Lionbackers.com

Hey
I was wondering why we dont get a kicker that can kick the ball down to the 10 yard line or further on kickoffs. I know a bunch of 15 year olds that can kick to the 10 yard line and further and if they can do it than I am pretty sure the lions can find one. Bret Anderson only kicks it to the 20 yard line usally.
Thanks

Lions33 wrote:Hey
I was wondering why we dont get a kicker that can kick the ball down to the 10 yard line or further on kickoffs. I know a bunch of 15 year olds that can kick to the 10 yard line and further and if they can do it than I am pretty sure the lions can find one. Bret Anderson only kicks it to the 20 yard line usally.
Thanks

No team can really afford to have a kicker just for that and right now the leos have 2 kickers plus BA who plays KO and special teams and backup receiver. (the 15 year olds are likely kicking from minimum the 45 or 55 not the 35) and usually with a strong leg comes little accuracy so who do you axe to bring in a kicker with a strong leg? McCallum or Pikula? Cuz BA isn't really just a kicker and not many non kickers can do what he does.

Lack of distance on kickoffs has been a problem for the Lions in recent years, but keep in mind that CFL kickers average 60 yards per kickoff. With the ball placed at the 35-yard line, the average kick lands at the 15 yard line.

The Lions averaged 57.4 yards on kickoffs last year. Their opponents averaged 60 yards, so the Lions are giving up 2.6 yards per kick. Montreal's Damon Duval led the league with an average of 64.1 yards, which means his average kick landed at the 11-yard line.

Paul McCalluim was only used for 3 kickoffs last year, but he outkicked Bret Anderson by an average of 6 yards. Rob Pikula, picked up from Winnipeg this week, doesn't appear to be the answer. With a 56.3-yard average, he was the only regular kicker in the league whose kickoffs were shorter than Anderson's. (By the way, the dead air in B.C. Place wasn't a factor. Anderson's average was the same at home and on the road.)

Because kicking off isn't necessarily all about "kicking it down to the 10 yard line". Sometimes it's about angles. Other times it's about not outkicking your coverage.

If kicking were all about distance, Rodney Williams would be headed to the Hall of Fame.

cromartie wrote:Because kicking off isn't necessarily all about "kicking it down to the 10 yard line". Sometimes it's about angles. Other times it's about not outkicking your coverage.

If kicking were all about distance, Rodney Williams would be headed to the Hall of Fame.

Also I enjoy knowing that we have BA ready to make a tackle if the need arises vs a McCallum type. Huge advantage for the Lions on their cover teams IMO.

I think more than just the distance the ball travels it comes down to where the opposition ends up scrimmaging the ball after the kickoff. Accuracy and not out kicking coverage are other key factors. Having said that, we do tend to give pretty good field position but is it the depth of the kick ,or speed of the coverage team?

cromartie wrote:Because kicking off isn't necessarily all about "kicking it down to the 10 yard line". Sometimes it's about angles. Other times it's about not outkicking your coverage.

I think that is right. Anderson is following the game plan. They kick to a spot and the coverage is based on that. I expect Anderson has more distance available to him if he needs it. Any further on his kicks and he would be outkicking his coverage sometimes.

Hang time is critical on kickoffs. Short is okay if it hangs. We haven't had a great kickoff guy in sometime.

I'd be more concerned about kickoff length if the Lions were giving up 400yds of offense per game. With the Lions defensive personnel being what it is, is 5 yds really that big of deal?

If a CFL kicker was placing it inside the 10 every time, wouldn't he be in the NFL already?

BA is a luxury not a liability. Like Canuck4life said this is the CFL not the NFL with kickoffs.

I had thought that the 15 year old kickers were kicking from the 35 but they are aually kicking from the 45

Lions33 wrote:I had thought that the 15 year old kickers were kicking from the 35 but they are aually kicking from the 45

Shouldn't 15 year old kickers still be in school??

its community football