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The “Scottish Hammer”….

AD-Blaze : 10/3/2022 9:41 am
What an absolute left leg this guy has on him. An absolute weapon so far these first 4 weeks of the season.
Disagree  
Mike in NY : 10/3/2022 9:42 am : link
There were two touchbacks which gave Chicago room to opperate when a better punter would have knocked it out of bounds inside the 10.
RE: Disagree  
AG5686 : 10/3/2022 9:45 am : link
In comment 15843617 Mike in NY said:
Quote:
There were two touchbacks which gave Chicago room to opperate when a better punter would have knocked it out of bounds inside the 10.

Agreed but if they can teach him how to angle his punts...he can become a real weapon
He’s  
Straw Hat : 10/3/2022 9:45 am : link
Hit or miss for me. Definitely has a huge leg, but doesnt seem to have the touch to pin them. Too many touchbacks. I like him a lot more than riley dixon though.
Mixed feelings at best right now  
Osi Osi Osi OyOyOy : 10/3/2022 9:47 am : link
Huge leg and came through with a clutch big boy punt yesterday, but overall he seems to only have one mode and that’s just “boot it”.

He’s not Dodge but unless he changes it up, it’s only a matter of time until we give up a PR TD.
A top level QB with a strong arm  
Daniel in MI : 10/3/2022 9:48 am : link
has to learn touch, you can’t send a rocket at a TE standing 5 yards away.

The SH needs to learn to lay up, back spin, or hit the corner sometimes. It was really nice that he could bang it when needed, though.
...  
SFGFNCGiantsFan : 10/3/2022 9:51 am : link
We could do better. Big time.
and being Scottish.......  
thrunthrublue : 10/3/2022 9:55 am : link
cold rain/snow driving wind, is a beach day in Scotland. That left footed spin can cause mishaps in the return game so all in on the hammer!
If he could refine his technique, he could absolutely be a weapon  
Greg from LI : 10/3/2022 9:56 am : link
Legs like his don't grow on trees. When he outkicks his coverage, however, or kicks touchbacks, he's not helping them.
Those two touchbacks were awful  
Essex : 10/3/2022 9:58 am : link
there was absolutely no attempt to angle that ball. I would rather a punter get 10 yards less and kick it where he is supposed to kick it than what happened there.
Anyone pining for  
M.S. : 10/3/2022 10:16 am : link

our last punter?

I didn't think so.
even when they showed  
Tom from LI : 10/3/2022 10:19 am : link
him punting from behind and he was angling it... it still went in the middle of the field.

Taylor had the best punt pinning the Bears at the 4 yard line with that interception.
I'm pining for Jeff Feagles. This new guy does have a great leg and  
Ira : 10/3/2022 10:21 am : link
that's important. But I'll be impressed when he learns to control where he places the ball.
He’s got massive potential  
mattlawson : 10/3/2022 10:24 am : link
Really like his power. Needs some finesse training with Jeff but he’s a major upgrade over our last punter. Definitely a strength
He's worlds better than Riley Dixon but he isn't an elite punter  
steve in ky : 10/3/2022 10:26 am : link
.
On Big Blue Kickoff, Feagles tried to coach him up during camp.  
Ivan15 : 10/3/2022 10:32 am : link
He didn’t say it, but I gathered that it didn’t go that well.

He was probably thinking “who is this guy Feagles?”
RE: Disagree  
islander1 : 10/3/2022 10:35 am : link
In comment 15843617 Mike in NY said:
Quote:
There were two touchbacks which gave Chicago room to operate when a better punter would have knocked it out of bounds inside the 10.


Yeah, he's really not good. Most punters these days have the leg to outkick coverage - which is really unhelpful.

give me a punter who can consistently put it out on the 10 from midfield instead.
RE: RE: Disagree  
Jimmy Googs : 10/3/2022 10:40 am : link
In comment 15843738 islander1 said:
Quote:
In comment 15843617 Mike in NY said:


Quote:


There were two touchbacks which gave Chicago room to operate when a better punter would have knocked it out of bounds inside the 10.



