So, this is probably the best I've felt about a NYG roster going into a new season for about as long as I can remember. Yeah, we have a few weaknesses - we don't have the best OL, our LB's aren't the strongest group, and our group of RB's have a lot to prove...
But I'm a little leery of the PK situation.
I watched the Bucs spend a 2nd rd pick on Aguayo and saw games where the kid looked like he had the yips and couldn't make a kick. If you're spending a 2nd rd pick on a kicker, the guy better be a machine.
Now, Rosas wasn't drafted - he was a UDFA signed and waived by Tennessee last year.
I know there's been positive press on him. The Giants seem to really like his leg. But until game situations come into play, you really don't know.
I'm just slightly nervous about what could happen if he doesn't pan out and we're left scrambling to find someone off the scrap heap. The last thing I want to see is a guy like Randy Bullock lining up for a game deciding kick at the gun.
Robbie Gould isn't the greatest PK at this point but I felt at least relatively confident most times he lined up to kick a FG last year as long as the distance was reasonable.
I'm not going nuts over this, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least a tiny bit uneasy about the kicking game here. It does matter and can cost a team games during the year.
Is my skepticism unwarranted?
I cover this in my special teams preview that will be out tomorrow. It's an issue because a season can be wrecked (or saved) by a kicker.
Hell, Gould wasn't very good last year, but he was serviceable. At any point in time, there are up to a dozen PK's with a fair amount of experience that aren't on a team, so grabbing one if needed isn't a problem.
Rosas probably has more upside than any kicker we've had in awhile, and one of the strongest legs in recent years.
Your feelings regarding Rosas are definitely warranted. The Giants 'recent' success and failures show the importance of a good kicking unit (Tynes vs Junkin).
That said, you can often find a 'steady' vet that can at least hit FGs <45 yards after the final cuts. Not ideal, and you might need to carry a 3rd P/K for KOs, but not the end of the world.
Also, the Giants seem to be good at developing kickers and shipping them out of town. Matt Bryant and McManus come to mind but I think there might be someone else I'm forgetting.
Anyway, we'll have a better idea after some preseason games and if need be you fall back on the handful of K's with experience who are usually sitting around waiting for a team.
Well, he was 20-23 on XPA (87%) so he fouled up on a bunch of those. And his 2 misses against Chicago almost cost them that game.
Also hard to know if he never attempted a FG >47 yards because of a lack of trust in him or because McAdoo wanted to ride the D and pin teams inside their own 20.
Giants were also near the bottom (25th) in touchback percentage, so he wasn't strong in that department either.
TB% - ( New Window )
I think I'm just worried about what that group will look like in the event that Rosas isn't a guy we can trust.
After the Matt Dodge fiasco (albeit, as a punter), I think I'm just a bit scarred and worry about special teams being a problem.
at that point, we wouldn't be any worse off than last year when we signed Gould. Gould was steady but that's about it. There will be guys available who can do what Gould did, easily.
Yes, you'd rather have the great one. But most teams have decent kickers - are they really that much better than the awful ones?
If K is the biggest problem child position on the team this year I will be a very happy camper.
The positives are that the Giants have a great track record at finding young quality kickers. We just never kept them. Also, kickers don't need ro come in and learn new plays or anything like that. They can come in a week before the season starts and get used to the snapper and holder and all is good. It is better to be patient right now and see what this kid has. If he gives us any doubt then we start exploring our options.
I think I'm just worried about what that group will look like in the event that Rosas isn't a guy we can trust.
After the Matt Dodge fiasco (albeit, as a punter), I think I'm just a bit scarred and worry about special teams being a problem.
It's likely someone on Gould's level will be available.
Or there's always Josh Brown
To be fair, it was very windy that day. No excuses but you have to keep that in mind.
kicker is 1 of the biggest "concerns". if he sucks in preseason, they'll sign a vet. they like/trust him, so that leaves me cautiously optimistic.
