cpayne5
10-10-2005, 09:54 AM
Groom wasn't doing jack in case you missed it.
lol
Anyway, Novak hasn't been straight up awful. He's had a couple blocked kicks, but he seems to be pretty accurate otherwise. IMO, he's A LOT better than everybody else out on the street. I'd pick him over some everyday starting kickers too.
BrudLee
10-10-2005, 09:56 AM
I find it difficult to beat up either the kicker or punter for poor performances in that weather yesterday. As Bill Maas (repeatedly) said, the ball gets much heavier in the rain, minimizing any benefit the altitude gives them. Novak also took a pop on kickoff coverage, which made all his kicks the sports equivalent of miracles.
TheMalcolmConnection
10-10-2005, 10:21 AM
Is it REALLY because his kicks are low or are we just saying that because they're getting blocked?
Schneed10
10-10-2005, 11:07 AM
Doesn't matter. John Hall will be healthy real soon and Novak will get dropped. Knowing Gibbs' propensity for relying on veterans, I don't think Novak ever had a real shot to permanently replace Hall, whether he was perfect on all attempts or not.
Hall is clutch. He makes the pressure kicks. I think Gibbs knows that and wouldn't make the mistake of getting rid of him. Hopefully he's back this week.
TheMalcolmConnection
10-10-2005, 11:11 AM
I hope he AND Walt Harris AND Springs are all back.
I wouldn't be surprised if Hall is the one that gets dropped soon.
This quad problem has been ongoing for a year now, it's probably unlikely that it will completely resolve and not be a problem again.
Dumping him will be a tough decision, but we might not have a choice.
SmootSmack
10-10-2005, 02:17 PM
Is it REALLY because his kicks are low or are we just saying that because they're getting blocked?
I thought even his game winning kick against the Seahawks looked low. It was like a line drive
TheMalcolmConnection
10-10-2005, 02:19 PM
Hmmm. If that's the case I'm REALLY hoping Hall is ready soon...
RiggosRanger
10-10-2005, 02:59 PM
The block against Seattle was a missed blocking assignment. Don't know about this week.
But the kid hit a 53 yarder (would have given us enough to win--negated by a false start), hit one in the first half, and then a big one in the rain in the 4th quarter. Oh, and he won the game against Seattle, even though he had to kick twice. And he made the tackle against Dallas. And he had a tackle in this game.
For a rookie, he's done the job.
I agree, for a rookie he's done pretty well. He even improved on his kickoff distance this week, which has been a knock in previous games.
His previous short kickoffs were reportedly done on purpose according to Gibbs. Something about kicking them short and high to allow the coverage to get down quicker.