Steve Haushcka (SP?)....SUCKS

[Ravenator]

As much as I wanted to believe we should move on from Stover...and have backed the decision, I just can't do it anymore. He is terrible. F-ing terrible. Two kicks, (One for a win, another to close the lead to 7) he has missed. HE IS FREAKIN TERRIBLE. Go out and find someone who is old but consistent. As long as they connect under 40, I will take it.

[camdenyard]

That miss pissed me off moreso than the Vikings miss. We had momentum in a game we needed to win, and he poured icewater on it.

38 yards in perfect conditions. Jesus. What can we expect in sloppy conditions in Pittsburgh?

4-4, we can lose only 2 more games and we already know one of them will be in two weeks vs. the Irsays. The Irsays that have Stover making every kick. Preston was spot on about Stover.

[Purpleguy]

I think we can only drop one more game. Haushka should have been released after the Minny game. That miss killed his confidence. He can't kick under pressure.

[bmorebirds_24]

The kid sucks!!!!

[The Fanatic]

I said the same thing to the Mrs. regarding this titstick and the weather.
First he missed a pressure kick in a dome, and now a pressure kick in ideal weather conditions.

What the hell is this idiot going to do when it's freakin' 10 degrees outside with the wind blowing and possible percipitation?

This dude couldn't kick his way out of a sealed paper bag if they injected any level of PSI into it.

You can tell by looking at him he does not have the mental toughness needed to thrive in this league at what he is getting paid to do.

I'm not pinning this lose on him, but IMO the team (in particular the offense) has a complete different mindset going into that last possession knowing one score ties the game rather then knowing you need two scores with very little time left to play.

Dude is a pile of dog feces in crunch time!!

[BmoreBrawla]

I expected the miss in Minn, I did not expect this one.

[RockGod]

He's Harbaughs guy, anything Hauschka does lies at the feet of Harbaugh.

[Mista T]

No Hauschka defenders anymore? It should be obvious to all by now that cutting Stover was a mistake.

[bmorebirds_24]

No Hauschka defenders anymore? It should be obvious to all by now that cutting Stover was a mistake.

:iagree:

[Mike B]

As much as I wanted to believe we should move on from Stover...and have backed the decision, I just can't do it anymore. He is terrible. F-ing terrible. Two kicks, (One for a win, another to close the lead to 7) he has missed. HE IS FREAKIN TERRIBLE. Go out and find someone who is old but consistent. As long as they connect under 40, I will take it.

He is what he is, a young kicker trying to learn his way. The thing that pisses me is that we had a clutch veteran kicker who we could not find a roster spot or 1 million to keep. Good thing we were able to give Chris Carr a roster spot and 2.75 this year. Matt should still be here and the kid could be the kickoff guy and long field goal guy.

[RockGod]

No Hauschka defenders anymore? It should be obvious to all by now that cutting Stover was a mistake.

:iagree:+2

[BmoreBrawla]

No Hauschka defenders anymore? It should be obvious to all by now that cutting Stover was a mistake.

They'll be here. After all, we still have "Landry better than Leonhard" parrots.

[Mike B]

That miss pissed me off moreso than the Vikings miss. We had momentum in a game we needed to win, and he poured icewater on it.

38 yards in perfect conditions. Jesus. What can we expect in sloppy conditions in Pittsburgh?

4-4, we can lose only 2 more games and we already know one of them will be in two weeks vs. the Irsays. The Irsays that have Stover making every kick. Preston was spot on about Stover.

Forget Preston. Many of us screamed about when they did it. Too much is made of who can play ST's on this team. Most teams set their ST's off of what is needed on offense and defense. Harbaugh decides who is up based on whether they can play teams.
We have exactly one pass rusher and he is not getting there. It is time to see if 99 can play.

[Lee Van Cleef]

Hauschka for the win!

Oh wait.

Maybe not.

[RavenScallywag]

I would generally try to defend it...but it's hard to at this point.

Most kickers flub a FG now and again...we had something special with Stover, his leg was suspect outside of 40 yards, but he was clutch. The problem is you were going to lose him one day anyway...it was only a question of which year in the next 3...

If we're thinking about building for a run in a few years, it behoves us to get a young kicker who we know will get better to take his lumps now and be a good K by that run year...

That said, it may be time to bring in some competition to Hauschka...38 yard misses are pretty bad, and the misses are starting to get too tough to excuse. If you want to keep an NFL job, you need to be clutch. The only problem is you essentially turn the kicker spot into a "the job is yours until you miss" position, because can you honestly name me an AVAILABLE K who is more dependable than Hauschka right now (And seriously here, no 'anyone with two legs' jokes...you need to prove that the kicker you bring in will make every kick they should in GAME situations...practice is nothing)...it just can't be done because the K spot is that hard to predict without game situations in front of a crowd.

