Making the Case for Graham Gano

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

NYG's kicker is Lawrence Tynes who is currently 34. They brought him when he was 28-29 not because he was young but because he had a good track record. You want a kicker that produces, not just potential.

On the opposite side, GB let Mason Crosby grow as a kicker but the difference between he and Gano is that he is way more consistent. He hit nearly 80% his first two years.

---------- Post added August-14th-2012 at 10:24 AM ----------

Nothing on Extremeskins bothers me more than the completely illogical loyalty to Graham Gano, a player who has cost us so many games the past two years and been among the worst kickers in the entire league. Why exactly should we hold onto him? Would you hold onto a quarterback in his third year who performed at the lowest level? Keeping Gano is like letting Jimmy Clausen be your starting quarterback for three straight years, under the illusion of: "Give the kid some time. He's going to be great." Everyone here expects Gano to miraculously turn into Chip Lohmiller someday. What exactly makes you think that will happen? Because of David Akers? A kicker who played ONE SINGLE game as a Redskin before moving on to the Eagles? We didn't know what we had in Akers because NO ONE did. But trust me, we know exactly what we have in Gano. A bottom of the barrel kicker. Rackers is so much better than him, it's not even worth discussing. Can't wait for the day Gano is shown the door and I don't have to cringe every time we line up for a field goal.

Finally someone said it. I am beyond tired of the Akers excuse

[sQuijeW]

for all you bashing on gano, you ever stop and think about how much SKILL it takes to purposely miss a field goal... and make it look like it had a chance?

think about how many games it would have put us away from being able to trade up for BobbyG had gano actually planned/been told to make them.

yea... WITHOUT gano there would be NO griffin. so sit down, shut up, and thank Gano.

Now that we have a bona fide starter QB, the need for a kicker is greatly diminished. Give him time to continue groom his stanky leg skillz and he will become great, if not legendary.

[nachol]

for all you bashing on gano, you ever stop and think about how much SKILL it takes to purposely miss a field goal... and make it look like it had a chance?

think about how many games it would have put us away from being able to trade up for BobbyG had gano actually planned/been told to make them.

This is the first argument for Gano I've heard that actually makes sense. Well done.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

for all you bashing on gano, you ever stop and think about how much SKILL it takes to purposely miss a field goal... and make it look like it had a chance?

think about how many games it would have put us away from being able to trade up for BobbyG had gano actually planned/been told to make them.

yea... WITHOUT gano there would be NO griffin. so sit down, shut up, and thank Gano.

Now that we have a bona fide starter QB, the need for a kicker is greatly diminished. Give him time to continue groom his stanky leg skillz and he will become great, if not legendary.

Wait...what? So you honestly believe we threw games last year and intentionally missed field goals?? really?? That's a new one...

[NoVaSkins21]

While that article might make a lot of salient points, the coaches brought Rackers in for a reason. Whether it's competition or motivation, who knows. May the better man win.

[sQuijeW]

Wait...what? So you honestly believe we threw games last year and intentionally missed field goals?? really?? That's a new one...

wait... what? so you honestly believe that with the chance to change the future of a franchise that games wouldnt be thrown? back that up further... so you honestly believe with the chance that you could guarantee your job for another 5 years at least you wouldnt throw games? back that up even further.... so you honestly believe with billions of dollars on the line, in a multi billion dollar sport, games wouldnt be thrown?

really?

the world is corrupt and putrid, it is nice to see a flash of innocence. no matter how close it is to sarcastic ignorance

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

wait... what? so you honestly believe that with the chance to change the future of a franchise that games wouldnt be thrown? back that up further... so you honestly believe with the chance that you could guarantee your job for another 5 years at least you wouldnt throw games? back that even further.... so you honestly believe with billions of dollars on the line, in a multi billion dollar sport, games wouldnt be thrown?

really?

then why would they allow themselves to beat Seattle in a meaningless game?

