The kicking game
 

HB says that our kicking game is atrocious and we may lose "a few" games over it.

This pisses me off. How does a so-called major program not attend to something like this?

I think Utah fans might relate to this.

Well, we have given a scholarship to a kicker, a punter and a long-snapper. I think we've tried to address it.

P.S. HB Arnett is one part part reporter and two parts chicken little.

so you're saying that our kicking game is going to be ok?

It depends on what you mean by "OK". If OK is better than atrocious, then yes.

is terrible better than atrocious? I don't want to play semantics with you.

is the kicking game ok? or is it going to suck?

Punting will be better than last year. Placekicking will be worse (we were 14 for 18 last year). We will probably be about average overall.

I would have to agree with you here. I have never subscribed to his newsletter, but my brother used too. He is definitely a half cup empty guy.

This Payne kid was supposed to be all world. Well, I guess right now he isn't. What happened to the kid from St. George, did he go on a mission.

To tell you the truth, I am far more worried about our D-Line depth.

Half cup empty compared to avg BYU fan. A little overly optimistic compared to actual outcomes.

You should hear what Arnett has to say about the DL. He is talking about moving guys off the OL to play DL.

My only expectations are that the kicking team is 100% on extra points, 100% on FG's < 25 yards and around 70% on FG's between 25 and 40 yards. Anything else is gravy.

So Payne Jr. is more of a head case than Payne Sr.?

Maybe Payne Jr. can parlay bad practice into excellent game-time performance.

I hate special teams; I never felt like they were an important part of the game until my Sr. year in High School when I found out first hand how important they were:

We lost games because of:
1) Punt Return for a TD
2) Missed Extra Point (after a Hail Mary, last second TD pass)
3) Kickoff Return for a TD

We also won a game on a last second FG set up by a 50 yard kick return.

Having said that, the kicking game can be a bit of a crap shoot. Kicking is so much more mental than most people realize. Payne was a great kicker/punter until Boise State. I think our kicking game will struggle, but having expectations like YOhio's are reasonable and if we can hit those goals, we should be fine.

Michael..... you shouldn't be reading HB during sacrament meeting!

Yeah, esp. when the talks are half-decent.

Anything beyond 35 yards out is going to be an adventure this year.

Although we usually are decent in the kicking game, we are for the most part below average in the rest of the special teams department. Any kickoff-or punt I just cross my fingers hoping something bad doesn't happen. I think it boils down to our lack of "athleticism" in the return game. Returns are more instinctive and there are not as many schemes to hide our weaknesses. Our offense and defense is built behind our strengths.... when it comes to returns our overall athleticism is exposed. I think Bronco should just go for it everytime, like he is playing NCAA football on play station. (that's what I do)

if defensing punts and kickoff returns is something to worry about, how does this season differ from any other BYU season?

I'm used to holding my breath everytime we are in that situation. We're the only fans in the world to be relieved by the opposition's 40 yard kickoff return.

I used to, too, until NCAA 06. Then I noticed if you go for it and don't get the 1st, the computer seems to punish you by scoring easily. If I punt, I stop the computer on their next possession.

Weird, but that's what I've seen.

You would think with all the white guys we recruit with 4.3 speed we would have nothing to worry about :)

06 was when they implimented the "Momentum Meter" wasn't it?

I hate that damn thing... unless I've got the momentum, in which case I'm tough to beat.

I was paying close attention to Brian Smith this morning and I thought he looked pretty good... cj santiago has great hang time on his punts and john pace was a great deep snapper.....

Thanks for the info. If you are wrong, you will be sorry!

:)

I am not worried about punting, its placekicking that has me concerned.

The 4 misses are what killed us last year, 3 in the BC game.

That and Beck's ankles, as well as him not finding "it" for another 3 weeks.

Wasn't there one in the Arizona game?

Yeah i didnt want to mention that because then people would talk about how he didnt miss after the first 3 games. How come he couldnt hit one in BC nad miss against Wyo?

I will admit the kicks against BC were all very long.

I was sitting in the BC endzone when the ball hit the upright. That game could have been great.