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Carlson Is Mr. Wrong After He Misses Right (waived pg. 17)


SemperFeist

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19 hours ago, Cearbhall said:

I've been to Atlanta and the air was not noticeably thinner than the 1125 feet elevation where I live in MN. But my guess is the same could be said for all stadiums other than Denver. After all, 1125 feet is just over 21% of a mile. I would guess more of the NFL stadiums are clustered in that bottom 20% with a large gap to Denver's stadium.

Atlanta is in the raised plateau area of low hills at the southern end of The Appalachian Mountains.  So, it's higher than the Eastern Seaboard coastal plain.   

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7 hours ago, Robb_K said:

Atlanta is in the raised plateau area of low hills at the southern end of The Appalachian Mountains.  So, it's higher than the Eastern Seaboard coastal plain.   

Yeah, that was one I was surprised about initially but when I looked at it on a map, it made complete sense. I thought Arizona might be higher, but I suppose they call it the VALLEY of the Sun for a reason. Another that surprised me was Baltimore, as I assumed it was farther inland than that.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Priefer: “Our kicker, Daniel Carlson, I was a little pleasantly surprised that we moved up to get him. I was called down to the draft room in the fifth round, and I think when Rick wants a guy, he’s going to go get him. He felt like that was the right guy to get at that spot so I’m very, very pleased that we drafted Daniel. He’ll provide great competition for us at the placekicker position.”

http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/Priefer-Excited-to-Blend-Newcomers-with-Vets-on-Special-Teams/82240916-3f0d-47a7-bff7-166956755e4b

 

says he'll provide great competition, but also calls him "our kicker." 

oops. add Priefer to the list of guys i want to play poker with....

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Zimmer:  “We’ll see how it goes. If one guy is way ahead of the other guy, we might make the change sooner so the other guy gets all the reps. One thing you have to be careful about is there isn’t 65,000 people here screaming and doing the Skol chant when they are out there kicking. If they miss a game-winner here today, it’s not the same as missing a game-winner in the regular season.”

https://www.1500espn.com/vikings-2/2018/05/takeaways-week-1-vikings-otas/

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I wonder how much testing was done in real life to see how the new kickoff rules would affect play. 

Basic idea seems to be to make it more like a punt, especially the punt gunner vs “cornerback” on the punt receiving team blocking matchup, where guys are battling as they run down the field together. The kick coverage team doesn’t get a running start, which probably costs them a couple of yards by the time the ball is caught. They’ll be running alongside their eventual blocker (who can’t block them until the ball is caught or touches the ground, so probably 30-40 yards downfield). There are rules against blocking any earlier, but I think there’ll be a lot of (inevitable and also on purpose) interference with kick return team blockers, running with a shoulder in front of the guy they’re eventually going to block, trying to redirect or slow them down slightly — like a CB squeezing a receiver to the sideline on a go route. I’m not sure what the penalty will be for overly interfering with kick coverage players as they run downfield before the ball is caught but like everything else, you can bet players will try to push the envelope of what’s permitted to gain an advantage. 

The biggest difference compared to punts is that kickoffs are typically flying 60-70 yards in the air (past the 5 yard line, up to 5 yards into the end zone). Kickoffs are usually aimed on a lower trajectory than punts — despite flying farther they have similar hang times, usually 4 - 4.5 seconds. Punts are struck about 10 yards behind the LOS and the punt coverage team has 1-2 seconds while the punter catches the long snap and gets the punt away to start downfield. On the other hand, immediate blocking is allowed on punts, and won’t be (beyond whatever level of contact is deemed incidental and acceptable) on kickoffs.

Still, it’s easy for a punt that’s kicked 60 yards past the LOS (comparable to a kickoff trajectory) to give the returner 20+ yards of space when he catches it. With the standing start at the time the ball is kicked on a kickoff, I think we’ll often see returners catching the ball with 30+ yards cushion facing the oncoming coverage team. 

I’m not sure, but I guess the net effect will make kickoffs harder to cover effectively if they’re kicked as far as kickoffs usually are — much like punts that outkick the coverage. 