[sQuijeW]

then why would they allow themselves to beat Seattle in a meaningless game?

because when you make it too obvious you get the 2011 respectless colts.. or have something like this happen...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/aug/01/london-2012-badminton-disqualified-olympics

anyhow, this topic can be debated for eternity.

when it comes down to it, gano like all green horns need experience and time to get better. some people mature faster than others. now that we have the most important position and issue taken care of (at least for the next few years) the need for a kicker to decide games will be dramatically reduced, which will give gano time to reach his potential. just imagine, a few years down the road, when the skins are a veteran high caliber team and can get to the playoffs consistently, we will need a clutch kicker... gano will be ready to win us games. at this time, games are pointless and give us no value in the long run, since as a team the skins are still growing.

gano's potential is worth the growing pains, even if he is "just" a kicker. period.

[SB17]

Okay but Suisham still sucks. you think he was a big factor why the made the SB? You can only blame Smith for so much. He doesn't miss those 40 yarder for Gano. Of course, Gano will get another job, I mean Jason Campbell/Devin Thomas did as well. (Point is that that doesn't mean they are good)

Points well made: Suisham still sucks; Smith isn't kicking the 40-yarders for Gano; and just because they get picked up elsewhere, doesn't mean they're good. I just want to point out that the problem lies less with Gano (or whoever the kicker ends up being on the final 53) and more with the ST coach, who seems to be forgiven for 5 (!!!!!) blocked FG attempts, (mis)directional kickoffs, penalties galore on kickoffs/returns and punts/returns. I honestly don't know how the guy keeps his job year after year (unless LeCharls McDaniels is the only other available ST coach out there).

Who isn't seriously nervous whenever our special teams comes onto the field? Maybe I should create a poll for ESers on that particular question ...

[sQuijeW]

Who isn't seriously nervous whenever our special teams comes onto the field? Maybe I should create a poll for ESers on that particular question ...

that fear was instilled by that canadian.. sean squeez'em

less of a worry now that we have gano.

[HTTR F Dallas]

does anyone have the numbers on Gano's "pressure" kicks? i.e. the ones that he had to win or lose the game? don't think it is as bad as some make them out to be..

[DJD2]

that fear was instilled by that canadian.. sean squeez'em

For me it goes back all the way to Lohmiller before he became Low&WideMiller.

Nick Novak or Brett Conway anyone?

edit to add:

here's a nice sack of nothing

redskin kickers since Lohmiller's last season in '94 (according to http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Who_were_Washington_Redskins_kickers_since_1980)

1995: Eddie Murray

1996-1997: Scott Blanton

1998: Scott Blanton, Cary Blanchard, David Akers

1999: Brett Conway

2000: Brett Conway, Eddie Murray, Scott Bentley, Michael Husted, Kris Heppener

2001: Brett Conway

2002: Brett Conway, James Tuthill, Jose Cortez

2003: John Hall

2004: John Hall, Jeff Chandler, Ola Kimrin

2005: John Hall, Nick Novak

2006: John Hall, Nick Novak, Shaun Suisham

2007-2008: Shaun Suisham

2009: Shaun Suisham, Graham Gano

2010: Graham Gano

2011: Graham Gano

[pjfootballer]

But outside of the 5 blocks last year, you can't lump Gano's other, often shocking misses like the 'chip shot automatic' kicks from inside the 30 on Smith. Or the directional kicking faux pas. No question the coach is a moron for going away from what had been working, but it's still another facet that Gano doesn't have to his game that's on him.

This has been beaten to death. Why do you directional kick when your kicker can kickoff through the goalpost? Let them start at the 20. Directional kicking comes with the idea that you can "squeeze" them inside the 20. But whenever the ball goes towards the sidelines, return men are more apt to let it bounce out of bounds then try and catch it and get squeezed on the sidelines. And it's very difficult to directional kick inside the 10.

Anyway...we're talking about a kicker here. Kickers aren't part of a rebuilding process and youth is a non-factor. We need to go with whoever looks better this preseason. I'll be surprised if that's G-dub.

God I hate kickers.

With parity in the NFL at an all time high, it's imparative that you have a good kicker. He can be the difference in alot of games. Kickers are more important today then they've ever been.

