A Closer Look at Greg Zuerlein's Missed Kicks/Wagoner

[RamFan503]

What's wrong with swinging hard? I do it all the time and I am very consistent. I shoot in the 100's every time!

I like to call that getting your money's worth. And people keep telling me I should ease up on my swing and my slice will ease up. Just makes me shank it when I go easier. I'd rather murder the ball and hope for a hole with no trees on the left so I can make that huge bending shot.

 

[Mackeyser]

For real, we need to remember that Fedex field is undoubtedly the worst stadium turf, real or artificial in the NFL.

It cost RG3 his knee (well, in addition to Shanahan keeping him out there). It's cost lots of players unnecessary injuries. The NFL has actually had to investigate the field because they've allowed HS games to be played there the Friday before and NFL game and, as you would expect after heavy rains, they tore it up good. No time to repair it.

There were two things. First was the purchase was uneven. Some times, his foot would stick, others, it wouldn't. That's hell on a kicker.

Second, he's a young kicker and he wasn't making very good adjustments. If you watch the second miss, his plant foot comes down way in front of the ball. There was no way that was going to be good unless he was a hook kicker and Zuerlein isn't. He's a power kicker. He needs his plant foot to be even with the ball or if it's on the right hash, to be ever so slightly behind so he pulls it... a smidge.

GZ is fine. It was a very valuable learning experience that kickers who stay in this league eventually have to learn.

Having watched him live on grass in Tampa...twice now... I can tell you that on a good field, which Tampa is, he's MONEY.

And I have every faith that between GZ and Coach Fassel, they'll work out the adjustments for when he has to kick in poor conditions be they poor field conditions or poor weather conditions.

In the end, I think this learning experience will only help us for our multiple Super Bowl Victories!

 

[RamBill]

Bernie Byte: Is Zuerlein allergic to grass?
• By Bernie Miklasz

http://www.stltoday.com/sports/colu...cle_53ba5dd6-a052-5347-b21d-8876352552df.html

Rams kicker Greg Zuerlein struggled at Washington on Sunday, missing an extra point and two of three field-goal attempts. All three of the FG tries were from less than 40 yards, which virtually qualify as chip shots in the NFL.

So what's up with Greg the Leg?

The numbers on this are clear: Zuerlein isn't the same kicker when he works outside.

Zuerlein is 8 for 12 on field-goal attempts outdoors this season, a success rate of 66.7 percent. And that's well below the league-wide average of 84.5 percent on outdoor FGs.

This isn't exactly a new trend for Zuerlein, who has been an NFL kicker for three seasons, all with the Rams.

While it's true that Zuerlein had no problem kicking outside in 2013 -- making all six of his open-air FG attempts -- his career outdoor FG rate is below the NFL average.

A quick look at the total numbers between 2012-2014:

* NFL percentage of FGs made outdoors: 85.3 percent.

* Zuerlein's rate on FGs outdoors: 69 percent; he's made 20 of 29.

And that's a problem. That 69 percent success rate is the lowest for outside field goals among NFL kickers that have been active over the last three seasons.

Zuerlein is more accurate kicking in domes, and the Rams play their home games at the Edward Jones Dome.

In his career Zuerlein has made 87 percent of his FG tries in domes (47 of 54.) That's above the NFL average of 84.3 percent.

That said, other kickers that have enclosed home venues have done better than Zuerlein over the past three seasons. For example ...

Minnesota's Blair Walsh has made 43 of 46 indoors (93.5 pct.).

Adam Vinatieri (Indianapolis) has made 34 of 37 inside (91.9 pct.). And the roof at Lucas Oil Field has been open during some of his home games.

Atlanta's Matt Bryant is 52 of 57 (91.2 pct.) inside.

Dan Bailey (Dallas) is 35 of 39 (89.7 pct.) inside.

So you can make the case that even though Zuerlein has been above the league average in his indoor FG percentage, that percentage should be higher.

This inside-outside disparity also carries over into Zuerlein's kickoffs:

* During his three seasons 45.2 percent of Zuerlein's kickoffs outdoors have resulted in touchbacks. The league average is 47.7 percent.

