Lost In The Madness of Losing: Graham Gano

While all of us were (and some still are) upset about losing to the Cowboys, one thing that many would have been highlighting had we won that game was the play of Gano.

He was 3/4 on field goals, and the only one he missed wasn't his fault. Additionally he had a 50 yard field goal to tie the game!

I know a lot of people have taken issue with him for missing a chip shot earlier in the season and nearly ALL of us probably said "oh lord" when he lined up from 50, but he deserves at least a little praise even though we didn't win.

Here is to Graham Gano, proving himself this week.

I think Gano did exceptionally well. I think if we had been able to get to at least the 35 yards line on the last drive of the game, he would have nailed it.

Yeah I agree, I feel a lot more secure after seeing him nail that 50 yarder.

His kickoffs were exceptional, too.

His improvement so far this year has been impressive. The only miss that was "his fault" was the Giants game. The blocked FG in the Cardinals game was a protection issue, and the blocked FG in the Cowboys game was because of Rocca's crappy holding on that particular attempt

You give a young, talented kicker some time and they start to get it. Right now he needs some help from the people around him, but he's on his way to being an asset for this team

I definitely agree with the OP's point. Gano did very well in all aspects of his game. HAD, not that they did, the Skins got in position for a FG to win the game, I think Gano would have nailed it no matter the distance.

Wait...."love" for a Skins kicker?? How long has it been??

I agree though. Graham was good Monday night.

He's 6 of 9 on the season with a long of 50. Too bad one of those MFG was a bad snap.

I really wish he had a chance to kick the game winner

I really wish he had a chance to kick the game winner

So true..so true..

Gano bangs 40-50 yardsr but for some reason he misses 30+ yarders. Its weird. Missed that 39 yarder week one... Hit that 34 yarder vs AZ... Maybe he'll come around afterall, gasp, maybe Danny Smith straightened him out :laugh:

He did kick well.... He has had good games in the past, but then finds a way to miss a few that he shouldnt the following week. I just hope he can do it consistantly through several games now......

Yea, proud of the kid for nailing the 50 yarder to tie the game.. That was without a doubt, a "pressure" situation! Plus it was after the block where something happened to his leg/foot.. I gave him a mention in the "gameball" thread.

Think I gave him a Game Ball as well. Anyway I like the kid since the beginning. I like rooting for Kickers. But I'm not gonna sing Victory right now. Life is hard for Kickers, if he misses the Game Winner against the Rams, you'll have 20 threads asking for his head.

I'm pretty confident in him on the long range kicks. It seems like the distance doesnt really determine his accuracy. His number of short misses is too high but he nails the big ones more consistently relative to the difficulty of the kick. This is anecdotal, I don't have his stats in front of me but its just the feel I get.

Always been a fan of Graham Gazaam! I've defended him in the past and will continue to do so.

I hope he proves to become a quality kicker for a long time.

Gano will be fine is coming along great. If we had been patient with David Akers he probably would still be our kicker.

Gano is doing fine,, ever since his first kick of the year he's been straight and true.

He is currently one of the only bright spots on our usual horrid special teams.

~Bang

Gano is doing fine,, ever since his first kick of the year he's been straight and true.

He is currently one of the only bright spots on our usual horrid special teams.

~Bang

Oh jeez...

What has been horrid ? Seriously ? Got a kick blocked(Orakpo blocked a kick) & Rocca's botched snap that was solely on him...

What is horrid ? Hell, the kicker starts banging 50 yarders & u STILL complain lol

I was impressed, and hey, A for effort on the one he missed. He still kicked it even though it was hardly even set.

The kickoffs were great too, i loved how almost all of them angled out of the end zone so that they were pretty much forced touchbacks. I don't see many people doing that, and im thinking that's what he was trying when he kicked it out of bounds against the angry birds.

I really wish he had a chance to kick the game winner

I do too...it would have been interesting. I'm sure I'm just being a homer, but the way both kickers never really came close to missing a FG, I think had we gotten inside the 40, he had a pretty good shot to make it.

---------- Post added September-29th-2011 at 10:06 AM ----------

Oh jeez...

What has been horrid ? Seriously ? Got a kick blocked(Orakpo blocked a kick) & Rocca's botched snap that was solely on him...

What is horrid ? Hell, the kicker starts banging 50 yarders & u STILL complain lol

Our returns were pitiful on Monday night. Pitiful. Credit Dallas if you want...but in a game that featured one TD, any type of big time return would have been HUGE.

Yeah I was saying to my friend after the 50 yarder that I have confidence in him over 40...it's weird

Took a look at his career stats and :

20-29 - 87%

30-39- 45%

40-49- 82%

Doesn't make too much sense haha

Yeah I was saying to my friend after the 50 yarder that I have confidence in him over 40...it's weird

Took a look at his career stats and :

20-29 - 87%

30-39- 45%

40-49- 82%

Doesn't make too much sense haha

That is bizarre...how do his percentages change when you remove the blocks? I know that both this year came between 30-39...but I'm sure it doesn't account for the entire disparity.

Gano will be fine is coming along great. If we had been patient with David Akers he probably would still be our kicker.

That's a fact. All those years with the Eagles, could have been years with the Skins had they been patient. :doh:

I simply love the fact that all kickoffs can go out of the endzone. It is a comfort that the special teams cannot allow a run back after the offense ties a game or goes ahead.