broodingburgundy.com: here's the kicker

[BurgundyBlog]

the redskins returned to action today for another set of OTAs that will run through the first half of this week. the recent buzz has, of course, centered around the Santana Moss Controversy, and its implications on our much-maligned passing attack. today, however, i have been thinking about another, even more exciting method of point-scoring, one that will (barring dramatic turnaround) likely be accounting yet again for the majority of our offense… the kicking game!

we finished up last season with graham gano manning the PK spot. he’s a young guy who starred in college at florida state, then had a brief stint in camp with the ravens before catching on and making a few kicks (including a league record-long 53-yarder) for the las vegas locomotives of the UFL. the skins gave him another NFL chance after finally ending the masochistic Shaun Suisham Era, and for us he made all four field goal attempts, with a long of 46 yards, and was 6/7 on PATs with one blocked.

gano’s competition is justin medlock, another college stud who actually got drafted (in the fifth) by kansas city in 2007. he flamed out in camp, then had a cup of coffee with the rams, then finally found a home with the toronto argonauts, where his claim to fame was nailing all seven attempts in a single game (which must have been a thrilling one to watch). that effort did generate a highlight reel, which is saying something for a kicker. medlock is very unique for his position in that he is a) left-footed, and black, which puts him in a sports demographic roughly as populated as “guys drafted for good value by vinny cerrato.”

i like that both guys are young and relatively free of emotional baggage, and also that both have excelled at some points in their young careers. and my favorite part about both of them is that they are not shaun suisham, whose maddening shank fetish made me want to tear my own lips off with a Chip Clip. gano showed some nice composure (albeit in meaningless games) in his few opportunities in 2009. medlock is supposed to have a big leg and can apparently double as a punter in a pinch, which is an added bonus. matt terl has an interesting piece today about new punter josh bidwell never having held for a lefty, which could have some major implications on medlock’s ability to make this team, regardless of his accuracy.

while it would be nice to have a more reliable veteran at this important but routinely mocked position, i’m pretty satisfied to have two young guys with decent upside battling it out, as long as neither one is in any way related to, and preferably has never touched or even stood within 100 feet of, the likes of one shaun christopher suisham.

http://broodingburgundy.com/post/629240435/kickers

[Dan T.]

I have a strange comfort level with Gano as the incumbent.

I say strange because even though his college credentials are impeccable, he hasn't really done much of anything so far in the NFL.

[Always A Commander Never A Captain]

I have a strange comfort level with Gano as the incumbent.

I say strange because even though his college credentials are impeccable, he hasn't really done much of anything so far in the NFL.

I feel the same way. He hasn't done anything...but I'm very content having him be our kicker.

Pretty odd, maybe it's just one of those feelings that turns out to be true kinda thing...

[KDawg]

I can't get passed the lower case typing to actually read it. Sorry brother. Not trying to be an ass, just wanted to be honest with you.

[jnhay]

I can't get past the lower case typing to actually read it. Sorry brother. Not trying to be an ass, just wanted to be honest with you.

I didn't even notice until I read this post. What's with that? It's not hard to capitalize.

[terpskins10]

I can't get passed the lower case typing to actually read it. Sorry brother. Not trying to be an ass, just wanted to be honest with you.

Agreed. I know I (and a few others) suggested it when he first made the thread announcing his blog. Using proper formatting is going to make it a lot more professional looking and better to read.

[Mr. Sinister]

I'm always confident in a guy who's nickname is "Onions." It just screams words like automatic, money, and can't miss

[DGREENHULK]

Yeah the lower case delivery does take away from an otherwise well thought out post....I just want a kicker that I don't have to say 3 HAIL MARRY'S before every kick or have to stand in front of the TV and pull a Carlton Fisk and will the ball to be good.....May the best man win right or left footed.

[chipwhich]

I can't get passed the lower case typing to actually read it. Sorry brother. Not trying to be an ass, just wanted to be honest with you.

I cant get passed it either. But that's in the past. Passed over by the past.

[KDawg]

I cant get passed it either. But that's in the past. Passed over by the past.

I always struggle with which version of passed (past) to use there. Past refers to a time period, so I wouldn't think that would work there. But passed looks strange as hell there. *shrug*

[Dan T.]

I feel the same way. He hasn't done anything...but I'm very content having him be our kicker.

Pretty odd, maybe it's just one of those feelings that turns out to be true kinda thing...

The problem for me is...I had the same "feeling" about Durant Brooks as our punter last year!

[pvkeeper19]

I like Gano. I'm also uncomfortable with Medlock, because Bidwell talked about being uncomfortable holding for a lefty.

Plus, Gano's got a cannon leg. I hope we keep him around.

I always struggle with which version of passed (past) to use there. Past refers to a time period, so I wouldn't think that would work there. But passed looks strange as hell there. *shrug*

FYI: "Passed" is the past tense of the verb "to pass." In the sentence in question, the correct word is "past," the adverb.

[SkinsTribeVA]

You mention that Medlock can double as a punter. That may be so, but Gano was both the full time kicker and punter for Florida State in college, so I'd say he's got the edge on versatility.