[purple bird]

:roll:
He is what he is, a young kicker trying to learn his way. The thing that pisses me is that we had a clutch veteran kicker who we could not find a roster spot or 1 million to keep. Good thing we were able to give Chris Carr a roster spot and 2.75 this year. Matt should still be here and the kid could be the kickoff guy and long field goal guy.


Couldn't agree more; why did Harbaugh find so much more necessary to find a spot for the useless LJ Smith than to keep the reliable kicker we had in Stover?

[ravenjoe]

After the Minn loss, I posted that Hauscka Sucks, and the 'real fan' police got all over my derrier. However, this day Hauscka was not the reason for this loss - this was a total team loss, including the coaches who did not have this team ready to play. Or maybe they did, and the team just failed to get off of the bus. In any case, Hauschka just played down to the level of his collective team today, and I do not believe this team can make the playoffs playing this brand of football. I pay big bucks for my seats, and I'm terribly disappointed in the product I've been watching on the field this year. Time to start pulling for the Bengals to beat out the Stillers - anybody but the Stillers.

P.S. Stover is 6-6 this year in field goals, and pulled the game out for Indy today!

[camdenyard]

I think Haushka is one of those kickers that can kick great when there is little or no pressure on. But when the team really needs one, he can't hit it.

At least that is what I am seeing thus far.

Well, at this point it really doesn't matter. The Ravens may as well give the kid the rest of this year to figure it out. Because we aren't going to the playoffs this year.

[Dragz]

He's Harbaughs guy, anything Hauschka does lies at the feet of Harbaugh.

+1 Look, I like Harbaugh and the way he emphasizes "team" but its starting to piss me off with this "doghouse" shit. Apparently D. Will is in his doghouse, a bigger target than Clayton with more speed, who we could use downfield. CMac was in his doghouse, a HANDS DOWN better corner than ANY on our roster. When it comes to the NFL and being a HC, what is more important: having "your" loyal guys or bringing wins to the fans?

[Ravenator]

That said, it may be time to bring in some competition to Hauschka...38 yard misses are pretty bad, and the misses are starting to get too tough to excuse. If you want to keep an NFL job, you need to be clutch. The only problem is you essentially turn the kicker spot into a "the job is yours until you miss" position, because can you honestly name me an AVAILABLE K who is more dependable than Hauschka right now (And seriously here, no 'anyone with two legs' jokes...you need to prove that the kicker you bring in will make every kick they should in GAME situations...practice is nothing)...it just can't be done because the K spot is that hard to predict without game situations in front of a crowd.

Actually you are absolutely right. I just looked up who would be available and nobody is really out there....unless you count Vanderjagt. The only other guy I could think of off the top of my head was former Maryland kicker Nick Novak. The only argument I can make for Novak is that he does have a game winning kick under his belt while with the Redskins.

Any others?

[CRZA938]

Actually you are absolutely right. I just looked up who would be available and nobody is really out there....unless you count Vanderjagt. The only other guy I could think of off the top of my head was former Maryland kicker Nick Novak. The only argument I can make for Novak is that he does have a game winning kick under his belt while with the Redskins.

Any others?

Matt Bryant?

[camdenyard]

I don't blame Harbaugh for anything he did last year, he had to kick ass and get the asylum in order.

This year, however, is starting to remind me more and more of 2005. I just can't believe the penalties we are getting, we are truly killing ourselves. Palmer was good today, certainly not great for someone who barely saw the ground. On both of their TD drives we threw the Bengals life rings whenever they needed one.

Need a PI on 4th down? No problem!

Can't say what the deal is on D. Williams, the bigger mystery to me is LJ Smith, who aside from one (1) pass play in the last 7 games has been on a milk carton. I mean, he's apparently healthy, he's active...

And McGahee. He got his obligatory 1 touch today. This was a guy who was on fire the first 3 games, and suddenly pulled a Houdini.

I don't have a clue as to what Harbaugh is telling these guys, or if they aren't listening...53 Mighty Men etc. excuse me while I gag. But I will say that as clear as it was last Sunday how the Ravens had to play to win - run the ball, play (relatively) smart penalty-free football, take what they give you, etc. - they acted like they didn't learn a damn thing.

Ah, whatever. Like I said, put a fork in us this year. We'll probably go 8-8 or 9-7 and just miss out, probably deservedly so.

[effo5231]

No Hauschka defenders anymore? It should be obvious to all by now that cutting Stover was a mistake.

Maybe... but he's old and we were gonna have to replace him this year or next anyway... since this team has plenty of trouble that has nothing to do with the kicking game, I'm fine with letting Haushka learn how to play in the NFL in a season where our best possible scenario right now is a wildcard spot and likely early playoff exit.

