Thoughts on Disappointing Seasons & Blair Walsh

[lanielsen]

When you say long kicks are Walsh's forte does that mean missed shorter kicks and PAT's aren't and they are something you can live with? It might be a knee-jerk reaction but I think its time to unload him. His continued presence will be a negative distraction. It's not as bad as Gary Anderson's botch because expectations were greatly exceeded this year for sure. For some reason though, this one seems to sting a little more.

[IrishViking]

When you say long kicks are Walsh's forte does that mean missed shorter kicks and PAT's aren't and they are something you can live with? It might be a knee-jerk reaction but I think its time to unload him. His continued presence will be a negative distraction. It's not as bad as Gary Anderson's botch because expectations were greatly exceeded this year for sure. For some reason though, this one seems to sting a little more.

This is a fairly knee jerk reaction. Every player has things they do better and things they do worse.

Blair scored every point we had that game. in -6 degree weather with unpredictable wind. End of story.

Unloading him would be awful. I can think of 25-30 teams that would take him in a heartbeat. You miss the easy ones sometimes and this was it.

[Pondering Her Percy]

That kick is something I haven't stopped thinking about since it happened. I am extremely ticked at Walsh, however, I haven't lost faith in the guy. Since he's been here, I can't remember him ever missing a game tying or game winning FG. Granted this one was the easiest one of his career but I still think he is one of the better kickers in the league. He choked bad but it's the first sign of him ever doing this in 4 years. We could still be in if he made that but it is what it is. I love this team and was very impressed with what they did this year. Was anyone expecting 11-5?? I woulda been happy with 9-7. It's not the end of the world. Zimmer has provided this team with the right attitude to succeed and I think we'll come back even stronger next year

[w_huisman]

That kick is something I haven't stopped thinking about since it happened. I am extremely ticked at Walsh, however, I haven't lost faith in the guy....

I certainly have. Heck, I lost faith in him during the preseason.

However, I'll NEVER boo him as long as he's wearing purple.

SKOL.

[Crax]

I can think of 25-30 teams that would take him in a heartbeat. You miss the easy ones sometimes and this was it.

Walsh isn't a bad kicker, but I think some people here are really overrating him.

He's 13th this year in FG % and 29th in XP %. He's not bad and a bit above average, but no way would 25-30 teams take him over what they already have.

[lanielsen]

I'm sure i'm not in the minority on this but........Any team that has the best(?) running back in the league as well as one of the best Defenses in the league that can't score 1 touchdown in their own backyard in their biggest game of the year doesn' t deserve squat. For me, not letting TB use his legs ala Wilson was a travesty. it's obvious they have zero confidence in his passing abilities anyway-and rightfully so. Blair should have never been in the position to win/lose that game. Bridgewater will NEVER be what they need and you can't hide at the QB position. Just venting.... (Exhale).....starting to feel a little better now.

[lanielsen]

This is a fairly knee jerk reaction. Every player has things they do better and things they do worse.

Blair scored every point we had that game. in -6 degree weather with unpredictable wind. End of story.

Unloading him would be awful. I can think of 25-30 teams that would take him in a heartbeat. You miss the easy ones sometimes and this was it.

Sorry, but I think you're mistaken. Blair did NOT score every point in that game. He missed those 3 easy one's at the end

[IrishViking]

Sorry, but I think you're mistaken. Blair did NOT score every point in that game. He missed those 3 easy one's at the end

I said he score every point we had in the game.

[IrishViking]

Walsh isn't a bad kicker, but I think some people here are really overrating him.

He's 13th this year in FG % and 29th in XP %. He's not bad and a bit above average, but no way would 25-30 teams take him over what they already have.

If he is a bit above average that would mean he is an improvement for about 20 teams in the league.

[Crax]

If he is a bit above average that would mean he is an improvement for about 20 teams in the league.

So now the baseline is 20 vs 25-30? Above average would be better than 16th, which at 13 for % is right where he is. Walsh is right in the middle IMO and not top 7 which you were suggesting in your original quote there.

[IrishViking]

dude, I threw a number out there off the cuff.


Bottom line he is above average by your own admission.


You don't cut an above average player because emotions are running high after a loss. Thats how teams get destroyed

[Crax]

dude, I threw a number out there off the cuff.

Bottom line he is above average by your own admission.

You don't cut an above average player because emotions are running high after a loss. Thats how teams get destroyed

He's barely above average and is pretty much just plain average. I never said we should just straight cut him right now, but there is definitely room to upgrade if you find the right guy. He isn't a top 5 kicker in the league which is what you were suggesting when you said "25-30 teams that would take him in a heartbeat". They wouldn't, because that would be stupid to sign an average kicker unless you had a terrible one. Bring a kicker in, make him compete. Don't just say "Walsh is the guy!!!" like they did this last off-season. Same with Locke. I wouldn't cut him now(well, locke i would), but I'd make him earn it this off-season.

[Pondering Her Percy]

dude, I threw a number out there off the cuff.


Bottom line he is above average by your own admission.


You don't cut an above average player because emotions are running high after a loss. Thats how teams get destroyed

Exactly how I feel! Just because he missed 1 game winner out of the many he has hit for us doesn't mean we should cut him. This was his best season since his rookie year and he is ranked 10th all time in FG % and 7th out of active kickers. That's pretty damn good. So you guys can say what you want, but he is definitely an above average kicker. Yeah he cost us this game in the end along with AP but it doesn't mean we just get rid of him because of 1 mistake

[Pondering Her Percy]

He's barely above average and is pretty much just plain average. I never said we should just straight cut him right now, but there is definitely room to upgrade if you find the right guy. He isn't a top 5 kicker in the league which is what you were suggesting when you said "25-30 teams that would take him in a heartbeat". They wouldn't, because that would be stupid to sign an average kicker unless you had a terrible one. Bring a kicker in, make him compete. Don't just say "Walsh is the guy!!!" like they did this last off-season. Same with Locke. I wouldn't cut him now, but I'd make him earn it this off-season.

Lol ok he's 7th. Just missed the top 5. 7th out of active NFL kickers in FG%. So for you to say he's just "plain average" is completely false because the stats don't lie

[Crax]

Lol ok he's 7th. Just missed the top 5. 7th out of active NFL kickers in FG%. So for you to say he's just "plain average" is completely false because the stats don't lie

I was clearly talking about this year. He was 13th this year, how is that 7th? I said just above average. He was fantastic his 1st year, but terrible last year. I consider those a wash. Going off right now, he is 13th. That is pretty much average. You are also discounting that he is 29th in XP % this last year. I thought the move back would be good with Walsh, it hasn't been so far.