Well mates, we lost, but we were heavy underdogs, and made a game of it. Graham's punts, all three of them were early in the game. The first two in the first quarter, the last one was the first play of the second quarter. In the second half, our offense got going, and Benny's talent's weren't needed.... in american football, that is a good thing. One item I might mention.... our new coach is very willing to take chances. I am certain that before too long, 'ol Benny will have his chance to make a football play other than a punt. In fact, I'm sure of it, so something to look forward to. Graham had only the 3 punts in this one, but had a good day. 1) The Jets at their own 24 yard line, and needing a nice long, high punt from ben. He delivered once again. A 47 yard punt, very good hang time of 4.8 seconds, but the coverage wasn't good, and the Colts were able to return it ten yards. With that hang time/distance, the returner should have been taken down sooner. Grade: A- 2) This second punt, with the Jets at their own 25 yard line was a bit short for Ben's standards, but had a really good hang time of 5 seconds flat for 41 yards. That hang time made any return impossible, and resulted in a net of 40 yards with a one yard return. The punt coverage team should have caused a fair catch.... when the punt return catcher has to signal that he just wants to be able to catch the ball without being impeded or hit, with no return chance. The punt coverage team was not clicking very well in this game, but still, a 40 yard net punt. A nice stat. Grade: B 3) First play of the second quarter, and Ben's last punt on the day..... and his best. 59 yards in the air, 68 yards from his foot. 4.8 second hang time, and he sent the returner into a backpedal. Again, the coverage team did not do as good a job as we are used to seeing, and it was returned 14 yards for a 45 yard net punt.... still a very nice number. Grade: A One comment about this week vs. last, is that his directional punting wasn't quite as good as last week. His punts weren't as close to the sideline as they were last week, but he was so freakin good last week, I'm not one to complain. After next week, I will start to note where he stands in the statistics vs. the other NFL punters. Early in the season, those stats and rankings don't mean much. Graham continues to be one of the best punters in the league. :up:
Thanks TBJ, been hanging out for this since the game (sad heh) Real bastard the Jets got beaten. From reading other threads here it looks like they had a real go last week, which is obviously a good thing. Did you get to see the AFL Grand Final? It was a beauty, one of the classic finishes. Great pressure, great game. Go Cats! for next bloody year (again)
Thanks as always TBird. Only 3 punts which is a good thing. At least it shortens your time writing these reports:up: Now waiting for the weekly "who cares, he's just the punter" jibes.
Thanks for the report again TBJ. I guess the less the punts Ben has the better the offense is doing with the first 3 plays.
LOL Don.... they are sure to surface! Frank, haven't seen the Grand Final yet. Took ill the night of the game, and going to a pub wasn't in the game plan. I landed on the "unable to perform" list, due to a non-football injury. I am hopeful that it may be viewable in a torrent sooner or later. Sounds like it was a great game, the Swans refused to go away easilly. With Geelong having such a dissappointing season, I was rooting for the Eagles there.... the Swans got their party last year. Sorry it didn't work out for your boys. Should I say how long Jets fans have been waiting for another championship? No, better not....
Another great report,TBJ. I managed to download the torrent of the game from another thread on here. It really was exciting. At least the Jets are having a red hot go and giving value for money. That kick by Nugent was incredible and the Big No:7 was going ape on the sideline, so he obviously thought it was brilliant, as well. Heartbreaking finish! Someone,just needed to go for it....very frustrating but that's football. Can't wait for next week now. The AFL grandfinal was just as tight & close at the finish, as this game was.
Great report as usual. Like Gator said a few weeks ago, as much as we like him, it's always a bad thing when we see Graham. We don't want the punter coming out, because it means the Offense couldn't get into the endzone (or kick a FG). But when Graham does come out, he does well. Against the Colts he only had 3 punts, but they were good punts. Someone made a thread about having Graham try some kickoffs seeing as he can kick the ball long. I'm not too keen on that idea. What do you think TBJ?
good point...how would graham do kicking off? i'm not so sure anyways, well written article, awesome as always...i'm trying to get my girlfriend to give me her analysis, girls talking football is always good fun, she always makes me laugh...i'll ask her to type me up something
Cheers as usual TBJ. If you get the chance to see the Grand Final definately watch it, I can give a torrent link if necassary. I've already watched it about 20 times :lol:
Hell yes, post the torrent link! As for Graham trying KO's, I actually brought this up last year, and was hoping it was something they might have asked him to work on in the off season. I even mentioned how I wondered if he could be a 60 yard FG threat. That obviously didn't happen.... as someone else mentioned, he got NO time in training camp even for a look see as to having Graham try KO's. Nugent is the guy for kick offs this year. Next year is a different question, even so far as his staying here as the FG kicker. The kid has to get better. He has this year to show improvement, and he is not off to a good start. I don't think Mangini has much confidence in him, even for short FG's. His first extra point att was way too close for comfort, and I think this also had something to do with Mangini's decision to go for the TD instead of taking the "automatic" three point FG against the Colts. With Nugent right now, nothing is "automatic". He seems to have lost confidence to me.
http://www.demonoid.com/files/download/HTTP/479458/6201776 There's the torrent. There are quite a few seeders so it shouldn't be too slow. I think it has all the presentations and a bit of the pre game stuff too:up:
Here is my brief report, post 22 http://forums.theganggreen.com/showthread.php?t=12274&page=2 I will add that I was not "rooting" for Sydney and happy for the Eagles win. I was desperate for a draw however because I would definately have travelled down next week to do it all again.
Yep, I read that. Just thought you may have had some more colour to add. You know: 1) What did you wear? 2) What did you drink? 3) What did your mates get up to that night? 4) Any "babes" nearby? 5) Any Sydney fans crying? 6) Impressions of the new G? (probably should be on the bullshit thread):rofl: :rofl:
A half-assed job as usual. Full detail on the punts, but NOTHING on his holding. Frankly I'm disappointed.
Here's a question about the Aussie game for the Aussies.... Does it involve much kicking off of the ground? I don't think it does, but Im hardly an expert. By off the ground, I do not mean a dropkick, I mean stationary.. like soccer maybe.
Short answer is no. Here is the longer answer: There is no instance where a player places a ball in a stationary position and kicks it off the ground. However players might kick the ball along the ground during play while the ball is moving. This is usually done when picking it up and kicking(punting) regular style is not an option. The player may have his oponent hot on his tail or in wet conditions for instance. It is rarely very accurate or used for distance. More to advance the ball in the right direction and the hope that it can be handled and disposed of accurately. You maybe asking this question to assertain Grahams potential skills as a kick off option. IMO a big leg is a big leg and with the correct training and technique coaching I don't doubt he could roost the ball deep. However it is not a natural skill of Aussie rules and practice and timing would need to be learnt. Kicking the ball (punting style) is taught to us before we can talk and with our ball (rounder shape) we can generally kick it short distances very accurately. I would kick it back and forth with my brother say 20 - 25 yards apart and rarely need to move more than a step to catch it, just like you would throw your ball QB style with your Dad or baseball.