Besides, its not like we lost by 3... we lost by 10, deep in our end of the field on 3 straight sacks.

Blaming this on Haushka is like the Browns blaming their loss to us on Brady Quinn... he sure didn't help matters, but this was a total team effort to lose.

[Tspot-D-Ravenator]

:grbac:I've been saying this all along, but I thought it would be against Pittsburgh for a game winner! Ahhhhh, that may still happen:eyes: I know I won't be purchasing a #6 jersey:thumbdown:

[Tspot-D-Ravenator]

Actually you are absolutely right. I just looked up who would be available and nobody is really out there....unless you count Vanderjagt. The only other guy I could think of off the top of my head was former Maryland kicker Nick Novak. The only argument I can make for Novak is that he does have a game winning kick under his belt while with the Redskins.

Any others?

Wait til Gano is finished with the UFL maybe??

[Tspot-D-Ravenator]

Maybe... but he's old and we were gonna have to replace him this year or next anyway... since this team has plenty of trouble that has nothing to do with the kicking game, I'm fine with letting Haushka learn how to play in the NFL in a season where our best possible scenario right now is a wildcard spot and likely early playoff exit.

Besides, its not like we lost by 3... we lost by 10, deep in our end of the field on 3 straight sacks.

Blaming this on Haushka is like the Browns blaming their loss to us on Brady Quinn... he sure didn't help matters, but this was a total team effort to lose.

But we were ONE game away from going to the Super Bowl last year!!!! Why screw with that!!:187734:

[Losac]

Haushka just looks like a deer in the headlights out there. Doesn't seem like he has much confidence and he is horrible in the pressure situations. He really doesn't appear to have what it takes to be an NFL kicker.

Preston was spot on with what he said about Stover. It was a huge mistake not bringing him back and it is going to cost us a few games.

[effo5231]

Wait til Gano is finished with the UFL maybe??

Gano played worse than Haushka in the preseason. Why does everyone forget that? He had a weaker leg and in the football equivalent of a job interview he missed 2 out of 3 kicks.


But we were ONE game away from going to the Super Bowl last year!!!! Why screw with that!!:187734:

I could argue that it's wrong to give Rice as many carries as he's getting because with McClain toting the rock we got ONE game from the Super Bowl... You change things because you think it will make you better. We'll see what Haushka's numbers look like at the end of the year, but I still think the only fair comparison you can make is to Stover's numbers in his first full time season... or any kicker's numbers in his first full time season.



Haushka just looks like a deer in the headlights out there. Doesn't seem like he has much confidence and he is horrible in the pressure situations. He really doesn't appear to have what it takes to be an NFL kicker.

Preston was spot on with what he said about Stover. It was a huge mistake not bringing him back and it is going to cost us a few games.

So far he cost us one (although the defense spotting the Vikes 14 points sure didn't help.) The Bengals loss was no more his fault than it was the fault of any of the myriad of Ravens who blew it today. You can't blame a kicker for a 10 point loss unless he misses 3 field goals and an extra point.

[Losac]

So far he cost us one (although the defense spotting the Vikes 14 points sure didn't help.) The Bengals loss was no more his fault than it was the fault of any of the myriad of Ravens who blew it today. You can't blame a kicker for a 10 point loss unless he misses 3 field goals and an extra point.

Oh I'm not pinning the loss on him. We shit the bed all over the place out there today. Just saying that's a kick Haushka needs to make. 38 yards. In the midst of putting a comeback together. Ideal conditions. He just has this deer in the headlights look to him that really shows me his confidence is shot.

[CRZA938]

Oh I'm not pinning the loss on him. We shit the bed all over the place out there today. Just saying that's a kick Haushka needs to make. 38 yards. In the midst of putting a comeback together. Ideal conditions. He just has this deer in the headlights look to him that really shows me his confidence is shot.

When the pressure is dialed up, Haushka wilts. NEXT!!!

[effo5231]

When the pressure is dialed up, Haushka wilts. NEXT!!!

Ok... who do you propose we replace him with?

It's easy to shout "Next" from a computer, but its not like pro-bowl kickers are falling out of the damn trees.

Am I sad Stover's gone? Sorta... but he's got 1-2 years in the tank max and as long as we're playing as bad as we are its not like Haushka is the difference between 16-0 and 0-16. For the most part we've either wiped the floor with people (Chiefs, Browns, Denver) or been beaten in such a way as a field goal isn't the difference anyway (NE, Cincy, Cincy.) The Vikings game is the exception but its not like Stover is a lock from 40+ anymore.

Let's let Haushka grow into the role the same way Stover got a chance to, and if someone comes along next year who could be better, snap him up and make them compete. In the meantime, just like it's retarded to call a draft pick a bust 8 games into his rookie season, I maintain its retarded to expect Haushka to be a seasoned pro 8 games into his first year as a full time player.

