Comparing our kickers from Fan Day performance
Towards the end of Fan Day on Saturday, Brady Hoke and Dan Ferrigno had the kicking unit out on the field kicking field goals for the crowd, presumably to simulate a pressure situation. From what I saw, Broekhuizen and Gibbons were actually more impressive than Wile in terms of leg strength. Wile started looking shaky at about the 25/30 yard line, which, granted, is still a decent range, but not as good as he was hyped to be. Couldn't really judge accuracy too much among the three because they didn't do a whole lot of kicks, but Wile wasn't noticeably better than Broekhuizen or Gibbons. Anyone else there to see this?
Either way, I'm wondering whether we should dial down our expectations for Wile being a fast remedy for our kicking problems. If someone with a more experienced eye can lend some insight regarding the Fan Day kicking performance, that would be good, too.
August 18th, 2011 at 11:09 AM ^
He can't be any worse though. Right? I hope? I don't think I'm going to feel confident about a kick for quite a few years
August 18th, 2011 at 11:10 AM ^
before Hoke got out there until it was finished. Honestly, at least for that day in that situation ..... #93 Pauloski was the most accurate kicker and has a strong leg. The other 3 looked meh .... average at best.
August 18th, 2011 at 11:28 AM ^
pre-game warmups alot of fun to watch on September 3, 2011. Can't wait!
Go Blue!
August 18th, 2011 at 11:33 AM ^
We should hire Harbaugh to kick.
August 18th, 2011 at 11:35 AM ^
C'mon, nothing on the line there to cause pressure.
I'm thinking placing the ball down on the Church grass about 5 minutes after the service gets out...Kicking in nothing but the Hanes briefs and hitting the neighbors chimney 7 of 10 times.
Any other ways to simulate pressure?
August 18th, 2011 at 11:45 AM ^
I'm pretty sure I just read a rivals insider article that said Wile kicked a 63 yarder off the ground during practice this past week. But that really doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot other than he can do it.
August 18th, 2011 at 12:14 PM ^
I watched most of the fan day kicking exhibition and agree completely with a previous poster: "#93 Pauloski was the most accurate kicker and has a strong leg."
Pauloski was most impressive to me, followed by Wile. Broekhuizen looked better than last year and hopefully he has improved to provide competition. Gibbons just doesn't have it, in my opinion. His leg looks dead--the ball doesn't jump off his foot like Pauloski and Wile. It's odd because he looks so powerfully built yet he generates so little power with his leg swing.
Our kicking game will be better this year, because it couldn't be worse than last year!
August 18th, 2011 at 1:00 PM ^
There was some poster here last year who kept talking Pauloski up, claiming that we were missing out by not playing him. Although it seemed like the poster might have been a friend/family member of Pauloski, he may have had a point.
August 18th, 2011 at 12:20 PM ^
New Idea,
maybe.
What if the coaching staff forced the kickers to play a game of Horse (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variations_of_basketball#H-O-R-S-E ) to decide the starter for each game? The pressure would come from the fact that it is public and held open seating at the big house. I would go just to see the kickers and the coaches. Plus, it would be for the starting position so the pressure would be real.
August 18th, 2011 at 1:02 PM ^
What if a kicker goes 3-3 in a game? Would he still have to play H-O-R-S-E the next week to keep his job?
August 18th, 2011 at 1:07 PM ^
It is just for the starting position. I hate to say it, but 3rd time the charm doesn't work for me. After 2, its time to send in the backup. Taking blocking errors ect. into account. It would be a season long thing and would strengthen the kicking corps by providing selection based on fitness before every game.
August 18th, 2011 at 2:16 PM ^
Or you could breed dissention by having guys who aren't worthy of the #1 job get it by performing in practice (but not the games). Gibbons apparently was money in practice, but was a bundle of nerves in the games. It's hard to simulate game-level pressure. I can see rotating kickers in the first couple of weeks, but if a guy shows he can kick in game situations, it should be his job.
August 18th, 2011 at 2:48 PM ^
Maybe once a year to leave the ball in the coach's court?
August 18th, 2011 at 3:46 PM ^
Score td's
August 18th, 2011 at 4:06 PM ^
I was lucky enough to tape this it was awsome! check out Wile! GO BLUE! Link below!
http://everythingmichiganandmore.blogspot.com/2011/08/michigans-kicking…
August 18th, 2011 at 5:02 PM ^
So who do you think was most impressive?
August 18th, 2011 at 5:29 PM ^
Yeah, i watched the video, wile looked very solid. All the kickers struggled a little bit when they were making the deep kicks, but that can be expected. Not sure why that video gets a -1 score, but oh well.
August 18th, 2011 at 5:42 PM ^
I'll take whoever can put the ball through the uprights from 30 yards more than 40% (or whatever the percentage was last year). Kickers with good legs are important on kick-offs, but not leaving easy points on the field is what makes you a great kicker. If Wile can hit more than half of his kicks inside of 30 yards, I'll take that for now.
August 18th, 2011 at 6:01 PM ^
While I was there, they were kicking from the 45 (55 yd FG) and the only kicker I saw make it was Wile. Saw him miss one, way short. It would have only been a 40 yd FG......yeah I know!!!
August 19th, 2011 at 1:19 AM ^
Interesting that Gallon was doing the holding for the kicks. I don't remember this from last year. It would provide some intriguing possibilities for fake kick plays.