(05-26-2023, 01:07 PM)AnOldBrownie Wrote:

(05-26-2023, 11:31 AM)Dewboy01 Wrote: I see this as almost a lateral move for us, Riley was better from inside 40yds, 18 of 19 - while McManus was 10 of 13 from inside 40yds (I think inside 40yds should be automatic, not sure I like our new kicker missing 3 of those kicks last year).  Riley had a slightly better % from 50+ making 2 of 3, although we know McManus has the stronger leg and Doug didn't seem to have faith in Riley attempting long FGs.  I'm not sure the impact the new kickoff rules will have this season - would Riley kicking off to the 10 or 15 yard line end up being a fair catch and starting at the 25? Would that balance out the fact that McManus can drive the ball to the back of the end zone on kickoffs?  Guess we'll see....

How can you say a move that makes sure Logan Cooke never kicks off for us again is lateral?    If anything it lets Logan focus on punts only, while our kicker take every kickoff and tries to boom the ball out of the end zone every time.   I recently rewatched the Ratbird game...remember our final kickoff?   Fortunately they came up 5 yards short on the game winning field goal.

First. I said I see it as almost a lateral move.

Second - if you had bothered to read my entire post, you'd see where I question the impact of the new kickoff rules.  A high kickoff to the 10yd line might end up being more likely to be a fair catch in the upcoming season than to be returned, possibly resulting in more touchbacks for kickers that don't have the leg strength that McManus has.

Third - Logan Cooke kicked off one time last year. One Time. Even if Cooke had to handle kick off duties, I'm not convinced that would not allow him to focus on his punting lol. Also, in his 5 years in the league Cooke has kicked off 114 times resulting in 55 touchbacks (48%).  Riley kicked off 88 times last season resulting in 44 touchbacks (50%). 

For comparison, McManus had a touchback percentage of 70% last season, so yes that will definitely be an upgrade for us - depending on the impact of the new rule.  As with most kickers with big legs, I think we may lose a just a little accuracy on the shorter kicks but will gain the ability to hit longer FGs probably than we have ever been able to.

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