Kicker May Pose Injury Risk
August 5th, 2019
Quality comeback.
Without question the best one-liner Joe has heard from quotable Bucco Bruce Arians, and maybe the best quote Joe has heard from a Bucs coach since Raheem Morris, was heard Saturday night after practice.
(Joe already shared this on Twitter but it bears repeating on this here website.)
Rookie kicker Matt Gay put on another long-distance kicking show in the Glazer Shed. If this guy can get short kicks down, he is a freaking weapon.
When Gay kicks the ball, you don’t have to see him to know who is kicking. You can hear the kick. Joe’s never heard anything like it. Best way Joe can describe it is a city fireworks show when a firework is first launched into the air and one hears the report from a distance.
That’s what it sounds like when Gay puts his foot into a football. Boom!
So after practice Saturday night, Arians was asked if it would be dangerous for a defensive lineman to try to block one of his kicks, that the velocity of the ball coming off Gay’s foot is so extreme the defender blocking Gay’s kick might suffer a broken hand.
Arians replied, “I hope so.”
Over a day later Joe is chuckling out loud typing that. Props to Arians for the quality one-liner.
But it is weird to think about. Gay’s football explodes off his foot so much that defenders might be scared to attempt a block. It could certainly snap some digits off a dude’s hand, or worse.
August 5th, 2019 at 5:26 am
That’s a good one-liner.
But he’s going to have to fill up a bunch of notebooks to compete with the legend John McCay.
“We didn’t tackle well today but we made up for it by not blocking.”
“It bothers me that they (the national media) have picked us to be the worst team in football. Because what they are doing now is challenging your physical and your mental capacity and my ability to coach you. Now, this hurts me. Second-worst team, I could stand it. But not the worst team.”
“We’ve broken down the expansion teams and they’ve averaged winning 2.7 games their first year, which to me is rather difficult. I figured out the 2, but the .7 has got me wondering what the hell is going on.”
“Kickers are like horse manure. They’re all over the place.”
“Intensity is a lot of guys that run fast.”
“Emotion is highly overrated in football. My wife Corky is emotional as hell but can’t play football worth a damn.”
On his team’s blocking strategy: “Hold when you’re at home and don’t hold when you’re on the road.”
“If you have everyone back from a team that lost 10 games, experience isn’t too important.”
On how coaching an expansion team is a religious experience: “You do a lot of praying, but most of the time the answer is ‘no.'”
On how badly the Bucs looked in losing to the Steelers, 42-0, “There were times I felt like leaving the stadium and hitchhiking home.”
On the Bucs’ 42-0 loss to Pittsburgh on a very cold day: `”I remember in Pittsburgh we had no players and the ones we did have wanted to stay at the hotel by the fire. I was ticked because that’s where I wanted to stand.”
….drumroll… now the all-time classics….
On Tampa Bay ending its 26-game losing streak: “Three or four plane crashes and we’re in the playoffs.”
…and coming in at #1!
In response to a question about his team’s execution – “I’m all in favor of it.”
August 5th, 2019 at 5:37 am
“If this guy can get short kicks down, he is a freaking weapon.” All for naught if his short FGs & XPs suck. HOPEFULLY that’ll never be a worry.
August 5th, 2019 at 5:38 am
Joe, if Gay wins the kicking contest, does Santos a trade value or do we just cut him at the 53 final roster?
August 5th, 2019 at 5:45 am
Bama:
Unlikely anyone trades for the od. Kicker out as he will be released.
August 5th, 2019 at 5:45 am
Broken hand from the ball is the least worry! Matt Gay is built like a linebacker. A guy running into him should worry about getting thumped.
I agree totally with Joe on the sound.
Being a former kicker/soccer player/coach in (much) lower leagues, the sound made when striking the ball “true” is unmistakable (a deep “foomp” versus a “fapp”) and I noticed it with Gay at the first practice. Guys that have problems with inconsistency will often find that sound varies too. Many football coaches of old were skeptical when soccer players came on scene, but soon learned with good form, soccer-style kickers were deadly accurate because it’s easier to control consistenty, where the foot strikes the ball. Downside: A big leg like Gay has can be an enemy without consistent good form. That is, when he does miss, it may be biblically big (will fly farther away faster). But he really looks good so far.
August 5th, 2019 at 5:47 am
I can see it now..
Bucs v panthers in ot
Bucs get the ball first but stall at the 9..shocker. On first down gmc almost gets his first sack but jameis evades and overthrows. On second mike Evans makes a falling catch 2 yards short of the first down. Third and 2 Donovan smith gets flagged for holding. Incomplete pass.
4th down..to take a 3 point lead But giving Carolina a chance to tie/win
Gay comes out…and booms a kick that is tipped by Gerald McCoy, snapping off 3 of his digits..the same 3 that jpp lost, coincidentally.. one of geralds fingers, as well as the ball, shoot directly towards Luke kuechly.. the finger pokes kuechly in the eye, making him unable to recover the football that is eventually scooped up by Ryan Jensen..who happened to think the play was already over but, being the animal that he is, he Never stopped playing.. Jensen laterals to jameis who then laterals it to rojo who scampers in for a td..
boom, Bucs win on the walk off scoop dunk and jameis is so hungry after the W that he tries to eat what’s left of a melted Gerald McCoy ice cream puddle
August 5th, 2019 at 6:01 am
Magadude,
I don’t want to see a Bucs kicker try to thump anyone.
Its the NFL , He’s gonna get foomped.
In College I agree with you dude could have thumped on occasion……..if he got hit it was mostly fapped.
Kickers ..kick.
They aren’t even allowed to say that they play football. They’re kickers. If anyone asks.
August 5th, 2019 at 6:11 am
Rod- Thank you for that! McKay had some classics.
August 5th, 2019 at 6:50 am
John McKay…..best floppy hat guy in football history……
August 5th, 2019 at 7:34 am
We had a kicker a couple of years ago, out of Notre Dame, who had the same thump when kicking the ball. He did not lay half a season. He could kick 70 yarders but could not make them from 40 in. Think John Daly.
August 5th, 2019 at 7:50 am
I really don’t care what it sounds like, or how far it goes, does it split the uprights? I read where Gay missed two extra points the other day, what did that sound like?
August 5th, 2019 at 8:01 am
@Joe , has or is Gay struggling with the short kicks????
August 5th, 2019 at 8:07 am
His main problem in college was blocked kicks. The Happy Gilmour style won’t work in the NFL.
August 5th, 2019 at 8:08 am
If a defender puts his hand to block Gay’s kick, I better HOPE that he has the will power of JPP to come back from the injury! Glad that we are talking positives about the damn kicking position. “I Hope So”
August 5th, 2019 at 8:12 am
Nick:
Not sure how you would define “struggling.” He missed a couple of short(er) kicks. Not sure that’s enough to cut him (yet).
August 5th, 2019 at 8:28 am
Rod Munch Says:
August 5th, 2019 at 5:26 am
^^^ Thanks so much for sharing that! LMAO dood was classic!
August 5th, 2019 at 1:46 pm
@Rod Munch Says:
August 5th, 2019 at 5:26 am
I am in agreement with you on McKay and his great one liners.
There are a few you missed but I will share just one more.
On getting asked on the fan mail he received, he replied:
It was about three-to-one that I was not an SOB. But there were a lot of ones.
August 5th, 2019 at 10:12 pm
More of the good $hi+ and less of the bad $hi- !! great work Mr Munch! Busting out laughing reading ol bucs history! I feel guilty for laughing, but these presser had to be great!