Yeah, he's really not good. Most punters these days have the leg to outkick coverage - which is really unhelpful.

give me a punter who can consistently put it out on the 10 from midfield instead.


Agree.

With our offense being so challenged, it is crucial for the Punter to get them pinned deep a few times per game.

Have to be able to give the Defense a chance to be aggressive and turn over a short field back to the offense.

Cannot stand to see our punter boot it into the end zone, and also for oour moron Kickoff returners take balls out of the end zone and get tackled on the 15 yard line. Just idiotic...
Just the opposite  
larryflower37 : 10/3/2022 10:55 am : link
I haven't feared a punter like this in a while.
Yes that was a big kick yesterday but every time he punts I am not sure he knows where it's going.
We definitely need an upgrade.
To put some stats on it,  
Mad Mike : 10/3/2022 11:02 am : link
Gillam is 29th worst in the league in touchback %, and 24th worst in getting it inside the 20. He's 4th in gross average, so as others have noted, the leg strength is clearly there, but the placement has left something to be desired.
Placement is way more important for a punter  
widmerseyebrow : 10/3/2022 11:04 am : link
But the situation at the end of the game was perfect for the Hammer: No need to worry about keeping it inside the opposite 20, just hit it as hard as you can.
Is he much different than Matt Dodge?  
Greg from LI : 10/3/2022 11:11 am : link
You may not remember, but Dodge's gross average was rather good - 44.8 yards. His problem wasn't leg strength either, it was a complete lack of directional punting skills.
He probably belongs in a football version of Major League  
widmerseyebrow : 10/3/2022 11:14 am : link
.
punt  
Archer : 10/3/2022 11:21 am : link
One thing I noticed about his punts are that come off his foot and they wobble. It is not a conventional spiral and it rotates to the right. This makes it difficult to catch.

The returners look uncertain when they are catching the ball.
RE: punt  
Fat Wally : 10/3/2022 11:30 am : link
In comment 15843833 Archer said:
Quote:
One thing I noticed about his punts are that come off his foot and they wobble. It is not a conventional spiral and it rotates to the right. This makes it difficult to catch.

The returners look uncertain when they are catching the ball.


THIS! We've already recovered 2 muffed punts this year that have contributed to victories. The left footed thing is a real weapon. Remember when Washington had Tress Way and we used to bring in Left footed punters to practice catching?
He's a good holder so far  
upnyg : 10/3/2022 11:33 am : link
Im fine with him. Lets focus on tackling the returners and staying in lanes
Why can't the Giants bring in Feagles  
Simms11 : 10/3/2022 12:11 pm : link
to work with him on his touch and coffin-corner kicks.
I'm not impressed.  
Red Dog : 10/3/2022 1:43 pm : link
Remembering great GIANTS punters like Dave Jennings, Sean Landetta, and Jeff Feagles, and other very solid ones like Don Chandler, Tom Blanchard, and Mike Horan, who was actually better than most gave him credit for being, makes me yearn for somebody who really understands the punting game and can put the ball where it needs to be, not just boot it to the moon.

Right now the GIANTS punting game is a mess both ways.
I remember some prime time game  
OBJ_AllDay : 10/3/2022 4:51 pm : link
The giants played in where Rodney Williams had a 90 yard punt. Wild. If he keeps making returners drop the ball I'm ok with him not being able to coffin corner it.
I said this a month ago  
Snablats : 10/3/2022 5:25 pm : link
He just needs to learn how to punt it out of bounds like they used to do. Take your 45-50 net yards and no returns
Scottish Hammer will bring his best next week in UK.  
Kev in Cali : 10/3/2022 5:32 pm : link
I'd be surprised if his kicks next week aren't longer. I'll take the bigger leg all day long.
RE: Anyone pining for  
Gatorade Dunk : 10/3/2022 5:59 pm : link
In comment 15843700 M.S. said:
Quote:

our last punter?

I didn't think so.

This needs to stop being the measuring stick, IMO.

Being better than the previous punter on a team that has been the worst in football over the past several years is not a sufficient validation, IMO. Being good enough that you can look at a player and say that he (or a reasonable facsimile) is the player you'd expect on the team you aspire to be, is how you get to be that team that you want to be.