[RavenScallywag]

The only two guys I'd think about replacing Hauschka with is Billy Cundiff, who Cleveland just cut, or Matt Bryant, who I think is kicking in the UFL.

But even then, there's no real guarantee they do better than Hauschka. Cundiff was 6/6 with a long of 31 this year for Cleveland. His career % is 74. So that means he'll miss 1 out of 4 kicks...By the way...Hauschka is 3 for his last 4.

Matt Bryant has a career % of 82, he kicked a crazy 62 yarder a couple years back, but since then his longest has been 49 yards and again, he's roughly 84% in his past few years. But then I gotta wonder why he was cut by TB and NO ONE picked him up.

And anyone who seriously wasn't to trot Gano out there...that's like saying Mark Clayton isn't getting the job done, so let's trot Eron Riley out at WR instead. These young guys are going to have rough starts to their career, so with Gano, you are likely in the same boat anyway...You're just praying a few of his kicks drift inside the goal posts instead so you can justify your point.

[Brtnder81]

I would like to see the Ravens sign Gano when the UFL season is over and give him a 2nd chance and see if he can be our future kicker because its obvious Haushka isnt

[effo5231]

I would like to see the Ravens sign Gano when the UFL season is over and give him a 2nd chance and see if he can be our future kicker because its obvious Haushka isnt

I think it's simply way to premature to make that call. Are you similarly dismissing Paul Kruger as a future contributor to our team? Because he's done even less than Haushka has this season.

Kickers are the same as any position... they need time to develop. Yes, we should bring some competition in to push this kid, but saying that "its obvious" that Haushka isn't a longterm option is judging him far too hastily.

Let's look at some other kickers in the league right now:

Rob Bironas: Last year he was 29 out of 33 for 87%. His first year as a full time player? 23 of 29 for 79%

Stephen Gostkowski: Last year he was 36 out of 40 for 90%. His first year as a full time player? 20 of 26 for 76%.

Robbie Gould: Last year he was 26 out of 29 for 89%. His first year as a full time player? 21 of 27 for 77%

Neil Rackers: Last year he was 25 out of 28 for 89% His first year as a full time player? 12 for 21 for 57%

Matt Stover: Last year he was 27 out of 33 for 81%. His first year as a full time player? 16 of 22 for 72%

Picking up on a theme? I didn't search these guys out either, I just looked for guys with high conversion rates this season and checked their stats from year 1. I wouldn't be surprised to find that most kickers follow a similar pattern.

Also, you guys should realize that right now the league AVERAGE for kick conversion is 77%. Haushka is below that, but he's not this terrible shit ball you guys seem to be making him out to be, if he makes his next two kicks he'll be back above the league average.

[camdenyard]

Also, you guys should realize that right now the league AVERAGE for kick conversion is 77%. Haushka is below that, but he's not this terrible shit ball you guys seem to be making him out to be, if he makes his next two kicks he'll be back above the league average.

The problem isn't his percentage made. It's his timing for misses.

[effo5231]

The problem isn't his percentage made. It's his timing for misses.

Don't you think a few of those misses from those other great kickers I posted were clutch kicks? Do you really think Matt Stover strolled out of the womb with ice water in his veins and a right leg made out of torqued springs?

Kicking is not as simple as putting your foot on a ball... Haushka has performed pretty much on average for any of those kickers I listed, many (if not all) of whom later went on to the ProBowl.

I'm just asking people to put his performance in perspective of other first year starters.... comparing him to Auto-Matt-ic Stover (who as you saw, was good for 1 miss out of every 5 attempts last year) is unfair.

Give him time folks, we didn't boo Flacco off the field when we started his first 8 games with 3 TDs and 8 picks.

[Purpleguy]

Haushka can kick. If the ravens had a 20 point lead I bet he could make 9 out of 10 from over 50 yards. His problem is that he doesn't have the stones to make the clutch kicks, and that problem gets worse with every critical kick he misses. He's like th guy that goes to the driving range and drills every ball over 300 yards and straight as an arrow, but when he gets on the golf course he's shankopotamous.

[Boulderraven]

He might be released this week, he has the leg, but it's not the leg at that level but the NERVES. He doesn't have the nerves to be an NFL kicker, time to go. He missing that kick took all the wind out of the Ravens sails today, you could feel it just leak out of the balloon. I doubt he will be the kicker Monday.

[effo5231]

He might be released this week, he has the leg, but it's not the leg at that level but the NERVES. He doesn't have the nerves to be an NFL kicker, time to go. He missing that kick took all the wind out of the Ravens sails today, you could feel it just leak out of the balloon. I doubt he will be the kicker Monday.

