Dan Carpenter -- a liability

[Dave Gray]

Update on this topic, since the Broncos game:

Carpenter clearly has the leg.  He kicked away today, and had no problem putting the ball deep.  However, we did have problems with return coverage, giving up yet another BIG run (and essentially a TD...he ran to the 8 yard line or something.)

Kickoff coverage needs to be a big priority for next year.

[BigDaddyFin]

It seems almost that our punter is a bigger problem than our kicker.  He kicks 3 or 4 in a row really good (in 20, good coverage kicks) and then the next one he kicks 20 yards off the side of his foot.  I know the kid's young and maybe he'll improve some more still but I would say punting is a much bigger problem right now.

Usually when you give up a big kickoff return it's because the coverage breaks down, not because the guy didn't kick it far enough.  Also it seems like sometimes we get bad breaks.  The kickoff return that went 90 yards yesterday there were at least 2 illegal blocks. 

It's alright we'll get better at it. 

[TonyB0D]

i noticed how strong carpenter's leg was on the denver kickoffs - that thin air must really help!  i haven't seen kickoffs boom like that since mare!

[Dave Gray]

Yeah, I never thought about the thin air deal in Denver.  My brother brought that up to me today.  I still have trouble believing that it makes THAT much of a difference.  We were seeing a 15 yard difference in kick length.

[dolfan13]

kickoffs are bad, punting is inconsistent, and the coverage unit is very bad. i think some of it has to do with tackling technique. if you look closely it always seems as though they are trying to strip the ball out or something, instead of squaring up and tackling correctly.

it has to be fixed because they are giving up WAY too much yardage in the kicking game.

[ochizon]

Yeah, I never thought about the thin air deal in Denver.  My brother brought that up to me today.  I still have trouble believing that it makes THAT much of a difference.  We were seeing a 15 yard difference in kick length.

It will absolutely make a difference.

On a windy day, throw a ball into the wind, then turn around and thow with it.  While not exactly the same circumstance, it will illustrate the point.

[Dave Gray]

Thin air doesn't mean wind, though.  It just means the density of the air.

I concede that it makes a difference, but I wonder how much.