It Turns Out Graham Gano Isn't Terrible (Breakdown of Every Block Last Season)

[Enter Apotheosis]

Conversely, even without the blocks, he's still missed 15 kicks the past 2 years, which had him dead last in the league in 2010 with 10 misses, and joint eighth worst in the league with 5 misses last year. (Tied with 4 other players.).

If Rackers can't beat him out in camp he doesn't deserve to be here.

Hail.

You don't judge kickers by number of attempts missed for the same reasons that you do not judge a quarterback by number of incompletions, it's an utterly meaningless stat without context (chiefly: number of attempts). If you absolve all kickers of all blocked kicks then Gano is still comfortably in the top half of the league in field goal percentage while also possessing one of the strongest legs in the game. That's not bad for a 24 year old kicker who did show clear improvement from 2010 to 2011.

Beyond the 14 misses in two season as a poster stated, I key in on the timing...when the kicks were missed. Clutch kicking matters to me..I haven't done the research so I'm not sure where Gano falls in that area. It's like a corner that gets burned early in the game and you're like..ahhhh...this guy stinks. but gets a deflection to stop a td later in the game or gets a game changing int and takes it to the house. Nothing wrong with competition(Rackers) but I like Gano.

Off hand, I don't think Gano has shown much of a propensity for making or missing clutch kicks. He seems pretty even-keeled all-in-all but our games have been so low scoring and close on average that most field goals are awfully important.

[ThomasRoane]

The gold folks at Blogging the Beast did a film breakdown of all 5 FG attempts Gano had blocked last season and ultimately decided NONE of them were the fault of our much-maligned kicker. Each block was basically the result of the other team manhandling our o-line.

I think that Leribeus' girth was a factor (among his many other qualities) that inspired the FO to take him in the third. They needed to get bigger inside and whether he becomes a starter or not he fits that bill.

[MartinC]

the only person asking him to directional kick it is danny smith.

gano can kick it out of the back of the end zone every time, no problem. why ask him to do anything but?

Because if you kick it out the end zone it comes out to the 20. If you can directional kick, get some air under it to allow your coverage to get downfield and pin the receiver in a corner you have an excellent chance of making the tackle inside the 15.

No problem with the strategy, execution is the issue.

[NoVaSkins21]

the only person asking him to directional kick it is danny smith.

D. Smith may be the true culprit. He's the one who coaches up the techniques the players use during the kicks. Players shouldn't be getting blown off the ball like that, especially twice in the Seattle game by Bryant.:doh: I know there was only block featured in the story, but Bryant got in there more than once. That's horrible and an example of poor technique taught by the coach.

[tiger187126]

good article. i would like to keep the 24 year old with the very strong leg.

[Pedro]

..... in 2010 with 10 misses, and ...... with 5 misses last year.

So you're saying 2 or 3 misses this year, 1 or 2 the next then perfect for 15 years or so?

I'll take it.

[Koolblue13]

No Ganos is good Ganos

[Bang]

Imagine that.

Who would have ever guessed?

~Bang

[hunterx]

Conversely, even without the blocks, he's still missed 15 kicks the past 2 years, which had him dead last in the league in 2010 with 10 misses, and joint eighth worst in the league with 5 misses last year. (Tied with 4 other players.).

If Rackers can't beat him out in camp he doesn't deserve to be here.

Hail.

Break that down though...5 misses last year (excluding blocked ones) from what distance?

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Break that down though...5 misses last year (excluding blocked ones) from what distance?

Going off memory, I believe the late 40's through early 50 yard range. Including the 52 yarder in OT that cost us against Dallas. (He only kicked twice for the game last year I believe. The winner against the Cards, and the failed kick against the Girls.). He has a leg, but an inconsistent one that's sometimes accurate from distance, sometimes not.

The inexcusable chip shot misses for any pro kicker came the year prior.

Hail.

[KCClybun]

Going off memory, I believe the late 40's through early 50 yard range. Including the 52 yarder in OT that cost us against Dallas. (He only kicked twice for the game last year I believe. The winner against the Cards, and the failed kick against the Girls.). He has a leg, but an inconsistent one that's sometimes accurate from distance, sometimes not.

The inexcusable chip shot misses for any pro kicker came the year prior.

Hail.

I think it's telling that...well, 1.) despite the blocks and misses, he still was tied for fifth with most field goals made in 2011, and he was 2nd in field goals attempted. Which tells me that, if we would stop kicking so many goddamn field goals in the first place, Gano will be a damn good kicker for us. He was much better in 2011 than he was in 2010. He even looked more confident.

To cut the kid, especially in light of all those blocks not being his fault, would be a mistake. And I just don't lie Rackers. I feel like I remember him missing one too many kicks in the clutch for the Texans. I know what his percentage is, because I also feel uneasy with him kicking. Maybe my memory is bad.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

..... To cut the kid, especially in light of all those blocks not being his fault, would be a mistake. And I just don't lie Rackers .....

Never been a great fan of Rackers either (he's never been someone I've looked at and thought "Man I wish we could get that dude"); but what do you do if say, hypothetically speaking, there's an open competition in camp and pre-season which Rackers wins hands down?

Do you then go with the 36 year old vet. and stick to your principle that roster spots are earned and not given out just because? Or do you make the exception (and possibly send out a completely mixed message to the culture your trying to forge here) and give it to the youngster regardless?

Hail.

[PatFischer37]

how about the kickoffs out of bounds?? Gano needs to go

[ArmchairRedskin]

Well, with any luck, Gano's role won't be as vital to our success in the coming seasons. We get rid of those blocks and I think we're good with Gano.

[KCClybun]

Never been a great fan of Rackers either (he's never been someone I've looked at and thought "Man I wish we could get that dude"); but what do you do if say, hypothetically speaking, there's an open competition in camp and pre-season which Rackers wins hands down?