What a bold prediction backed up by what evidence other than your mouth?

Like I said upthread... who do you replace him with o wise sage? He's performing at roughly the league average, he's not far enough below the replacement line to justify the change to our roster.

[xmradiodave]

Lardarius webb for kicker!

[psuasskicker]

It's funny to me how a lot of people in this thread seem to think it's pretty easy to find a kicker that can hit 90% from 35 - 50 yards in game-critical situations. Like, oh, let's just walk on down to Kicker-Mart and pick up our next franchise guy!

Matt Stover, btw, was Teh Suck when he started, too. I'm willing to give this kid a little time to grow into the role. There's no question he's not performing well right now. There's no question we should be looking at bringing in some competition, either this season, or this coming off-season.

But you guys are fooling yourselves if you think there are a ton of better options just sitting out there waiting for a phone call right now...

- C -

[Raveninwoodlawn]

I was not and still am not totally against letting Stover go.

However, it has to be because we have an upgrade available...not just giving some snot nosed kid the reigns when you have asperations of winning a Super Bowl.

There was always something about Haushcka that I didn't like. Even last year. But I thought Gano would win the job in camp and it would have been moot.

When they obviously started putting Haushcka out in front, I was totally in the camp of bringing Stover back and keeping Gano. Gano IMHO is CLEARLY the better talent as a kicker and while raw, I think will definately be the better kicker...and many here felt the same.

Hauschcka many times hasn't even been that good on kickoffs. He is clearly better than Stover IMHO, but still not in the class of the good kick off guys.

I think his confidence is all but shot and we will stick with him for one more year and then he will be out of football.

[Raveninwoodlawn]

Gano played worse than Haushka in the preseason. Why does everyone forget that? He had a weaker leg and in the football equivalent of a job interview he missed 2 out of 3 kicks.





Gano is/was not ready for this job either...I think that was clear during the preseason.

But no way did he have a weaker leg. That guy boomed almost all of his kickoffs inside the 2 and quite a few in the end zone...I remember one against the Jets went almost 8 yards deep.

Gano was very raw as he was a punter until year 3 at FSU, but he did very well his last season in front of some huge crowds. Hell, I think I read somewhere the guy hit a 60+ yarder in some game, but it was called back due to a penalty. He has to really continue to work on mechanics as his were pretty bad as you'd expect coming in...and somehow even with those mechanics, he was 20-22 in college with those crazy wide hash marks.

IMHO, we should have shown Haushcka the door and brought back Stover and kept Gano on this year as a KO specialist like we did last year with Haushcka.

But like almost everything else the staff touched this offseason, it turned to crap this year.

[Jeremiah W]

Stover is not the answer and he was not cut. his contract ran out and his leg is out of range. The Stover era is over. He only got picked up because Indy has a KOS and the FGK got hurt.

Our FG kicker sucks, bring back Grahm Gano, Groza winner. He looked like he had more distance on KOs and has made plenty of clutch kicks in college. He has not been picked up either, but I have no reason to think our current kicker would get picked up by the UFL. He is only a good kick off guy with average range. it is not like he is a Janikowski or Ryce Llyod kind of leg that is worth keeping around despite accuracy and confidence issues.

[Tspot-D-Ravenator]

Don't you think a few of those misses from those other great kickers I posted were clutch kicks? Do you really think Matt Stover strolled out of the womb with ice water in his veins and a right leg made out of torqued springs?

Kicking is not as simple as putting your foot on a ball... Haushka has performed pretty much on average for any of those kickers I listed, many (if not all) of whom later went on to the ProBowl.

I'm just asking people to put his performance in perspective of other first year starters.... comparing him to Auto-Matt-ic Stover (who as you saw, was good for 1 miss out of every 5 attempts last year) is unfair.

Give him time folks, we didn't boo Flacco off the field when we started his first 8 games with 3 TDs and 8 picks.

He was here last year, he's NOT a rookie...That's enough time, ax him:hammer:

[effo5231]

But no way did he have a weaker leg. That guy boomed almost all of his kickoffs inside the 2 and quite a few in the end zone...I remember one against the Jets went almost 8 yards deep.


That's bullshit, you're either misremembering or a straight up liar. Gano averaged 69 yards on his KOs in the preseason and recorded ZERO Touchbacks. Teams averaged 27 yards returned on him. If he kicked one eight yards deep I'm impressed with the balls of the guy who decided to bring it out.

Haushka averages 66 yards on his KOs but they're clearly going higher and staying in the air longer because teams can only manage an average of 20 return yards on him.



Our FG kicker sucks, bring back Grahm Gano, Groza winner. He looked like he had more distance on KOs and has made plenty of clutch kicks in college. He has not been picked up either, but I have no reason to think our current kicker would get picked up by the UFL.

