Danno

OK, so name a less important position on an NFL team then.

Don't worry, no one else has either.

Danno

Kickers are a hell of a lot more important than punters.

Where did you hear I ever said differently?

Mardigras9

On the field at any given time? Would have to say Morestead has a more important role than the at least half of the other ten players on any kickoff-punt team. They would have to rank as more expendable than him in that senario.

Danno

What position? CB? WR? SS? FS? LB? RB?

C'mon, give me a position. Its an easy question.

Mardigras9

No, it would have to be one of the hole fillers (not long snapper though) in that scheme, the upback can compensate for a weakness there in most cases.

Danno

I could accept long snapper. Thats actually an answer to my question. Thank you for participating, you are the 1st to freaking answer the damn question, sort of. Many don't consider long snapper an actual position.

But again, no one uses early or multiple picks on long snappers either so my point still remains.

FinSaint

Long snapper is the default answer to the least important player on a football team, but still it can really bite you in the butt if one of those long snaps goes haywire at the wrong time, especially when close to own endzone - we've all probably seen safeties coming from those type of situations.

I've defended Morstead and the importance of punting overall before to you Danno, and I couldn't change your mind about it then, so I'm not even going to try it this time around.

But would you Danno rather always go for it on 4th down regardless of the situation than punt the ball away? I mean, I think I read some article about this very question some time a go, and it had some statistical calculations which kind of supported the notion of always going for it on 4th down, but I can't remember where I read the article or how convincing the calculations actually were.


Oh, and you are definitely under-appreciating the art of kicking an onside kick. The success rate is about between 20% and 30%, so if the guys who practice it constantly only successfully give it three times out of ten attempts - it can't be that easy for someone who hasn't practiced it at all. But definitely it matters a lot when the kick is tried, so you are correct about the SB onside kick, still I wouldn't say that anyone could've made that kick successfully.

http://www.advancednflstats.com/2009...ide-kicks.html

"I'm not bashing people, I'm bashing their opinions because in my opinion their opinion is wrong" - Danno

Rugby Saint II

I believe Morestead learned the onsides kick two weeks before the
Superbowl. If I remember correctly.

Danno

But that same article points out the success rate is 60% when its unexpected.

And when a normally sure handed WR bounces it off his head instead of catching and falling on it, I'd asume the success rate skyrockets.

FinSaint

Yes, but the overall success rate is still there between 20% and 30%, some sources have it lower and some have it higher, but three times out of ten is pretty much the success rate overall.

And all the surprise in the world won't make a difference if the kicker isn't able to place the onside kick where he is supposed to, which is not a walk in the park.