The kickiing game.

[Dan Thompson]

I noticed that we have someone that can place a kick off in the endzone, while most of them seem to land around the 10 yardline.

The fieldgoal kicker that replaced Jimmy Stevens, after he missed the extra point, looked like he has a pretty strong leg.

So all in all, is our kicking game going to be better this year?

[papawlambert]

Not really. It would be nice if it were better.
Papaw

[PSK2080]

I don't blame the missed PAT on Jimmy...it looked like our new holder (Nyko Symonds) turned the laces towards Jimmy instead of away from him...but on another occasion it looked like Nyko did a good job getting a high snap down and we hit the kick...

[badger]

Sooo... we have five kickers on scholarship now, don't we?

That is just befuddling. But, I trust Stoops.

[8timechamps]

Was anyone else happy to see the kick-off coverage work? I've become accustomed to getting nervous on kick-offs...I hope this is a trend that will stick around a while.

[thecynic]

Merv was complaining on the radio that we have kickers that can kick it into the endzone in practice but don't do it during games. And that the depth of our kickoffs was exactly where people practice for them to go, so when they don't go into the end zone, then we're letting them have the ball in a comfort zone.

[badger]

It's because we're screaming OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO too loud. Please refrain from OOOOOOOOing in the future and we will kick the ball through the endzone more often ;)

[8timechamps]

Merv was complaining on the radio that we have kickers that can kick it into the endzone in practice but don't do it during games. And that the depth of our kickoffs was exactly where people practice for them to go, so when they don't go into the end zone, then we're letting them have the ball in a comfort zone.

Makes sense to me. However, I still prefer a kick out of the endzone.

[BigTip]

Was anyone else happy to see the kick-off coverage work? I've become accustomed to getting nervous on kick-offs...I hope this is a trend that will stick around a while.

Yes. Last year's coverage was cringe worthy. Same thing with our kicking game last year. The missed PAT gave me a "not this year too!" moment.

[thecynic]

Makes sense to me. However, I still prefer a kick out of the endzone.

I really wasn't clear. I meant to say the kicks were going to where the return team practices getting them. so when they go to the 5 or 10, the return team is receiving it in their comfort zone.

[BoulderSooner79]

It's because we're screaming OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO too loud. Please refrain from OOOOOOOOing in the future and we will kick the ball through the endzone more often ;)

Finally! A poster that understands physics.

[BoulderSooner79]

Yes. Last year's coverage was cringe worthy. Same thing with our kicking game last year. The missed PAT gave me a "not this year too!" moment.

Jimmy was 53/53 on XPs last year, so it was the converted XPs that should have given you the "not this year too!" moment. The missed one was a new twist.

[VA Sooner]

So being benched surely was a bit of a blow to Jimmy's ego then.

Hunnicutt has a very strong leg... not sure about his consistency with field goals but I guess we're about to find out. O'Hara out for good?

[GottaHavePride]

I don't blame the missed PAT on Jimmy...it looked like our new holder (Nyko Symonds) turned the laces towards Jimmy instead of away from him...but on another occasion it looked like Nyko did a good job getting a high snap down and we hit the kick...

I was watching at a bar and couldn't see that much detail, but that would explain a lot.

FYI, I was laughing at the KU fans at the bar who were expecting to watch their game and couldn't figure out why it wasn't on TV. :D

[BoulderSooner79]

So being benched surely was a bit of a blow to Jimmy's ego then.

Hunnicutt has a very strong leg... not sure about his consistency with field goals but I guess we're about to find out. O'Hara out for good?

It would interesting to know if Jimmy was benched. He kicked a couple more XPs after the missed one, so it wasn't an immediate benching for that one. It could have been just to give the 2nd line guy some reps. There was also rumor in other threads that he pulled his hammy on the missed one. I guess we'll find out, but regardless of the kicker, it doesn't appear this team is going to win games on long FGs.

[VA Sooner]

I must have had too many beers to notice him back on the field. Hunnicutt kicking a field goal stood out in the second half... must have been the beer then.

[badger]

I don't think Jimmy was benched. A lot of backups played in the second half. Drew Allen played. Does that mean Landry Jones was benched? ;)

[BoulderSooner79]

I just peeked at the box score on ESPN and it shows Stevens kicking 3 more XPs after the miss before Hunnicutt kicked a FG and 1 XP.

[PSK2080]

I read right after the game that Jimmy may have tweeked his hamstring, but I haven't seen confirmation of that...I'm sure we would've seen Hunnicutt and O'Hara regardless...I believe we only have 2 kickers on schollie (Way and Stevens)...I believe the rest are all walkons...all of the others were walkons, but it's possible that one of them could've been awarded a schollie since last year...