* When he's kicked indoors over the last three years, Zuerlein's touchback rate of 65.3 percent is higher than the league average of 59.1 percent.

One other note on this:

Zuerlein's overall touchback rate of 52.2 percent this season (33 of 63) is the lowest of his career. That ranks 18th (tied) among NFL kickers.

As a rookie in 2012, Zuerlein ranked tied for 12th in the NFL with a touchback percentage of 55.2 percent.

In 2013, he was tied for fourth in the NFL with a touchback rate of 67.5 percent.

The drop from last year's 67.5 percent to this season's 52.2 percent is significant. So I think it's fair to wonder what's going on with Zuerlein's leg strength.

Is he still Greg the Leg?

Or is this just a slump?

Thanks for reading ...

— Bernie

 

[rhinobean]

I like to call that getting your money's worth. And people keep telling me I should ease up on my swing and my slice will ease up. Just makes me shank it when I go easier. I'd rather murder the ball and hope for a hole with no trees on the left so I can make that huge bending shot.

Must be a Southpaw if the ball slices left! 40 years and I still slice it left on occasion. Just not as far!

 

[Mackeyser]

Damn Bernie and his click bait.

He's a young, promising kicker who needs some minor tweaking to his mechanics and has one of the best ST coaches in the game.

He and others are pulling a Chicken Little because he had a bad day.

Btw, did anyone notice that a LOAD of kickers had bad days, yesterday? Iirc, it was the worst day kickers had thus far this season including 9 missed FGs.

Now, if Greg's mechanics issues continue, then I might agree, but it was one game...

 

[Thordaddy]

I've always thought he kicks to hard on the shorter stuff.

And he is always going to the right.

But I'll keep him around thanks.

Don't recall where I heard this ,it may have been so long ago that Phylis George was doing the interview ,but the guy said he kicked them the same every time that distance was not the determining factor angle of approach was

 

[Mackeyser]

Which is why the plant foot position is so important for a power kicker. Too far forward and he's going to push it. If he tries to lift his right hip to pull back, he'll hook it, but it's such a fine adjustment with a very powerful leg, that he's just as likely to shank that left as make the adjustment.

He's just got to get his steps regrooved... I have every faith that he will.

 

[CodeMonkey]

I still contend that there's something physically wrong we don't know about. He
definitely wasn't himself and faking the kick to go for the two points about convinced me of that.

Did anybody ever sign this guy?:


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDwbjHV8jLo

 

[rafa]

Nigel?

EXACTLY!!!

 

[BigRamFan]

Not the first time he's struggled outdoors (KC MIA), but his 60 yard bombs in the dome make up for it. All the more reason I don't want an outdoor stadium.

I was at that MIA game and that was totally not GZ's issue. The wind was howling across the field and two of his misses were from 60+. To even send him out for those attempts is a testament to his abilities.

 

[moklerman]

Yeah, me too. I always get goosebumps when Jake calls his shot.

There's so much good about that movie. Pete Vukovich as the nemesis Yankee was one of my favorite bits of casting.

Bob Uecker ties together the whole movie though. I think he's the one guy who couldn't be replaced.

 

[moklerman]

On the topic of Zuerlein, I've always wondered if he's instructed NOT to kick touchbacks. It doesn't make any sense to me that a guy with a leg strong enough to kick longer FG's than anyone else doesn't also kick it out of the end zone every time.

 

[mr.stlouis]

I was at that MIA game and that was totally not GZ's issue. The wind was howling across the field and two of his misses were from 60+. To even send him out for those attempts is a testament to his abilities.

Well put!

 

[A.J. Hicks]

On the topic of Zuerlein, I've always wondered if he's instructed NOT to kick touchbacks. It doesn't make any sense to me that a guy with a leg strong enough to kick longer FG's than anyone else doesn't also kick it out of the end zone every time.

I think there are times that we plan not to kick the touch backs. Seems like there have been multiple times this year on kickoffs we have pinned teams inside the 15.