NFL Week 1 thread: Warren Moon hearts Cam Newton

I've seen a few at that level. As good as that kid was, and it wasn't a fluke thing, he didn't wind up going to a big college. And he was a solid kid.

 

Not as rare as you think, at least the capability of it. A good percentage of very good soccer players in high school could do it if they trained. I grew up on the sidelines of the soccer field and was blessed with a big left foot but I would say a half dozen teammates in high school could hit 45 if they worked on it for a week. Not consistently but from time to time.

Playing soccer all your life makes it pretty easy to do. You train all the right muscles and you know how to control your kick pretty well. Kicking field goals is just like taking a shot in soccer. The only difference is you want to lean back in football to get it up quickly. In soccer you want to lean forward so it is a low line drive. Much harder for a goalie to stop.

And as a football obsessed kid I did play football in pee-wee. Father made me quit in junior high but I still went out in kicked and threw all the time. I could also punt 50 yards every time. That's a 40 yard punt in football mind you. You punt it 10 yards behind the line.

Sadly, today I probably couldn't hit 40 on a field goal nor 40 on a punt.

 

Well, you still have me by 30 and 30, because with a pinched nerve, I'd be afraid to attempt either right now.

 

haha, I have a herniated disc in my back. I would get one shot and then not be able to move.

 

I vaguely remember an ESPN commercial from a few years back with Steve Young and a few others were poking fun at a kicker on some sort of bet, then the kicker did his thing and challenged them to kick a 50 yarder. They were all silent when they saw how far away the goalposts were.

 

Has anyone watched kickers "ring the bell" from the back of the end zone?

Length is fun, but accuracy is key.

 

Best things kickers can do is practice with narrower goalposts. It's like receivers who only catch with one hand in practice.

About the only bad thing about the evolution from straight-on "jammer" kickers to soccer-style has been the "drift" in kicks. They really have to allow for the right-to-left drift for a right-footed kicker.

As a jammer, I never had to worry about drift.

 

I think there was something (or a lack of something) in the air in Denver Monday night. Not only did Janikowski nail the 63-yd FG, but Denver's punter hit one for about 65 and Shane Leckler booted one for 77.

 

That's just another gameday in Denver. Nothing unusual.