Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
http://baltimoreravens.com/news/article.jsp?id=11901
For me, he has. The guy averaged 51 and his longest was 61. I want to see him do it again on Thursday.
His KOs did not leave much to be desired, but he is definitely our punter. They were landing consistently on the 7. Looks as if we will carry three kickers with Aaron Elling kicking off.
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
I doubt that Elling will be kept. Koch can kick it to the 5-10, thats good enough, it's a fair trade off. A few yards for an extra roster spot for an extra DB or RB, etc.
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RavenFanatic2k6
I doubt that Elling will be kept. Koch can kick it to the 5-10, thats good enough, it's a fair trade off. A few yards for an extra roster spot for an extra DB or RB, etc.
Dunno about that.
Seems to me one of the main stradegys of our coaching staff is the field position game.
Those extra few yards make up a huge difference in that dept.
I think we would go one less in the linebacker dept. before DB or RB.
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
Quote:
Originally Posted by PurpleRulz
LOL - PR, just a little over a week ago you said Koch should be among the first cuts and that you had seen enough. :179421:
What a difference a week makes, huh? :laugh: ;)
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
Quote:
A few yards for an extra roster spot for an extra DB or RB, etc.
That's not a few extra yards, if Elling gets some touchbacks with starts on the 20 occasionally and his balls are to the 10 and get run back to the 30 or more with the chance of even more, that's a big difference.
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
Quote:
Originally Posted by B-more Ravor
LOL - PR, just a little over a week ago you said Koch should be among the first cuts and that you had seen enough. :179421:
What a difference a week makes, huh? :laugh: ;)
Hey, it is good to be wrong in this case. I was also down on Adam Terry. I guess the trend is to get excited about players that I say I am down on. :069:
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
I was pretty impressed that returners kept having to run backwards or to the sideline to catch the ball. That said, let's see what happens when he's back outside with the wind blowing through the stadium.
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Greg
That's not a few extra yards, if Elling gets some touchbacks with starts on the 20 occasionally and his balls are to the 10 and get run back to the 30 or more with the chance of even more, that's a big difference.
Yes, but Elling doesn't kick it into the endzone all that often. He did against the Giants but hasn't done it since, they've been going to the 5 or so and Koch had about the same distance. Elling usually only got it between the 5-10 last year anyway, and I don't believe you suddenly gain an extra 5 yards on your kicks, likely the wind factored into those kicks in the first game.
I just don't see it happening this year. We kept extra ST-only guys in the past but Gary Zauner is no longer here. If we can get away with having Koch kick off and it appears they are leaning that way with him handling most of the KOs vs. Vikings, I believe we will.
Plus, it's not like we can't resign him if Koch proves unable to handle it. I seriously doubt there is going to be a rush of teams trying to sign him if we cut him.
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
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Originally Posted by StingerNLG
I was pretty impressed that returners kept having to run backwards or to the sideline to catch the ball. That said, let's see what happens when he's back outside with the wind blowing through the stadium.
Agreed. I would also like to see him do some placement punting from the opposing 40yrd line or so. Can he pin them back consistantly?
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
I want to see Koch do it again next week, but he's back in my good graces again.
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
My punting concerns won't be eased until week 4. If we get good games out of Koch from now until then, I'll feel confident in his abilities.
If we cut Elling, we would probably be able to pick him back up. I don't think there are a ton of teams knocking down his door.
Re: Has Sam Koch Eased You Punter Concern?
Can Koch also back up Stover for field goals, if necessary? At Matt's advanced age, a pulled hammy (or something) is always a possibility.