Cool write up though, I had totally forgotten about the kicking competition. I just hope we find some stability there, no matter who it is.

[terpfan]

I always struggle with which version of passed (past) to use there. Past refers to a time period, so I wouldn't think that would work there. But passed looks strange as hell there. *shrug*

I would think "past" is correct, as "get past" is a shorter way of saying "put it in the past"? I'm no linguist though.

[Laxpunk2006]

You mention that Medlock can double as a punter. That may be so, but Gano was both the full time kicker and punter for Florida State in college, so I'd say he's got the edge on versatility.

Cool write up though, I had totally forgotten about the kicking competition. I just hope we find some stability there, no matter who it is.

I never knew this about Gano. That could come in handy if we run into another situation like last year with a punter getting injured during the season. Hopefully that could prevent us from having to waste an extra spot of a punter for that week or two.

I also never realized Medlock was black. You don't see a lot of black kickers.

[hoskins]

The problem with Medlock is if the punter is hurt, then you've got someone else out there in the middle of a season or even a game trying to learn this backwards hold.

Or let's say the punter isn't working out and you want to make a change there. Now you have to weight better punting against screwing up the kicking game.

I feel bad for the kid, but it seems a lot smarter to just go with the normal right legged kicker.

[michiskin]

I feel Gano is going to be the kicker. They just brought in the other guy to push him a little. We really need to find a young guy we can stick with for the next 5-10 years. The last one was Lohmiller in 89 for goodness sake. And during that time we cut Nedny and Akers. Ugh.

And I have to agree about the capitalization thing. It's pretty simple: if you're at the beginning of a sentence, hit the 'shift' key. If you're trying to start a trend, don't count on it catching on.

Otherwise, it's not a bad effort for a blog.

[BadKarma]

Rooting for Gano, the guy has the pedigree and the leg, as with all kickers it comes down to clutch kicking and I think Onions will shine in pre-season.

At least we are finally going young, was so sick of the mid career kickers, I think its better to develop a guy and stick with him than rotate in the latest guy off the FA list.

[Mark The Homer]

I can't get passed the lower case typing to actually read it. Sorry brother. Not trying to be an ass, just wanted to be honest with you.

I agree.

OP - you might have some smart things to say, but people are going to look at the text and immediately dismiss you as an idiot and move on. It might be unfair and it might be untrue, but that is the fact.

[Stugein]

I agree.

OP - you might have some smart things to say, but people are going to look at the text and immediately dismiss you as an idiot and move on. It might be unfair and it might be untrue, but that is the fact.

Whats odd too is that he seems to pick his spots for capitalization. Like some titleage and proper names he capitalizes.."Santana Moss Controversy", "Shaun Suisham Era" and even "Chip Clip". But other proper nouns, "redskins", "matt terl", "toronto argonauts", etc...he doesn't. I haven't yet figured out his qualifications for being allowed to capitalize something...

In any case yeah..it may have been a neat writing gimmick some time in the past, but the Internet has kind of ruined it, pal. It might not be fair, but the first thought that pops into my head when I look at it is that I'm reading something written by a 12 year old. Then I read it and I'm shocked that there's no usage of "u", "ur", "lolz" or "omg"s.

[KDawg]

Whats odd too is that he seems to pick his spots for capitalization. Like some titleage and proper names he capitalizes.."Santana Moss Controversy", "Shaun Suisham Era" and even "Chip Clip". But other proper nouns, "redskins", "matt terl", "toronto argonauts", etc...he doesn't. I haven't yet figured out his qualifications for being allowed to capitalize something...

I noticed the exact same. There's no rhyme or reason as to what he's capitalizing or why he's doing it. Why is OTA capitalized but the name of the team we love is not capitalized?

Again, please don't take this as me being an ass. I just wanted to be up front and honest with you, OP.

[SWFLSkins]

I would think "past" is correct, as "get past" is a shorter way of saying "put it in the past"? I'm no linguist though.

Your discussion of this is quite cunning.

Yeah and if the readership as a whole does not demand proper formatting the world is heading toward idocracy, oh wait.

[brianm23]

The fat lazy Haynesworth is a no good son of.....oh, it's not one of those threads? Sorry. I do like Gano and hope he does well. I was kind of surprised he didn't catch on to another NFL team before we got him. Hopefully he continues the good fortune for us.

I'm still laughing at the Browns for signing that bum Suisham. They must be planning on throwing some games this year.

[Dblock804]

OP- Please see post #20. You have to love a guy who's code name is Onions. The truth of the matter is a great kicker is hard to find.

[BurgundyBlog]

thanks everyone for taking the time to read my post. i sense that at least a few people find it to be of some interest.

it comes as no surprise that my capitalization scheme is yet again a focal point. as i've said before, i can definitely understand why it might raise an eyebrow; it just happens to be the way i like my type to be seen.

my concern at this point isn't that some people dislike it - because i realize that no blogger can please everyone, and that it's important to trust my instincts - but that this stylepoint that i considered to be very minor might actually be distracting a great many of you from my content. and that, i agree, would be a major deficiency.

it would be silly for me to refuse to even consider the idea of adapting... so i will consider it.