[agoo758]

I thought that extra point went off the cross bar. I saw the replay again and realized that it went off the bar of the net. :eek:

[badger]

I thought that extra point went off the cross bar. I saw the replay again and realized that it went off the bar of the net. :eek:

Yes, and I'm sure that the handicapped row was very thankful for that bar. :)

[papawlambert]

What's the word on O'Hara?
Papaw

[Soonermagik]

I'm still concerned about having a go to kicker. There are times when momentum is worth more than 3 points. I hope they give this other young kid a shot at taking over for Stevens.

[hawaii 5-0]

Just as important as the kicking game is the kick coverage game.

5-0

[Sooner_Tuf]

Jimmy is an excellent kicker. The only thing he needs to improve is his range. I think 42 is the longest kick he's made at OU.

Last year he was 19/23 and 53/53 for 110 points. I think he's scored to close to 300 since he's been in Norman. I haven't looked but I'll bet he's one of the Top 5 kickers we've had at OU.

[BoulderSooner79]

We'll be fine with Stevens or Hunnicutt. I don't think the coaches would be asking either to make a game winning 50 yarder as the clock expires. We'll get as far as our offense can take us. Just tell them drives must stall closer in to get to FG, or better yet score the TD.

[papawlambert]

I had much rather have a kicker that is capable of a 50 and has the confidence that he will make it, than having 4th and long and trying to convert.
Anybody have the stats for 4th down from the 33yd line and there about last couple years? I know we didn't kick, but how many first downs did we make?
Papaw

[Curly Bill]

Our kickers are scary bad. I hope it's not what cost us a close ballgame and a shot at the NC.

[sperry]

Jimmy is an excellent kicker. The only thing he needs to improve is his range. I think 42 is the longest kick he's made at OU.

Last year he was 19/23 and 53/53 for 110 points. I think he's scored to close to 300 since he's been in Norman. I haven't looked but I'll bet he's one of the Top 5 kickers we've had at OU.


Jimmy Stevens is awful. The reason his percentages are good is because we don't let him kick anything other than chip shots. He is one of the worst kickers OU has ever had.

[BoulderSooner79]

I had much rather have a kicker that is capable of a 50 and has the confidence that he will make it, than having 4th and long and trying to convert.
Anybody have the stats for 4th down from the 33yd line and there about last couple years? I know we didn't kick, but how many first downs did we make?
Papaw

And people in hell want ice water. We'll have to make due with tepid tap water this season.

[Sooner_Tuf]

Jimmy Stevens is awful. The reason his percentages are good is because we don't let him kick anything other than chip shots. He is one of the worst kickers OU has ever had.

I know its the popular thing to do here but he is not a bad kicker. In fact he is far from bad.

If he really is so bad why do you think nobody has taken his job? It's not like he is the only kicker on campus.

[BoulderSooner79]

I know its the popular thing to do here but he is not a bad kicker. In fact he is far from bad.

If he really is so bad why do you think nobody has taken his job? It's not like he is the only kicker on campus.

Exactly! He's our starter and he's a Sooner. You could go to almost any position on the field and find an upgrade to our starter (except Broyles) that another team has. Everyone seems to agree we don't have dominant DTs, but no one is saying "McGee is awful". I'm sure we have many starters that are just as far away from NFL talent as Stevens, but they don't get such abuse.

[pphilfran]

I had much rather have a kicker that is capable of a 50 and has the confidence that he will make it, than having 4th and long and trying to convert.
Anybody have the stats for 4th down from the 33yd line and there about last couple years? I know we didn't kick, but how many first downs did we make?
Papaw

50 plus? You ain't asking for much...

There are a whole bunch of kickers in the NFL that don't do well at 50+...and I am guessing they are just about the best in the world or they wouldn't be doing it...

In last years NFL regular season only five kickers attempted five or more 50+ yard kicks...those five kickers hit on 16 of 31 kicks...

In last years NFL postseason there were three 50+ kicks...they were one out of three...

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/kicking/sort/fieldGoalsMade50/qualified/false

[Curly Bill]

Jimmy's percentages aren't bad because we don't use him outside of about 35 yards. A program like OU should have a kicker that is a weapon, not a liability that must be hidden. The way his xp's looked Saturday I'm surprised he only missed one. His kicks are cringe worthy.

[BoulderSooner79]

Jimmy's percentages aren't bad because we don't use him outside of about 35 yards. A program like OU should have a kicker that is a weapon, not a liability that must be hidden. The way his xp's looked Saturday I'm surprised he only missed one. His kicks are cringe worthy.