If so, kickers who can either produce better hangtime on kickoffs, and/or more reliably earn touchbacks, will be more valuable. Forbath had some good moments, but he wasn’t a good kickoff kicker. Carlson’s value on kickoffs might be one reason why the Vikings placed enough of a premium on him to trade up and draft him in the 5th.

Same thought from the opposite side of the ball might have played into drafting Hughes, who should be one of the better returners in the league even as a rookie.

 

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I agree wholeheartedly.  As detail-oriented as Spiels is, I imagine he did throw around some scenarios on what rules changes might occur, so he could anticipate the priority on the kicking position...and it may have been put higher than some would have expected...which certainly could have contributed to the trade-up.

While not fully related to the topic at hand, I think this will also put a premium on speed/acceleration for the special teams players...with no longer being able to get a running start, there's going to be an uptick on guys who have the ability to get up to speed quickly so they don't give nearly as much cushion on KOs.  

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Barely a month after signing a non guaranteed one-year, $775,000 contract to return to Minnesota, kicker Kai Forbath watched helplessly as the Vikings used a fifth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft on Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson. While general manager Rick Spielman said the plan is for both kickers to compete for the starting job over the next few months, it’s rare for a team to draft a a kicker and then cut him.

Forbath: “It was a little shocking. I’m still here competing. It’s what I’ve always done. Fortunately, I’ve never lost a competition, I’m not shying away from this one just because they drafted him. As long as I make my kicks, everything else should take care of itself.”

Carlson: “It’s a tricky situation. We are both working to help the team; that’s what it’s all about. Usually competition drives better success, so that’s what we’re going to do. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out. We will both give it our best shot, and at the end of the day one of us will help the team as best that we can.”

https://www.twincities.com/2018/05/24/kai-forbath-shocked-vikings-drafted-potential-replacement-in-daniel-carlson/

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Spielman was interviewed by Paul Allen this week and according to the paraphrase of his comments at Daily Norseman, the Vikings did factor in the new kickoff rules and Carlson’s ability to produce touchbacks in making the decision to trade up for him in the 5th:

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  • He also mentioned kickoffs under the new rules could lead to some bigger returns, and the importance of having a big leg kicker who can kick it out of the end zone - a subtle endorsement of 5th round draft pick Daniel Carlson - although he had praise for Kai Forbathas well.

https://www.dailynorseman.com/2018/5/24/17391784/vikings-ota-tidbits

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I am very, very intrigued as how this new rule is going to affect the kicking game. 

Two years ago we were talking about how long it would be until they simply did away with the kickoff all together. With this new rule, without the running starts, I wonder if they’ll not only be able to salvage the play, but also bring back the excitement of the play. 

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4 hours ago, SemperFeist said:

I am very, very intrigued as how this new rule is going to affect the kicking game. 

Two years ago we were talking about how long it would be until they simply did away with the kickoff all together. With this new rule, without the running starts, I wonder if they’ll not only be able to salvage the play, but also bring back the excitement of the play. 

Completely agree. I actually believe this rule will be made permanent next offseason. I think it will be great for the game!

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The battle between Kai Forbath and Daniel Carlson is off and running. Each took four kicks during team drills, as Carlson made all of his attempts. He was good from 28, 33, 38 and 43 yards. Forbath’s lone miss was wide left from 38 yards out.

The Vikings ended practice with a situational drill, and Carlson delivered in crunch time. With his team down 17-16, the rookie nailed a 48-yarder from the right hash that split the uprights. The first-team offense held on for the 19-17 win.

http://www.vikings.com/news/article-1/3-Observations-Cousins-to-Diggs-Highlights-Vikings-OTA-Practice/54e844c0-102d-4f91-8c51-daa12a11d590

 

bye bye Kai...

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I need some clarification.....

The new kickoff rule says it's a touchback "if it is not touched by the receiving team and touches the ground in the end zone." So can a player still run a return out of the end zone on the catch? It didn't touch the ground. I guess I can't even think of how it would compare to punts...can someone return a caught punt out of the end zone?

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