I don't care if we're better than awful in a particular spot. I want to be genuinely good in those spots. That's how you become a contender. And I recognize that even the contending teams are going to have weaknesses, as will we if/when the Giants are contenders again.

Gillan, for example, is the sort of player that I look at and say, "he's better than the last guy, he's good enough for right now, but he'd be a weakness on a good team unless he improves in certain areas." By contrast, Andrew Thomas is someone I look at and say, "he's a stud in spite of how mediocre this team seems to be right now, and I'm confident that he'd genuinely be a stud on any team."

The fact that there even is a thread lauding Gillan's contribution thus far actually says more to me about where this team currently is than it does about Gillan. This isn't a genuinely good team yet. And if it was, Gillan (as is) would be one of the liabilities, not one of the assets.
I feel like his talent is worth trying to coach up  
j_rud : 10/3/2022 6:17 pm : link
for a team in a rebuild. If you have a chance to develop an elite punter who can impact field position and win those hidden yards while you work on the rest of the roster I think you take it.
He seems decent but  
SomeFan : 10/3/2022 8:55 pm : link
it does look like he connects with the ball pretty low to the ground. I would not want that to create punt blocking opportunities.
You cannot overlook the fact that he kick with  
DefenseWins : 10/3/2022 9:13 pm : link
His left leg….

It is a bit of an advantage for us. The ball spins in the opposite direction and does cause some issues on the receiving end. I would bet the opponent has to reverse the spin on the jugs machine leading up to a game bs the giants.

The Chicago punt returner mishandled the punt when he attempted to catch it. No way to know for sure if it was due to the spin or if he just took his eyes off of it.

I remember this was a thing back when we had Joe prokop in camp in the early 90s. He did some jail time a few years ago too
The Hammer's stats  
D HOS : 10/3/2022 10:17 pm : link
Fourth best in punt average, but near the bottom in net avg. That's a guy who outkicks his coverage. Last year he was near the bottom in both.

He needs to figure out how to loft it, spin it and just lay it down inside the 10. I'll take a guy who aces directional punting and can loft a nice long arc over a guy who only booms it. When he refines those skills, then we will really have something. Potentially a deadly punter who can place kick and can also lay out a returner.

His wikipedia page says "During a pre-draft workout, he reportedly popped three regulation-size NFL footballs." Wow!
That's a good point about being a lefty  
D HOS : 10/3/2022 10:18 pm : link
If he can kick a ball that is hard to catch, even better.
Dude that can bang them like he can that’s a lefty is an asset with a  
Returning Video Tapes : 10/3/2022 10:24 pm : link
coach that actually is going to go for it on other side of the 50 the majority of the time. Not sure if it’s directional skills or our coverage team that sucks (and after watching multiple guys get penalized for running out of bounds I’m leaning latter) but that needs to be figure out.
RE: RE: Disagree  
bradshaw44 : 10/3/2022 11:15 pm : link
In comment 15843620 AG5686 said:
Quote:
In comment 15843617 Mike in NY said:


Quote:


There were two touchbacks which gave Chicago room to opperate when a better punter would have knocked it out of bounds inside the 10.


Agreed but if they can teach him how to angle his punts...he can become a real weapon


Definitely miss a Jeff Feagles coffin corner kicks. Good punters are tuff to find.
He had one good kick yesterday when they really needed it  
Matt M. : 10/4/2022 3:27 am : link
That also was easily his best kick of the young season. But, overall, so far, I am not impressed. He has no ability for directional kicking, corner kicks, getting backspin/bounce to pin a team deep, etc. His deep kicks don't have enough air under them, so the returners can set up decent returns.

He certainly has potential, but he isn't a great one yet. He's a decent P who has a high ceiling and is an improvement over out inconsistent previous punter.
The other question I have  
Mike in NY : 10/4/2022 3:57 am : link
We didn’t have any holder issues last year and the LS and K are the same. Did Kreiter forget how to snap or was Dixon just better at adjusting to bad snaps so as not to change Gano’s rhythm?
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