Pick a kicker!

S

stanzimanzi

Member
I don't post much and I know Coach Ferentz shouldn't be questioned but he said that they are going to rotate kickers again during the season. Can he just pick one and be done.

Man up and pick one before the first game.
 
Well I would rather go back to what we did in 2008, when Mossbrucker handled stuff inside of 40 yards, and Murray was brought in for longer attempts. I at least prefer that to giving Murray the job outright (unless he's made serious improvement, which seems doubtful if the job is still up for grabs). Mossbrucker didn't miss easy FG's in 2008, only blowing 2 PAT's (though I think not getting to kick the game winner against PSU may have had something to do with that). If he's got his game back, then no question, I want him kicking FG's. Murray will always be a hero for what he did against PSU. But if he can't become consistent, then we need to find someone who can.
 
I suspect they will rotate kickers for the first few games and then stick with one for the rest of the season. I'm hoping one of them shows consistency in camp and wins the job outright.
 
The kickers aren't great - kind of a weakness - but Murray should be an all-time great for what he did at home v. Penn State. It could be a problem.
 
Mossbrucker. 1/2 of Murray's MADE kicks were low line drive ducks. Even before last year i though Mossbrucker was the better kicker. I was surprised Murray was choosen to kick the game winner vs. PSU in 2008.
 
Mossbrucker will never have a strong enough leg to be a fulltime kicker. Johnie will help with kickoffs, which should help next year when we lose Murray's stronger leg. But I wouldn't be surprised if a young guy didn't come and push Mossbrucker next year.

As far as Murray's line drive form, that is actually advantagious for long kicks in cold and/or windy weather. See Adam Vinateri. But it would be nice if he could learn how to chip.

To use a golf analogy, we have one guy who can crank a two-iron, but is shaky around a green. And another guy who has a great short game, but takes too many stokes to be able to use it.

If it was me, I would enlist the help of a full time kicking coach for the next month and see if he couldn't improve either or both guys in their area of weakness.
 
It will be hard to forgive Murray missing a 22-yarder last year against OSU to ruin a Rose Bowl berth.
 
Murray missed alot of big kicks last year. If i remeber right he also missed one in the Northwestern and UNI games.
 
Look--I don't expect them to make every kick throughout the year. I just don't want to see them flip flopping kickers in the game. Get one of them in a groove and comfortable and leave it alone. What I don't want to see is this:
Game winning kick at Arizona
"Well, who's turn is it? Get in there!"
 
CAARHawk said:
Mossbrucker will never have a strong enough leg to be a fulltime kicker. Johnie will help with kickoffs, which should help next year when we lose Murray's stronger leg. But I wouldn't be surprised if a young guy didn't come and push Mossbrucker next year.

As far as Murray's line drive form, that is actually advantagious for long kicks in cold and/or windy weather. See Adam Vinateri. But it would be nice if he could learn how to chip.

To use a golf analogy, we have one guy who can crank a two-iron, but is shaky around a green. And another guy who has a great short game, but takes too many stokes to be able to use it.

If it was me, I would enlist the help of a full time kicking coach for the next month and see if he couldn't improve either or both guys in their area of weakness.
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I understand what you're saying, but it's not like Murray was trying to line drive those field goal attempts on purpose. Not the case at all. He is a block waiting to happen on many of his kicks. He has just gotten lucky so far.

Second, I watched Mossbrucker during the spring practice. His leg is just as strong as Murray's right now. He was hitting 45 yard field goals with room to spare. The redshirt year helped him out quite a bit with his strength. He still needs more accuracy on his kicks over 40 yards. But that's the case with Murray as well.

I'm sure we will have a better idea of who will be the kicker after the August practice.
 
i don't think using the words "in a groove" when referring to a kicker makes any sense. they're not like running backs who go in every time we have the ball. they could kick an extra point 3 minutes into the game and not be asked to do anything again until its game winning kick time. i guess i just don't see a kicker getting in a "groove" during a game
 
I anticipate that Iowa will be okay, but not great, when it comes to PATs and FGs.

The biggest question, in my estimation, concerns kick-offs. Over the past 2 years, we've given away too much yardage due to poor kicks. It would help us A LOT as a team if we can get more touchbacks ... or at least have kick-offs that hang in the air longer.
 
homerHAWKeye777 said:
I anticipate that Iowa will be okay, but not great, when it comes to PATs and FGs.

The biggest question, in my estimation, concerns kick-offs. Over the past 2 years, we've given away too much yardage due to poor kicks. It would help us A LOT as a team if we can get more touchbacks ... or at least have kick-offs that hang in the air longer.
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Johnny Mullins will correct this problem this year. He can kick the ball into the end zone almost every time.
 
ArizonaHawkeye88 said:
Johnny Mullins will correct this problem this year. He can kick the ball into the end zone almost every time.
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Of course, a whole other element of the kicking game is consistency. It's one thing to kick it into the end zone almost every time ... it's quite another to direct the ball where you need it to go too ... the guys running down the field in coverage expect the ball to land in roughly a particular place. If the kicks are inconsistent with regard to placement ... that can throw off the coverage team.
 
stanzimanzi said:
I don't post much and I know Coach Ferentz shouldn't be questioned but he said that they are going to rotate kickers again during the season. Can he just pick one and be done.

Man up and pick one before the first game.
Click to expand...

This is just the kind of controversy that could sink the ship this year. Some team members lining up with Murray, others taking Mossbrucker's side. I just don't like the smell of this whole thing. Ferentz ought to show some real leadership for once and pick a kicker.
 
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