

[Doctor DDS]

Gost only going 10/10 on XP's and 5/6 in FG's in the playoffs last year with two games in the cold and the one miss being a 46 yarder has certainly caused an awful lot of anxiety on this forum.

 

[catent]

Gost only going 10/10 on XP's and 5/6 in FG's in the playoffs last year with two games in the cold and the one miss being a 46 yarder has certainly caused an awful lot of anxiety on this forum.

C’mon. It’s disingenuous to omit the very cause of the this discussion which were two badly missed kicks this preseason, in fair weather conditions.

If Gostkowski has made those kicks this discussion wouldn’t be occurring.

 

[Pats Fanatic]

 

[TomPatriot]

BB does not know the meaning of the word, entitled.

That’s in part because he wasn’t.

 

[BTTA]

C’mon. It’s disingenuous to omit the very cause of the this discussion which were two badly missed kicks this preseason, in fair weather conditions.

If Gostkowski has made those kicks this discussion wouldn’t be occurring.

This conversation has been going on for months.

 

[catent]

This conversation has been going on for months.

Not to this extent.

It crops back up whenever he misses a kick at various points throughout the season but this offseason was largely crickets, and understandably so given how strong of a postseason he had.

Those two misses in the preseason (in fair weather conditions) were concerning. He missed both of them badly, too; the ball never looked "true", or like it had a chance, on either kick.

In aggregate, over the course of his career, Gostkowski is a very good kicker. But he's had his share of misses which will naturally draw attention and critique. This preseason is no different.

 

[Deus Irae]

Those two misses in the preseason (in fair weather conditions) were concerning.

They were? How many kickers did BB bring in after that second "concerning" miss?

 

[Zuma]

People forget or never knew what it was like to have a terrible or even average kicker. I don't give a flying frack if Gost makes all of his FG's by one inch...they still count as 3 points.

 

[Bruins29]

Gostkowski is a very good kicker.

Yes, like Randy Moss was a very good wide receiver.

 

[MainePatsFan26]

Maybe because he can Punt, KO, and do we see backup FG kicker in his future??

One of the skills that BB values the most in Ghost is the ability to pin offenses with a strong kickoff. If Jake Bailey can master the kickoff anywhere approaching Ghost's ability, does anyone see us finding a kicker who has less leg but more accuracy?

 

[MainePatsFan26]

People forget or never knew what it was like to have a terrible or even average kicker. I don't give a flying frack if Gost makes all of his FG's by one inch...they still count as 3 points.

Ghost has been a major factor in our success since 2006, as this chart demonstrates. My question is whether this past year of 84.4% will continue to trend down or is a blip (at least for Ghost) in an otherwise exceptional career.

 

[MainePatsFan26]

I would assume they think the skills are comparable with Bailey having the added bonuses of kickoff ability and the fact he is much cheaper.

I love the idea of extended hang time. Obviously, the football remaining in the air longer give us a chance to reach the returner much quicker. What I'm most excited about, though, is the prospect of returners getting panicked as they look to catch while surrounded by defenders. I can see Bailey giving us a few valuable turnovers across a season.

 

[moosekill]

I don’t mean to be mean, but from all the things posted here, there isn’t a more accurate kicker....... so sure if there was a more accurate kicker I am sure BB would get him, but since SG is the third most accurate kicker in league history, that may be kind of tough.

 

[moosekill]

And if you don’t know what fact means, Jesus how do you survive every day.

 

[Clonamery]

I don’t mean to be mean, but from all the things posted here, there isn’t a more accurate kicker....... so sure if there was a more accurate kicker I am sure BB would get him, but since SG is the third most accurate kicker in league history, that may be kind of tough.

At least we ain’t da Bears looking for a kicker:

Inside story of the Bears' wild kicker competition

 

[Doctor DDS]

Interested to see what Bailey can do. Have no numbers to back it up but I'd assume that the Pats have a higher percentage of punts closer to mid field than just about anyone so their need to really boom it has been much less than other teams. Part of what makes it so hard to evaluate punters on gross and net averages.

 

[BTTA]

Not to this extent.

It crops back up whenever he misses a kick at various points throughout the season but this offseason was largely crickets, and understandably so given how strong of a postseason he had.

Those two misses in the preseason (in fair weather conditions) were concerning. He missed both of them badly, too; the ball never looked "true", or like it had a chance, on either kick.

In aggregate, over the course of his career, Gostkowski is a very good kicker. But he's had his share of misses which will naturally draw attention and critique. This preseason is no different.

I think being concerned about two kicks in practice games, when the coaching staff has months to watch him, is below even Jets/Redskins/Raiders kind of competence. We simply don't have any real data that he's not doing as well as he has in the past.

 

[DarrylS]

Maybe we could have a sticky thread which highlights just how a great (and consistent) a kicker Gostkowski has been.

Criticising a player for missing, without paying attention to the context of what we should reasonably expect is ludicrous. Seems to be turning into something of a virus.

The way sports message boards work, sometimes intelligently, but more often hysterically....

 

[Joker]

I could see the laces on the ball that Gost missed the FG on,,FWIW

 

[Deus Irae]

I could see the laces on the ball that Gost missed the FG on,,FWIW

Bailey had better get that whole holding the football for the kicker thing fixed, or he'll become the old punter in a hurry.