The positives are that the Giants have a great track record at finding young quality kickers. We just never kept them. Also, kickers don't need ro come in and learn new plays or anything like that. They can come in a week before the season starts and get used to the snapper and holder and all is good. It is better to be patient right now and see what this kid has. If he gives us any doubt then we start exploring our options.
There's no viable alternative right now, this is just the bed we made.
It may well be a complete non-issue. Rosas might turn out to be really solid.
My point is - I worry about what we're going to be left choosing from if he's not.
I actually think we were fortunate to even get a guy like Gould when we did last year. Gould is obviously nothing special but I shudder to think what a season could turn into if we were forced to have a guy like Bullock lining up to kick in crucial situations.
with the kicker position, a viable alternative is almost always available. Hell, last year, we started the season with Brown, signed Bullock, then Gould and were fine.
And that's with Gould being worse than the average kicker on made %, touchbacks and average opponent starting position.
I'm not sure how the bed is any more unmade than it was last year.
Look at the list of available kickers right now. It's ugly. Dan Carpenter is the best you'll get.
Ask the Vikings if kickers matter or not. Blair Walsh ruined their 2015 season. I'd prefer not to see the same happen here.
You can point and say that Gould didn't directly lose any games for us because he didn't miss any critical FG's, but he wasn't really called on to make any.
The previous year, Brown went 30-32 on FG's and yet a missed FG in the Jets game cost us a win.
Even in a worst case, we are going to get a guy who is 80% or better on FG's and misses a couple of XP's. Carpenter can do that. Gould can do that. Pretty much any vet can do that.
if the people who's actual livelihood is tied to the giants success didn't feel the need to sign a veteran - it should be taken as a good sign.
"He's got nice size, a nice strong leg and he's been highly accurate since he's been here," special teams coach Tom Quinn said of Rosas last week. "He's very coachable, so he's been very good to work with."
Good things.
if the people who's actual livelihood is tied to the giants success didn't feel the need to sign a veteran - it should be taken as a good sign.
"He's got nice size, a nice strong leg and he's been highly accurate since he's been here," special teams coach Tom Quinn said of Rosas last week. "He's very coachable, so he's been very good to work with."
Good things.
I agree.
- Matt Dodge
if the people who's actual livelihood is tied to the giants success didn't feel the need to sign a veteran - it should be taken as a good sign.
"He's got nice size, a nice strong leg and he's been highly accurate since he's been here," special teams coach Tom Quinn said of Rosas last week. "He's very coachable, so he's been very good to work with."
Good things.
Am I really coming off like I'm insanely worried about this?
It's July 20th, we're about a week away from camp, and I had just randomly been musing over our PK situation so I brought it up to see what other people thought.
Apparently my concerns are unwarranted.
I was just curious as to what other people thought. The odds of a kicker wrecking our season is slim, but it's still important to have a guy you can trust because there are situations where kickers can directly lose you games.
We were fortunate last year in that we pretty much never needed Robbie Gould to win us a football game with his leg. I can't recall him having to line up for a whole lot of high pressure kicks late in games but maybe it's just slipping my memory.
or maybe Rosas is the next Mcmanus/Boswell - guys we let go of for the "solid vet"
We've all seen how a kicker can ruin a game, and in a tight division like the NFC East- every win seems hard-earned.
in someone like him. My guess is that at some point,
they bring in a vet. to compete. I don't have a problem
with an UDFA, just do your job.
I wanted them to keep McManus when he was here, but they kept
somebody named Brown. I could see his potential, and loved that strong leg.
This was well before the hoopla ensued, just saying.
Quote:
McManus and the Pitt kicker would've been nice ....
.
I wanted them to keep McManus when he was here, but they kept
somebody named Brown. I could see his potential, and loved that strong leg.
This was well before the hoopla ensued, just saying.
McManus did struggle, I believe 2014 ... hindsight's 20/20 I guess
who knows - maybe Rosas is on par with those guys and they have a kicker for the next decade.
empty backfield:
Marshall Shepard OL Ellison Engram Odell
because why the ffff not