Nothing on Extremeskins bothers me more than the completely illogical loyalty to Graham Gano, a player who has cost us so many games the past two years and been among the worst kickers in the entire league. Why exactly should we hold onto him? Would you hold onto a quarterback in his third year who performed at the lowest level? Keeping Gano is like letting Jimmy Clausen be your starting quarterback for three straight years, under the illusion of: "Give the kid some time. He's going to be great." Everyone here expects Gano to miraculously turn into Chip Lohmiller someday. What exactly makes you think that will happen? Because of David Akers? A kicker who played ONE SINGLE game as a Redskin before moving on to the Eagles? We didn't know what we had in Akers because NO ONE did. But trust me, we know exactly what we have in Gano. A bottom of the barrel kicker. Rackers is so much better than him, it's not even worth discussing. Can't wait for the day Gano is shown the door and I don't have to cringe every time we line up for a field goal.

Actually we need him to be better than Lohmiller. Chip's percentage today would be worse than Gano's. I'm just not sure that Rackers is the guy I want kicking. He's looked like his leg has dropped off the last few seasons. I wish we would have had more scoring opportunities against Buffalo to test his leg and accuracy. Maybe this week against the Bears each kicker can get at least 2 attempts at a FG. Houston let him go for a younger/stronger leg (Randy Bullock). Rackers could proabably be consistant from under 45 yards, but I wouldn't bet on him to kick a 50+ yarder with accuracy anytime soon.

[SauzzBozz]

def a nice read. I am guilty of having a hatred from Gano a few times last year where he missed some kicks and Ill admit that I wasnt ever taking into account the fact that it probably wasnt him but the line or the holder not doing their job well. I would hope that that changes this year and that Gano sticks around and shows that he can be our kicker for the long term. Having to cross my fingers every time he goes up for a kick is something I hope I dont have to do this year and can simply sit back, grab my beer and have the confidence he will make it through the uprights

[wolfdevil484]

It is an interesting read but when it comes down to it, don't we want the best person for the job? Rackers or Gano. The more competition between the both of them, the better. It will push both of them to be at their best. In the end I want the person who will do his job and put the ball between the posts.

[Morneblade]

Ppl seem to not understand that simple fact. A kicker is a kicker. There are plenty of kickers in the NFL that kick WELL into their 40s. Youth isn't important for a kicker In my opinion. Also I wonder if everyone thinks we need to cut Sav Rocca too and bring in a young stud? How long is Gano gonna get? Hes had nearly 3 years. Ppl are saying that he should win regardless of the competition.., why? What has he shown you? Play he hit a 59 yarder but John Hall had a strong leg too...

Alot of misinformation there. First, most kickers dont last in their 40's. Second Gano has had 2 years and one of those had no offseason. Third, and most importantly, young kickers almost always need time to improve........just like every other position in football. The hashmarks are in different locations (and therefore they are working with different angles) and the ball is different from college to the pros. So it takes time to adjust. Fourth, having a position spot locked down every year (no matter the position) is preferable to looking for guys every year.

As for the Sav Rocca comment, if you had a guy that was 24, better leg and was as big and strong as Sav (with Austrailian Rules Football under his belt) and would knock the snot out of people in coverage, why would you NOT bring him in? Sav isnt just a punter, even at his age. He's a big physical guy and a real athlete that will lay the wood on a returner. Not a 180 pound "kicker" that will isnt even a factor.

[RedskinParadigm]

Ppl seem to not understand that simple fact. A kicker is a kicker. There are plenty of kickers in the NFL that kick WELL into their 40s. Youth isn't important for a kicker In my opinion. Also I wonder if everyone thinks we need to cut Sav Rocca too and bring in a young stud? How long is Gano gonna get? Hes had nearly 3 years. Ppl are saying that he should win regardless of the competition.., why? What has he shown you? Play he hit a 59 yarder but John Hall had a strong leg too...

John Hall was not a bad kicker; he just had pretty severe injury issues that derailed his career. The talent was there.

I'm unsure what you are implying by "a kicker is a kicker." Are you saying that there are plenty of good kickers to go around the NFL, whether young or older, and therefore it isn't worth investing time to develop one? Because I disagree with that assessment entirely; in fact, we are the prime example in the NFL of a team that can't seem to find a consistent kicker, despite bringing in "proven" players like a Shayne Graham to compete.