Gano can't be picked up til the UFL season is over... end of the month at the earliest. Why you think a guy who went 1 for 3 is better than a guy who's 8 for 11 is beyond me though.


He was here last year, he's NOT a rookie...That's enough time, ax him:hammer:

He wasn't attempting kickoffs and you know it... Not all those stat lines I grabbed were rookie stat lines either...They were the stats from that players first year making more than 10 attempts.

And for the third time I ask... replace him with whom?

[psuasskicker]

He was here last year, he's NOT a rookie...That's enough time, ax him:hammer:

Good call. It's widely known that if a player hasn't morphed into a great one by the end of his first season and a half, he's destined to suck forever...

:eyes:

- C -

[Sua Sponte]

Oh I'm not pinning the loss on him. We shit the bed all over the place out there today. Just saying that's a kick Haushka needs to make. 38 yards. In the midst of putting a comeback together. Ideal conditions. He just has this deer in the headlights look to him that really shows me his confidence is shot.

Not just that the guy gets paid to Kick Field Goals, and that 3 points changes everything, the way there Offense plays, because they can't make a mistake or we are barking up their tree and the way the Defense pressures because they are worried about the big play, do they call the dogs off, NO, but they don't send as many dogs and they probaly go to prevent down only 1 TD and that is were Ray Rice comes in. Although it's hard to say because he missed (embarassingly).
The team played like crap, besides Webb, bottom line, they controlled the clock in the first half and Joe could not get with it and under threw his undersized WR's. Put another 4 inches (6'3 Washington or 6'2 Williams) on Clayton and he probaly comes down with that ball picked off by Joseph. Still a poor thrown ball should have led him more across and away from the defender he can't go up and fight a corner.

Harbs needs to get his head out of his ass and start looking at ways to win games instead of letting his pride get in the way. Washington should be playing in Clayton's spot, I like Clayton but he is not a deep ball threat unless he is on a go route one on one with his guy beat by 2-3 steps.

[Sua Sponte]

Whats that kid form BAMA, Liegh Kiffin. (Next Year 1st rd.):261695:

Na, but that kid is good

[Tspot-D-Ravenator]

Good call. It's widely known that if a player hasn't morphed into a great one by the end of his first season and a half, he's destined to suck forever...

:eyes:

- C -

:thumbup:

[Lee Van Cleef]

Like him or not I just don't see him getting the can right now. And if he does get replaced it'll probably be Nugent.

[RAVENOUS52]

His descent into the churning abyss is eerily reminiscent of Al Del Greco's... Only Al was at the end of a stellar career, while Hauschka seems to be flaming out before his career can truly take flight...:grbac:

[LBoogy]

I would take Mike Nugent, who is available.

He had good years in 2006 and 2007, got injured in 2008, and only connected on 2 of 6 this season with the Bucs before he was released.

However, he is somewhat proven and he has talent. I'd feel better with him instead of Hauschka.

Yes, kickers generally need time to develop, but missing two HUGE, EASY kicks in the first 8 games of your career is a TERRIBLE sign.

[FHRaven]

A team that expects to be in the playoffs and making a SB run shouldn't be trying to develop a kicker that season.

[effo5231]

A team that expects to be in the playoffs and making a SB run shouldn't be trying to develop a kicker that season.

Awesome observation... but is it reasonable for this team to be expecting Superbowl anymore anyway?

Ok I get it... everyone wants Stover back, heck while we're at it I bet we could fix all the problems on our team if we could bring Shannon Sharpe, Rod Woodson, and Michael Jackson back too.

[FHRaven]

Awesome observation... but is it reasonable for this team to be expecting Superbowl anymore anyway?

Ok I get it... everyone wants Stover back, heck while we're at it I bet we could fix all the problems on our team if we could bring Shannon Sharpe, Rod Woodson, and Michael Jackson back too.

Not sure what your point is. They swapped Stover for Haushcka in the off season.

[effo5231]

Not sure what your point is. They swapped Stover for Haushcka in the off season.

I'm quite aware... but unless your point was to simply complain about what might have been, my point is that even if we had kept Stover, we're still not competing for the Superbowl this year... so why does it matter that we're breaking in Haushka now?

To summarize:

Your point was that teams competing for the Superbowl shouldn't be dealing with growing pains from their kicker.

My point was that we're not competing for the Superbowl.

The logical conclusion is that it doesn't matter that we're experiencing some growing pains with our kicker. Your point is meaningless to the Ravens because we are not competing for the Superbowl.

Does it make sense now that its all spelled out now?

[FHRaven]

I'm quite aware... but unless your point was to simply complain about what might have been, my point is that even if we had kept Stover, we're still not competing for the Superbowl this year... so why does it matter that we're breaking in Haushka now?

