Concerns about the Kicking game
 

It appeared our Kicking Game suffered somewhat in todays game. Was it the weather, or just our Kickers period?

I have concerns about the height on Novack's kicks.Two kicks blocked in two games seems to be a first for us that I can remember. Our Punter makes us really miss Tupa for distance, and accuracy, makes me wonder why we didn't keep Groom.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

Groom wasn't doing jack in case you missed it.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

He doesn't get the ball up as much as he should. He hit a couple of nice ones, though, and the one on the penalty...did that one go through?? I couldn't tell, but if it did, he's worth working with. I do miss John Hall though.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

Well frost doesn't seem like much of an upgrade, but yeah I miss the hell outta Tupa. It seemed like we were constantly pinning people back inside the 20 with him from all over the field.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

yes i think the 50+ one went through that is amazing

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

It looked that it went through but it wasn't pretty....ball was spinning from side to side but that may be because he slowed down before kicking it. The announcers were also saying that the ball was getting soaked with so much water that it weighed it down....could that possibly be part of it? But Novak's gotta kick it higher...

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

anyone see in the cinci game tonight where this punter kicked a punt 70 yards, then it was called back, and he rekicked again and it only went for 30 yards lol. i'm glad we don't have those kind of problems, but our kicking game concerns me. nick novak has to start kicking field goals higher, because his are getting blocked too often. if he doesn't show improvement i think we should sign someone else.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

I wouldn't be suprised to see Novak on the street. Two blocks in two weeks? That's pretty poor -- his kicks seem to be fairly low.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

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.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

Hall should be back this week....thank you for your services Mr. Novak as you helped us to a 3-1 record (not sarcasm).

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

[QUOTE=Mattyk72]Groom wasn't doing jack in case you missed it.[/QUOTE]
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.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

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.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

Is it REALLY because his kicks are low or are we just saying that because they're getting blocked?

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

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.

Re: Concerns about the Kicking game
 

I hope he AND Walt Harris AND Springs are all back.