Or perhaps you're saying that Neil Rackers could be a long-term solution, despite being 36 years old. That argument has legs, but ultimately I would not want this team to count on it. Kickers, more than any other position, require pristine health to perform. A single muscle pull can end a career because you simply can't kick with it. It's not a position that's able to fight through injury. Yes, there are kickers that last well into their 40s, but they are not numerous. There are only a handful of guys that can remain in great health for that long and remain consistent with leg strength and accuracy. Most kickers tend to fall off at around Rackers' age. He probably still has some good time to give someone, but I'd rather look out for this team's best interest in the long run. IMO, that's banking on Gano.

[BRAVEONTHEWARPATH93]

John Hall was not a bad kicker; he just had pretty severe injury issues that derailed his career. The talent was there.

I'm unsure what you are implying by "a kicker is a kicker." Are you saying that there are plenty of good kickers to go around the NFL, whether young or older, and therefore it isn't worth investing time to develop one? Because I disagree with that assessment entirely; in fact, we are the prime example in the NFL of a team that can't seem to find a consistent kicker, despite bringing in "proven" players like a Shayne Graham to compete.

Or perhaps you're saying that Neil Rackers could be a long-term solution, despite being 36 years old. That argument has legs, but ultimately I would not want this team to count on it. Kickers, more than any other position, require pristine health to perform. A single muscle pull can end a career because you simply can't kick with it. It's not a position that's able to fight through injury. Yes, there are kickers that last well into their 40s, but they are not numerous. There are only a handful of guys that can remain in great health for that long and remain consistent with leg strength and accuracy. Most kickers tend to fall off at around Rackers' age. He probably still has some good time to give someone, but I'd rather look out for this team's best interest in the long run. IMO, that's banking on Gano.

That's my point. To me, I think youth for a kicker is irrelevant. I'll take a consistent veteran any day because I feel like it isn't likely for established skills as a kicker to just disappear.

---------- Post added August-14th-2012 at 11:34 AM ----------

Alot of misinformation there. First, most kickers dont last in their 40's. Second Gano has had 2 years and one of those had no offseason. Third, and most importantly, young kickers almost always need time to improve........just like every other position in football. The hashmarks are in different locations (and therefore they are working with different angles) and the ball is different from college to the pros. So it takes time to adjust. Fourth, having a position spot locked down every year (no matter the position) is preferable to looking for guys every year.

As for the Sav Rocca comment, if you had a guy that was 24, better leg and was as big and strong as Sav (with Austrailian Rules Football under his belt) and would knock the snot out of people in coverage, why would you NOT bring him in? Sav isnt just a punter, even at his age. He's a big physical guy and a real athlete that will lay the wood on a returner. Not a 180 pound "kicker" that will isnt even a factor.

I feel that a kicker has one job: to kick. He isn't adjusting to the speed/complexity of the game. Either he has it or he doesn't. Gano never had it but Rackers does. I'll take consistency over youth/potential in a kicker any day but that's just me.

Also, I still don't see what Gano has shown to get this much love. At his best he's average, numbers and game film don't lie.

[Bang]

Nothing on Extremeskins bothers me more than the completely illogical loyalty to Graham Gano, a player who has cost us so many games the past two years and been among the worst kickers in the entire league. Why exactly should we hold onto him? Would you hold onto a quarterback in his third year who performed at the lowest level? Keeping Gano is like letting Jimmy Clausen be your starting quarterback for three straight years, under the illusion of: "Give the kid some time. He's going to be great." Everyone here expects Gano to miraculously turn into Chip Lohmiller someday. What exactly makes you think that will happen? Because of David Akers? A kicker who played ONE SINGLE game as a Redskin before moving on to the Eagles? We didn't know what we had in Akers because NO ONE did. But trust me, we know exactly what we have in Gano. A bottom of the barrel kicker. Rackers is so much better than him, it's not even worth discussing. Can't wait for the day Gano is shown the door and I don't have to cringe every time we line up for a field goal.

Because tossing out Gano for what you're blaming him for is like buying a new car because it needs an air filter.

Bring inanother kicker, and it won't change. If the RG isn;'t fixed, kicks will still be blocked. if the holder doesn't know to put the laces out, Jan Stenerud is going to miss.

