3 missed PATs!!!

[Kyle Neumann]

If the score wasn't so lopsided I think this would be more of a topic of conversation. The difference between being mediocre and being a BE contender could come down to a field goal or PAT in some of the tough conference games. It looks like we have a real problem in our two place kickers.

Just curious, does anyone know if there are any former HS kickers on the soccer team? The seasons overlap so it may not be a realistic option, but something needs to happen if these two continue to struggle...

[shaunsimpson]

Rodgers was supposed to be a very good kicker who could do very well here for four years and hopefully it was just some nerves. Ruffin was bad his first year here and was replaced after the Buckeye game.

I am hoping for better next week and I don't know what scared me more the missed PAs or the short kickoffs. With the new kickoff rule kickers without a big leg can do a lot of harm.

[shaunsimpson]

Looking at the Play by Play SEMO started on the (after kickoffs):
Rodgers didn't leave the Cats with very good field position compared to Yingling.

SEMO 43
SEMO 34
SEMO 41
-----------
end of half
-----------
SEMO 19
SEMO 8 (after holding penalty)
SEMO 31
SEMO 7 (after penalty)
SEMO 21
SEMO 30
SEMO 19

[Kyle Neumann]

Shaun makes a great point. Can anyone that watched the game chime in on where the kickoff's were landing? Were they short kicks or were the long returns more a function of poor execution by the special teams?

[Bearcat85]

Rogers kickoffs didn't have much hang time and fell short. The first one (after our first score) was a line drive.

Yingling's KO's had better hang time and mostly went to about the 5 yrd line (remember, we're kicking from the 30 now.)

Let's not get carried away with talk of bringing in soccer players. Both these kickers have shown they are plenty capable of doing the job. They just need to adapt to live game conditions.

[General Woundwort]

For that matter, Rogers and Yingling are soccer players (or former soccer players), so I fail to see the benefit in switching a soccer player who has kicked footballs for a while for one who hasn't.

Yingling's kicks were much better - to the 5 yd line, with good hang time. As long as they keep that up, they should be OK.

[Kyle Neumann]

I'm not trying to rush to judgement and say BK should line up the soccer team and see if any of them can kick field goals. I just wanted to open some discussion on possible solutions should last nights kicking performance be a true indicator of future performance.

[BigDaddyCornHusker]

The Enquirer posted an article in the preseason about the struggles experienced by the kicker...

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.d...60402/1064/SPT

I appreciated Shaun's comments on Ruffin. That gives us some hope.

[bearcatmark]

When I watched Rogers in the spring the first thing i thought was "Wow this guy has a huge leg"... he was killing the ball.

Then i read in an article that he had started kicking many balls off the side of his foot and was getting real eradic, and the coaching staff was trying to figure out why. He looked nothing like the kicker I saw in the spring game this year,... that worries me a ton.