- This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 8 months ago by
.
-
Thursday, January 7, 2016
Rams plan to have competition at kicker for next season
By Nick WagonerEARTH CITY, Mo. — Whether or not the St. Louis Rams re-sign kicker Greg Zuerlein this offseason, they’re planning on keeping open the option for a change at the position.
Rams coach Jeff Fisher volunteered that information earlier this week when assessing where the Rams went wrong in their 7-9 campaign.
“Greg has been asked to do a lot of things, kick a lot of long field goals,” Fisher said. “Obviously his numbers aren’t what we hoped they would be. We have confidence in him, but in all likelihood there will probably be some competition with him in camp next year, which will make him better.”
That declaration comes on the heels of Zuerlein’s worst season in the NFL.
Among the 37 kickers who attempted a field goal in 2015, Zuerlein ranked 35th in the league in field goal percentage as he converted 20 of 30 for the season. Only former Steelers kicker Josh Scobee and former Tampa Bay kicker Kyle Brindza came in below Zuerlein’s 66.7 percent conversion rate, and that duo attempted 10 and 12 field goals, respectively. Zuerlein was also 26-of-28 on extra points.
Greg Zuerlein’s bumpy season included a missed field goal and a missed PAT in a three-point loss at Baltimore in Week 11.
As Fisher pointed out, the Rams did ask a lot of the 28-year-old Zuerlein when it came to his field goal tries. He attempted nine field goals of 50-plus yards, making three. Those nine tries were the second-most among all kickers.Perhaps most frustrating was the timing of some of Zuerlein’s misses. He missed a field goal and an extra point in a three-point loss to Baltimore, missed a 48-yard field goal in an overtime loss to Minnesota and failed to convert two field goals in a three-point overtime loss to San Francisco. A make or two in there and the Rams’ season might have been much different.
.
To be fair, Zuerlein also saw three kicks blocked and did set a franchise record in the Minnesota game by converting a 61-yarder.Nonetheless, the always-accountable fourth-year kicker was the first to admit that his 2015 season simply wasn’t good enough.
“Obviously, the production hasn’t been where it needs to be,” Zuerlein said. “So that’s something that I can’t control right now. I had my opportunities, I just didn’t do as good as I would have liked so now we’ll just see what happens.
“Any time you go out there and miss kicks, you are not going to be happy about it. I think I’ve got to get better and convert those kicks. Really, that’s all it comes down to is making kicks, and I didn’t make as many as I would have liked.”
Before this season, Zuerlein’s tenure with the Rams had been up and down. In 2013, he made 93 percent of his field goal tries; those numbers dipped to 80 percent in 2014 prior to this season’s major drop-off. There’s never been any denying Zuerlein’s leg strength, but consistency has been an issue, especially the past two seasons.
This year, Zuerlein said he wasn’t really able to pinpoint the cause of his struggles, though he did battle a leg injury that kept him out of a couple of games late in the season. He had to scale back his kicks to keep from overworking his kicking leg and says it’s something he’ll have to monitor in the future.
“I thought I was hitting the ball pretty well coming into the season, probably the best I ever have,” Zuerlein said. “It’s one of those things, I can’t put my finger on it right now. For one reason or another, it just didn’t happen. But I’m still a good kicker, I still believe in myself. So whatever happens, I think I’ll be all right.”
When Zuerlein says “whatever happens,” he is referring to his pending free agency. For a player who early in his career seemed like a long-term answer at the position, that future with the Rams now seems far less certain.
The shape of any potential market for Zuerlein won’t be clear for another couple of months, and for his part, the kicker makes it clear he’d like to stay in St. Louis if given the opportunity. In the meantime, he’s going to do his best to focus on the things he can control.
“You never know,” Zuerlein said. “Everything is so up in the air you don’t know what’s going to happen so I really am trying to approach this offseason just like any other. Rest, get healthy is probably the biggest thing and then just try to get better.
“I love it here. In a perfect world, that’s what would happen.”
If we win those 3 games, we go 10 – 6. Maybe all the angst about QBs and Fisher wouldn’t be so deep?
And what happened to the kid who made his first 15 FGs as a rookie?
Agamemnon5 Focus Tips Learned From a Sniper To Help You Improve Your Golf Game | #Sniper #SWAT
By Greg Liberto
Updated: July 15, 20145 Focus Tips Learned From a Sniper To Help You Improve Your Golf Game | #Sniper #SWAT
07/15/2014
What can you learn about your golf game from a sniper?
In this 3 part series you will learn what it takes to improve your focus from a US Army Special Forces and SWAT team sniper. I conducted a brief interview with each and their responses are below. Each sniper asked to remain anonymous.
Screen Shot 2014-07-15 at 9.25.57 AM
The HEAD Coach: How do you train to become a sniper?
US Army Sniper: Prior to even becoming a sniper, you must master the fundamentals of basic rifle marksmanship. This consists of mastering a steady position, your sight-picture, your breathing, and an immaculate trigger squeeze with follow through. With this I must say that “perfect practice makes perfect.”
Once that has been accomplished and you have proven that you can do this consistently, then if you are lucky enough to be given the opportunity to go to a sniper course, you will then be trained to be a sniper. Throughout your sniper course, you build on the fundamentals of rifle marksmanship. You learn how to read winds by using mirage and vegetation in order to make the most logical scientific “guess” of wind speed. Then you learn how to transform that into a mathematical formula to compensate how the wind will effect the round as it travels through the air.
Screen Shot 2014-07-15 at 9.24.54 AM
You will also learn range estimation by using mathematical equations and a scientific “guess” mixed with a reticle which can be seen through a sniper scope. All of this will be mastered through time, patience, and mistakes. Our number 1 enemy is gravity and wind with gravity being a constant.
The HEAD Coach: How do you stay focused and calm during difficult/tense times?
US Army Sniper: Staying calm during difficult/intense times can only be accomplished by training during difficult and intense times. Training should be so difficult and intense that game time is easy.
The HEAD Coach: What separates a sniper from the rest?
US Army Sniper: The ability to be patient and intelligent enough to focus on multiple negative factors, compensate for those negative factors, and ends with a positive outcome that the sniper benefits from is what sets snipers apart from the rest.
The HEAD Coach: What is the single most important attribute a sniper must have?
US Army Sniper: The ability to compensate for the multiple factors that are working against you is an extremely important attribute to have.
The HEAD Coach: How can a golfer apply the focus and mindset of a sniper to their game?
US Army Sniper: Master the fundamentals of golfing, master range estimation, master compensating for windage, and understanding gravity; how it can work for us and against us.
Next week you will learn how to improve your focus from a SWAT team sniper. In Part III I will share how you can take this extremely useful information and apply it to your game. Until then, PICK YOUR TARGET, LOCK IN AND HIT IT !!!
You can look up snipers and focus and stuff. Or you can, aim for the center of the target and don’t think about negative stuff. The good news if Zuerlein doesn’t have to learn how to do anything, he just needs to remember what he did before.
Agamemnon
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
