How hard is placekicking?

[Sluss]

[ QUOTE ]
As long as OP signs with the Gmen he will almost certainly be an improvement, so I'm all for it.

[/ QUOTE ]I thought the Giants just traded for Lawrence Tynes?

BTW the guy they had in camp from the AF2 was pretty good. I'm always amazed at those guys. It's a bear with those 8 foot wide goal posts. The guy who kicks for our local team puts the ball through the uprights on kick-offs and he could hide behind a metal pole.

I can kick a soccer ball 50-60 yards to a guy down field with no trouble. I was having trouble making extra points with the arena posts.

[HajiShirazu]

OP have you ever kicked a football? If so you wouldn't be asking. That [censored] is impossible. NFL kickers are at least as good compared to the average guy as the other positions in the league.

[Toro]

Hard. Damn crossbar gets in the way. Like the time I missed a 52 yarder against the Coast Guard Academy. [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img]

[boc4life]

After the 1994 World Cup, American goalkeeper Tony Meola tried out as a placekicker for the Jets. Meola was pretty well-known for having an unbelievably strong leg, regularly kicking his goal kicks about 3/4ths of the length of the field

Meola apparently didn't come close to making the Jets. Just as technique is as important as strength to becoming an NFL kicker, the proper mental makeup is just as important as technique.

[JordanIB]

[ QUOTE ]
After the 1994 World Cup, American goalkeeper Tony Meola tried out as a placekicker for the Jets. Meola was pretty well-known for having an unbelievably strong leg, regularly kicking his goal kicks about 3/4ths of the length of the field

Meola apparently didn't come close to making the Jets. Just as technique is as important as strength to becoming an NFL kicker, the proper mental makeup is just as important as technique.

[/ QUOTE ]

Was wondering how we had gotten to 2 pages with no Meola mention yet...

[Jack of Arcades]

Obviously Meola didn't make the Jets because he's mentally weak. After all, kicking for the Jets is far more taxing and nerve-wracking than being a world cup goalie.

[legend42]

I used to be able to make the occasional 50+ yarder off a tee, but I'd kick so many hooks, fades, and complete ducks in between (even from 30 yards) that it was useless. FG kicking with any consistency is [censored] tough, and there's almost a "freak" component to the skill. Watching on TV from behind the end zone, 40 yarders look like gimmes, but when you're standing on the field, those goal posts look as narrow as the #20 on a dart board (and if you ever watch an NFL practice, most kickers don't just make 90% of their kicks from 40, they're practically dead center).

But if you're that committed, go out to your local field and try kicking a few hundred balls. Who knows, you might be a natural. And if you can routinely kick it into the end zone from the 30 yard line, there's always a chance you can get on as a kickoff specialist. Personally though, I think you'd have a much better chance of filing your nails and learning how to throw a knuckle ball.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

[ QUOTE ]
I used to be able to make the occasional 50+ yarder off a tee, but I'd kick so many hooks, fades, and complete ducks in between (even from 30 yards) that it was useless. FG kicking with any consistency is [censored] tough, and there's almost a "freak" component to the skill.

[/ QUOTE ]

I meant to say this last night. it's not that it take world class skill to make a 50 yard field goal, it's that it takes world class skill to be able to do it consistently.

kind of like the difference between Nike Tour golfers and PGA tour golfers. the Nike guys can hit all the same shots that the PGA guys can, they just do it with far less consistency.

[boc4life]

[ QUOTE ]
Obviously Meola didn't make the Jets because he's mentally weak. After all, kicking for the Jets is far more taxing and nerve-wracking than being a world cup goalie.

[/ QUOTE ]

Come on Jack, apples and oranges

[Jack of Arcades]

You were the one comparing kicking a soccer ball and kicking a football.