Do you then go with the 36 year old vet. and stick to your principle that roster spots are earned and not given out just because? Or do you make the exception (and possibly send out a completely mixed message to the culture your trying to forge here) and give it to the youngster regardless?

Hail.

If Rackers wins outright, he earned his job. You just better keep Gano's number on speed dial and hope some team like the Giants doesn't swoop in and take him away.

Thing is, I think it's far more likely that they tie. And if they tie, I think you give the job to Gano. He's younger, bigger leg, and at this point, isn't he also cheaper?

[mikemac9]

in reference to us pulling the trigger ala David Akers, I think we've really given this kid a lot of chances. W David Akers didn't we cut him after a blowout in minnesota, like cutting the kicker was our problem? Thing about bringing in Rackers is that I've noticed Gano does well with competition but then we see a different result in the season. Pretty sure that's how Shanny is feeling too, like this kid keeps showing what he needs to in practice then misses the 25-35 yd FG's in the game. I would imagine any more of that nonsense in the first half of this season and they'll officially cut ties and try something else.

[Bang]

how about the kickoffs out of bounds?? Gano needs to go

OK, here's the reason.

Gano kicks off for a touchback nearly 50% of the time.

He can pound it 6-9 yards deep every time.

For all their other special teams faults, the ONE thing the Redsins can do is cover kickoffs. 2nd in the NFL last year.

So, you can get no return half the time, and if they do bring it out, they are better than 30 other teams in knocking the ballcarrier down before he gets to the 21.

WHY would you bother to even RISK kicking it out of bounds?

Kicking with an angle, going for the corner, a slight BREEZE can be the difference between the ball at the 20, and the ball at the 40.

If Gano had no leg and was hitting the five every time, OK, try and pin them.

But you don't need to risk the penalty to pin them. We can pin them ANYWAY.

However, your post does bring up why SOMEONE on the Special Teams needs to go because of these kickoffs out of bounds, and it's the gum chewing idiot who calls the damn play when he has no reason to do it.

To some other thoughts... if Rackers has a good camp, cut him anyway. Gano has the leg, he is young. He won't last a day on the market, and i'm willing to bet he has a very productive career. I'd like it to be here.

I am for letting Rackers push Gano, but unless Gano shows that he mentally has turned to jelly and can't hit the broad side of a barn from 2 yards away, then the conclusion should be foregone.

~Bang

[Chew]

Well said, Bang. I agree.

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

I've never understood the Gano hate. Considering the disaster the kicker position has been for us the last two decades (right there with QB), I've loved that we have a young kicker with a great leg who can grow with us. He might struggle but I think he undoubtedly had potential, and I'll take that over a 38-year-old (or whatever) Rackers.

[HBnotBlades]

Bang, I think the reason we are one of the best teams in the league at covering kicks is due to our effective coverages on directional kicks. An effective directional kick will either force the blockers to shift leaving gaps in their blocking scheme, or force the returner to run back towards his blockers instead of upfield. It's a trade off, lower return average with the risk of the occasional kickoff out of bounds or higher return average with fewer penalties.

[MartinC]

Never been a great fan of Rackers either (he's never been someone I've looked at and thought "Man I wish we could get that dude"); but what do you do if say, hypothetically speaking, there's an open competition in camp and pre-season which Rackers wins hands down?

Do you then go with the 36 year old vet. and stick to your principle that roster spots are earned and not given out just because? Or do you make the exception (and possibly send out a completely mixed message to the culture your trying to forge here) and give it to the youngster regardless?

Hail.

I think Rackers has to CLEARLY win the job to cut Gano. If its a tie or close you stay with the young guy who still has upside rather than the veteran on the way down IMO.

[Bang]

Bang, I think the reason we are one of the best teams in the league at covering kicks is due to our effective coverages on directional kicks. An effective directional kick will either force the blockers to shift leaving gaps in their blocking scheme, or force the returner to run back towards his blockers instead of upfield. It's a trade off, lower return average with the risk of the occasional kickoff out of bounds or higher return average with fewer penalties.

I completely disagree, since it worked so few times last year. (I think one of the chief reasons we come up so high in kick coverage is because we don't do it very often as compared to the rest of the league, thus minimizing the opportunities for Smith's special teams to make a mistake.

And I only see it that way because of how bad we are in every other special teams stat.. that one high mark stands out like a sore thumb. )

If directional kicking is to go a few degrees left or right of the goalposts, OK, but to angle it towards the sidelines is asking for trouble that is unnecessary.

It's one my my chief arguments against Danny Smith.

He does dumb risky things when he has no need to do it. He costs this team football games.

It's like pulling a bullet out of a gun and throwing it at someone because it might hit them in the eye.

Just do what the gun can do, and be done with it.

~Bang

[Peregrine]

Not a surprise. Those last three blocks you essentially saw the same guy get bowled over in the same situation.

Danny Smith is quite possibly the worst coach in the NFL, and I don't get why he is still there. The guy must be able to lie through his teeth. Or maybe he's really flirtatious. We've seen Gano boom the ball out of the back of the endzone consistently, so why they continue to do the stupid directional kick is beyond me. Instead they do it again and again despite failure. Like blocking for the FG, like having Randle El still return kicks. Smith has no "plan B", ever.

[IWantMyATV]

Why does everyone hate Danny Smith so much? It's not like our kick or punt coverage hasn't been decent.

[ComManDersFan57]

Why does everyone hate Danny Smith so much? It's not like our kick or punt coverage hasn't been decent.

The coverage has been decent yes, but there have been way too many holding calls that brought a TD or a long return back, not to mention the blocked kicks. I'm with Bang on this one. Danny needs to go.