To summarize:

Your point was that teams competing for the Superbowl shouldn't be dealing with growing pains from their kicker.

My point was that we're not competing for the Superbowl.

The logical conclusion is that it doesn't matter that we're experiencing some growing pains with our kicker. Your point is meaningless to the Ravens because we are not competing for the Superbowl.

Does it make sense now that its all spelled out now?

Well, it's understandable now, but you're wrong. We're not competing for the SB now and one of the reasons is the kicker. You seem to forget that fact. :grbac:

When they switched kickers they WERE thinking SB. This switch has cost the team at least one game so far and any semblance of offensive momentum in another.

My point is not meaningless because if they hadn't switched they'd clearly be in a stronger position for a playoff run. Now they have a team with no confidence in their and kicker with no confidence in himself.

Were you able to follow that logic or do the facts still escape you? :laugh:

[effo5231]

Well, it's understandable now, but you're wrong. We're not competing for the SB now and one of the reasons is the kicker. You seem to forget that fact. :grbac:

This is why I asked if you just wanted to whine about what might have been... There are a hell of a lot of reasons this team isn't elite and kicker is the least of them.

What games did Haushka line up as a DB or WR? When did he start calling our vanilla defense? Was Haushka the reason we spotted the Vikes and Bengals 14 points to start games? Did Haushka make both sides of the ball come out flat this weekend? Haushka has missed 1 vital kick, and one pretty important one. But we lost to Minny and Cincy because we let them get out in front of us by two TDs early. And even if you want to make a case for him blowing the Minny game (which is at least a realistic case, although I still pin that loss squarely on the D for letting Minny get up, then crawl back) we lost to the Bengals by 10, deep in our end of the field, on 3 straight sacks. Even if he makes that kick we still lose, only now we lose by seven, deep in our end of the field on 3 straight sacks.



When they switched kickers they WERE thinking SB. This switch has cost the team at least one game so far and any semblance of offensive momentum in another.

One game yes... but we've lost 4. As for offensive momentum... you're kidding me right? We deserved to lose to Cincy because they shut our entire offense down from minute one. We scored a TD late and then they clamped right the hell back down.



My point is not meaningless because if they hadn't switched they'd clearly be in a stronger position for a playoff run. Now they have a team with no confidence in their and kicker with no confidence in himself.

Stover has been a coin flip from beyond 40 for a couple of seasons... If we hadn't made the switch and he missed the kick in the Minny game (once again, a coin flip probability) you'd be bitching about letting over the hill vets hang around past their expiration date. Give the kid time to grow into an NFL player... history is on my side here... Kickers who can put together 75-89 percent first years have a real good shot of putting up 85 to 90% years as they mature. And when he's doing that, you'll want him on our team.

[Mista T]

... There are a hell of a lot of reasons this team isn't elite and kicker is the least of them.


That statement really underplays the significance of player motivation and attitude. The loss to the Vikings, after the emotional high of that comeback, followed by the loss to the Bengals after another kicking failure, were huge ego deflators. It doesn't take much for a team of comfortably paid vets to just pack it in -- just look back to the 9 game losing streak two years ago.

When Vinitieri returns to the Colts, I want to see Ozzie have the checkbook out to greet Stover.

[effo5231]

That statement really underplays the significance of player motivation and attitude. The loss to the Vikings, after the emotional high of that comeback, followed by the loss to the Bengals after another kicking failure, were huge ego deflators. It doesn't take much for a team of comfortably paid vets to just pack it in -- just look back to the 9 game losing streak two years ago.

When Vinitieri returns to the Colts, I want to see Ozzie have the checkbook out to greet Stover.

I don't buy it... the team had earned that loss to Cincy LONG before Haushka took the field. And they responded to the Minny debacle with an absolute team beat down of Denver.

I think bringing in Stover would probably be a mistake. He's not the long term solution and the simple fact is is we've buried ourselves in our division, there's no shame in building for the future. (I'm not saying we don't bring in competition for Haushka... just that we need to bring in young competition.)

[Jeremiah W]

If he makes the kick in Minnesota we are 5-3 right now and still in good position to make a post season run.

The last drive vs the Bengals may have looked a lot different down by 7 instead of 10.

I would pretty much take any kicker we could get missing the next one instead of this guy. Maybe keep him on as a KOS and see if he gets it together, but no way would I let him miss another big kick this year.

It was risky to try to bring in a new kicker on a contender, and so far the Ravens have lost the gamble there. It may not have been a bad bet, but they lost.

[FHRaven]

This is why I asked if you just wanted to whine about what might have been... There are a hell of a lot of reasons this team isn't elite and kicker is the least of them.