Smith is awful, he is responsible for the special teams, and the special teams suck. they make fundamentally bad plays. And THAT is entirely on coaching. It's been consistent... 7 years of underperforming and game-losing special teams.

You can blame the kicker for 'costing us so many games".. (which i'd like to see acount of, frankly. if you want to blame him as a rookie, well, I'd hate to see how you'll react to RGIII this year when he makes mistakes.)

But last year, tyhe simple fact is if you dont have a RG getting bowled over all the time, he makes six more kicks, and is a top ten kicker in FG%. By FAR the best that Smith has ever had.

the problems with Gano are not Gano.

and it doesn't matter who you bring in. Unless you fix the problem of having an incompetent special teams coach, then the problems you lay at the feet of Gano won't get better.

Since Smith has been here, our kickers UNDERperform. Plain and simple. Bottom feeders in terms of FG%, and it's for a variety of reasons. (listen to his presser lastweek.. it's not just one problem, it's a ton of problems, and he thinks that's a good thing)

Kicks get blocked, the right side of the line gets abused. the snap is bad, the hold is bad. these things have plagued us... and it's a failure of basic fundamentals.. all over the special teams. There is one constant, and it's not the kicker.

Say,, the light won't work... looks like the circuit breaker is tripped. So, I have an idea. Lets replace the light bulb and see if it works.

No?

well, get another light bulb.

Still dark?

get another light bulb... and so on and so on..

it doesn't make any sense.

~Bang

[pjfootballer]

John Hall was not a bad kicker; he just had pretty severe injury issues that derailed his career. The talent was there.

I'm unsure what you are implying by "a kicker is a kicker." Are you saying that there are plenty of good kickers to go around the NFL, whether young or older, and therefore it isn't worth investing time to develop one? Because I disagree with that assessment entirely; in fact, we are the prime example in the NFL of a team that can't seem to find a consistent kicker, despite bringing in "proven" players like a Shayne Graham to compete.

Or perhaps you're saying that Neil Rackers could be a long-term solution, despite being 36 years old. That argument has legs, but ultimately I would not want this team to count on it. Kickers, more than any other position, require pristine health to perform. A single muscle pull can end a career because you simply can't kick with it. It's not a position that's able to fight through injury. Yes, there are kickers that last well into their 40s, but they are not numerous. There are only a handful of guys that can remain in great health for that long and remain consistent with leg strength and accuracy. Most kickers tend to fall off at around Rackers' age. He probably still has some good time to give someone, but I'd rather look out for this team's best interest in the long run. IMO, that's banking on Gano.

This is an excellent post. And I want to add that even when a kicker can kick field goals well into his early 40s, he loses distance on his kickoffs. John Casey, Adam Vinatieri and Jason Hanson need either the punter to kickoff or the team has to carry an extra "kickoff" specialist, At this point, Rocca cannot kickoff and we don't have room for a kickoff specialist. If Rackers wins the job, he better be able to put the ball in the endzone.

[panel]

Gano has big kick ability. If we are in a 59 yard must make FG senerio, with Gano, we have a chance. Most teams don't even have a chance there. I say we keep him

[Morneblade]

I feel that a kicker has one job: to kick. He isn't adjusting to the speed/complexity of the game. Either he has it or he doesn't. Gano never had it but Rackers does. I'll take consistency over youth/potential in a kicker any day but that's just me.

Also, I still don't see what Gano has shown to get this much love. At his best he's average, numbers and game film don't lie.

No, he's adjusting to a different ball and different angles. And most young kicker struggle, even great ones before finding their groove. And I'll take having a position locked up for 10-15 years over looking for a guy that got CUT from another team (because that team wanted a younger, strong legged kicker) every year.

[Boston Skins]

I cringe at the thought of Gano going somewhere else. This team needs to be committed to developing players. He's got the leg.

[HBnotBlades]

I'm glad the writer of that article referenced the Blogging the Beast article about the blocked kicks, it pretty definitively places blame for the blocks on the line.

Outside of those blocks, Gano missed one field goal under 48 yards. One. That's pretty freakin good.

[aussieskin]

An excellent article, you have researched this very well, welcome to Extremeskins from downunder