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Originally posted by wu-dai clan
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Lol. He better be David Blaine -
Here's something that puzzles me. Why hasn't Telesco ever drafted a kicker? Given the chronic kicking problems the chargers always seem to have, I would think it would be a priority. Kickers are pretty important and often they lead their team in scoring. Of the nine kickers who had 90+ percent success rate on FGs in 2020, 5 were drafted and 4 were not. The 5 were drafted between the 5th and 7th rounds. The Bengals were the only team to draft a kicker this year: Evan McPherson out of Florida in the 5th #149. Telesco did bring in competition for M. Badger among the UDFAs, Alex Kessman out of Pitt. He's 6-3 and has powerful leg (which M. Badger lacks) but he wasn't that great in college - hitting under 73 percent of his FGs in college. He hit 12/18 from 50+ in four years at Pitt. M. Badger's success rate on long FGs is abysmal (as we all have suffered through). But I don't know if Kessman will beat out M. Badger if he isn't consistent from all distances.
The Bengals draft pick McPherson was 51/60 (.850) on FG attempts in three seasons at Florida and was 149/150 on XPs. I don't know if that makes him the best kicking prospect in the draft this year, but he was the only one drafted. It seems to me that 6th and 7th rounders are often throw-away picks. It seems to me it is worth it to draft a kicker if there are a few on the board that really stand out and seem like a pretty sure thing.Comment
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Looks like the last kicker the Chargers drafted was a Kurt Smith in 2006. I don't know why they bothered, since they had drafted Nate Kaeding in 2004.Originally posted by Velo View Post
BTW, Nick Novak was still kicking in the minor leagues through last season. He played in the Alliance of American Football in 2019 until it folded during its first season, and then the XFL last season, with the same result:
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Clearly you underestimate the extraordinary powers of Staley.Originally posted by jamrock View PostWe do not play modern football.Comment
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Chiefs won the Superbowl with 10 Rookies....
"Locked, Cocked, and ready to Rock!" Jim Harbaugh
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They are probably more reasons than what I can think of but here are some:Originally posted by Velo View Post
1. You don't have to draft a kicker. There was one (1) kicker drafted this year. You can sign any other kicker out there. Yeah, 6th and 7th rounders are often throw aways, but even a 5% chance they become a solid starter or a 10% chance they become a solid contributor through depth isn't worth a pick when your can sign even the second best kicker as a UDFA.
2. There is a lot of variation between kickers year over year. The Chargers attempted 33 field goals last season, their opponents attempted 32. Each kick is about 3% of the sample size so one or two fluke kicks makes a kicker look good or bad and it's hard to evaluate true talent level. You even pointed out several kickers who were inconsistent or bad with the Chargers who have gone on to have success elsewhere. This shows it's probably not a talent issue.
3. It probably doesn't make a ton of difference. When you combine points one and two, you reach point three. Most guys who will be brought in will be within percentage points of each other and it's such a small sample and field goals are only worth 3 points and extra points are only worth one, so one year it might cost you 12 points or get you 12 points. An extra 2 TDs over a season are just worth more and it's easier to figure out how much of that is luck and how much is talent.
4. Teams are going for it more on 4th down. Field goal attempts are going to go down and further devalue the place kicker.
I'm talking about the difference between the above average kicker to the below average kicker. An upgrade from total crap to the best kicker is good, but unless you are drafting an all time great kicker, there's virtually no difference between kickers. It's just 99% luck. Let's not forget we've seen plenty of drafted kickers bust, so it's not like you are guaranteeing a better kicker by drafting one.Last edited by eaterfan; 05-03-2021, 08:18 AM.Comment
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On the other hand, Houston DID have 8 sacks last year...not bad for an old man...looks like he still has some gas left in the tank...Originally posted by Panamamike View Post
houston stats.JPGComment
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Not really concerned about what he did last year. I'd be concerned about what he's going to be able to do going forward. Aging players production tends to fall off a cliff not a gradual decline.Originally posted by Topcat View PostComment
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Thats the (3-4) million dollar question - what veteran at this point at the older age has the gas still in the tank to make them worth the moneyOriginally posted by Panamamike View Post
Granted, there should be analytics out there that show by position where players decline
It seems RB and CB post 30 - its a big deal. Something like OL or IDL, might not be as much/ But hopefully the Chargers have the analytics to show it
Chargers did sign Fackrell so the need for Edge might not be as much as say another DB and more OL depth. The depth right now at OL - off the top of my head is: Pipkins, Q'berry, Storm, St. Louis, Gilliam and Haimes. Kind of hoping Telesco spends a couple million on a better veteran for depth.
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Quitter. This team is as SB worthy as any Charger team. Onward!Originally posted by eaterfan View Post“Less is more? NO NO NO - MORE is MORE!”Comment
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The Chargers, per OTC have just over $20m of cap space. If you take out the $10-11m needed to sign the rookies, the practice squad and an in-season slush fund, that leaves $9-10m. So, yes, they have funds to sign the RIGHT player. And granted, if you sign a player for $2.5 - the net to the cap is really $1.8m. So they have some good spaceOriginally posted by Topcat View Post
Justin Houston, soon to be 33 years old - not at 8-10m for me. Maybe 5-6 - but I just think he will go to the Ravens - been linked to them a couple weeks.
I think the Chargers would be wise to try to roll at least half of that 9-10m - call it the Herbert Fund.Comment
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