What games did Haushka line up as a DB or WR? When did he start calling our vanilla defense? Was Haushka the reason we spotted the Vikes and Bengals 14 points to start games? Did Haushka make both sides of the ball come out flat this weekend? Haushka has missed 1 vital kick, and one pretty important one. But we lost to Minny and Cincy because we let them get out in front of us by two TDs early. And even if you want to make a case for him blowing the Minny game (which is at least a realistic case, although I still pin that loss squarely on the D for letting Minny get up, then crawl back) we lost to the Bengals by 10, deep in our end of the field, on 3 straight sacks. Even if he makes that kick we still lose, only now we lose by seven, deep in our end of the field on 3 straight sacks.



One game yes... but we've lost 4. As for offensive momentum... you're kidding me right? We deserved to lose to Cincy because they shut our entire offense down from minute one. We scored a TD late and then they clamped right the hell back down.



Stover has been a coin flip from beyond 40 for a couple of seasons... If we hadn't made the switch and he missed the kick in the Minny game (once again, a coin flip probability) you'd be bitching about letting over the hill vets hang around past their expiration date. Give the kid time to grow into an NFL player... history is on my side here... Kickers who can put together 75-89 percent first years have a real good shot of putting up 85 to 90% years as they mature. And when he's doing that, you'll want him on our team.

Wow, there's so much wrong in all of that it's hard to know where to start.

First off, I thought this was a message board where we discussed the team. I didn't know we were only allowed to look at things going forwards. HEY EVERYONE, effo says we can't discuss anything that happened in the past even it's relevant to the team's current situation. Please post appropriately now!

And no, Haus. doesn't play DB or anything else. But he is paid to make FGs and making FGs in crunch situations is part of the job. A part that he has failed at. A part that has cost the team at least one win. It's really not that hard to see. :thumbup: And yes, being 5 - 3 is a big difference from 4 - 4 when there's only 16 games. You can't make up a loss.

And it's been pointed out several times that Stover missed a lot kicks last year when the dumb-ass ST coach was changing the timing of the kicks. After that he was his usually money self, especially in critical situations like game winning FGs. And you are wrong, again, about Stover being a coin flip from beyond the 40. In the last 4 years he's hit 66%. And that includes 3 misses due to the above coach dumb-ass. If we remove them from the sample his percentage jumps to 75%. So if you're going to try to bring facts, actually get them right.

And I'm really glad you KNOW what I would be saying if Stover was on the team and he missed a kick. I didn't realize you were Ms. Cleo. Maybe you can tell me the winners for the rest of the season so I could make some money off of your psychic powers. Or you could continue to clutter this thread with nonsensical logic. :grbac:

[Thrall]

Funniest part of this whole thread is the guy with the sig " Time for a new Ravens era " wants Stover back so badly. :happyanim

[StingerNLG]

When Vinitieri returns to the Colts, I want to see Ozzie have the checkbook out to greet Stover.


So after the team is finished shredding any hope of Hauschka gaining any confidence by doing this, and then Stover needs to once again be replaced next year or the year after, are we going to start the revolving door of kickers?

And what happens if Stover comes back and muffs a kick for us, as he has done before (Miami?). Then what?

This is a bad idea.

[effo5231]

So after the team is finished shredding any hope of Hauschka gaining any confidence by doing this, and then Stover needs to once again be replaced next year or the year after, are we going to start the revolving door of kickers?

And what happens if Stover comes back and muffs a kick for us, as he has done before (Miami?). Then what?

This is a bad idea.

Pfft... Stover is gonna play forever. He can make any kick anytime, why do you hate the Ravens?!?

[psuasskicker]

Pfft... Stover is gonna play forever. He can make any kick anytime, why do you hate the Ravens?!?

Is it legal for someone to use a walker to hit a ball to try to knock it through the uprights?

- C -

[effo5231]

Is it legal for someone to use a walker to hit a ball to try to knock it through the uprights?

- C -

I assume Ray plans to use his walker to smack tight ends going across the middle someday.

[elland]

Funniest part of this whole thread is the guy with the sig " Time for a new Ravens era " wants Stover back so badly. :happyanim

I want him back too.. for a play so he can be a HoF, I know it will not likely happend.. still if he now wins a SB or two with indy, oh well let us beat them next time with a late Hauschka FG.

Btw Hauscka better stats than Graham and what about Tynes two missed Fgs inside 20-29 yds.. and just now he is leading in FGs.

[StingerNLG]

Pfft... Stover is gonna play forever. He can make any kick anytime, why do you hate the Ravens?!?

:laugh:

You forgot to tell me I was Hauschka's agent and that I was retarded. :)

[effo5231]

:laugh:

You forgot to tell me I was Hauschka's agent and that I was retarded. :)

I assumed it went without saying.... retard.