The coaches have to leverage strengths and hide weaknesses all over the field - it's their job. Run zone if they can't cover man, blitz if they can't get pressure otherwise, run short passes to bolster a weak running game. I guess the kicker stands out because their is no "scheme" - just him and the ball. I'm surprised as anyone Stevens was able to start 4 years, but it is what it is. If we can get to the 20, we have a good shot at 3 points and he'll make the 98%+ XPs just like every other kicker regardless of how purty they are. I actually get a good laugh when an ugly one squirms through. And I know it's evil of me, but I get entertainment from reading all the bitching here about it :D Jimmy is the most interesting kicker in the world.

[sperry]

I know its the popular thing to do here but he is not a bad kicker. In fact he is far from bad.

If he really is so bad why do you think nobody has taken his job? It's not like he is the only kicker on campus.



Stoops seems to not be happy with him, considering Jimmy has benched about 15 times over his 4 years, including last game. What is mind-boggling is that every kicker we have tried to replace him with has been worse.


I support Jimmy Stevens and want him to succeed, but that does nothing to change the fact that he is a big time liability.

[Curly Bill]

I hope it doesn't end up costing us a chance at a NC. Usually along the way the NC has to win some close games. I'd hate to lose out because we can't find a kicker worth a damn.

[Sooner_Tuf]

I hope it doesn't cost us a game either. He has won some games for us too. I thought maybe I'm wrong and went and looked at all time kicking records and Lou Groza Award winners. The only place Jimmy is behind maybe farther than 40 yards. I'm not sure how many he made/missed at that range. I didn't see one kicker that was even 50% from that range. Almost none of them had as many points as Jimmy will end up with. If he stopped kicking today he would still have one of the higher point totals.

Jimmy hasn't been "benched" fifteen times and he wasn't benched Saturday either. Stoops did have the second team kicker come in and kick once but Jimmy was out there after that. I think that was more to see the kid in a game that was out of reach. We saw Allen also, would you say Landry was benched Saturday?

Out of curiosity look up your favorite kickers stats. None of them are perfect. Even Alex Henerey missed a few and was 5/11 past the forty in his years at Nebraska. Was he a terrible kicker? Think carefully before answering affirmative on that one.

[Lawton4Life]

Jimmy was 53/53 on XPs last year, so it was the converted XPs that should have given you the "not this year too!" moment. The missed one was a new twist.

Its not like he doesnt have a history of missed XPs..he missed something like 5 in 2008. Some kickers go their whole careers without missing that many

[SoonerDood]

We won some close games last year due to our kicker (okie state, nebbish). We also lost some too (remember the shanks against Misery and TAMU?). Although I would put the loss at TAMU (as well as 8 FG attempts vs Okie state and Nebbish) on the Oline's failures.

[papawlambert]

So, If we really need a field goal longer than 40yds, we have nobody that we feel that can make it?
That is sad. I think we should put the ball in Hunnicut's court.
Papaw

[Lawton4Life]

I'm not sure that points is a great way to evaluate a kicker. Jimmy had something like 98 XP attempts in 2008. That was because our offense was so great and we scored the most points in a season in the history of college football.

[BoulderSooner79]

Its not like he doesnt have a history of missed XPs..he missed something like 5 in 2008. Some kickers go their whole careers without missing that many

Obviously (I thought) my comment was tongue in cheek, but you are going back 2 seasons. And I don't think he missed 5 in '08, but you can check that; and he had more attempts in '08 than anyone in the world. Yes, some kickers go their whole college career w/o missing, but not very many. To get that last percent or 2, you need a perfect snapper and holder too. Stevens is what he is - a survivor :) I'll support him as long as Stoops puts him out there and if Hunnicutt takes over, I'll support him. And when Jimmy takes the field on senior day, I'll cheer. And I'll be extremely embarrassed as an OU fan if the crowd doesn't give him an honest cheer.

[sooner KB]

I believe we only have 2 kickers on schollie (Way and Stevens)...I believe the rest are all walkons...all of the others were walkons, but it's possible that one of them could've been awarded a schollie since last year...

O'Hara and Hunnicut both had scholarships last season. At least there was a ton of talk last season about the fact that we had 4 kickers on schollie, and there was a long thread about whether a couple should be pulled.

[cccasooner2]

Here’s Jimmy’s record to date from SoonerSports
PATs 178/186 95.7%
FG 01-19 YDs 1/1 100%
FG 20-29 YDs 21/22 95.4%
FG 30-39 YDs 13/15 86.6%
FG 40-49 YDs 4/9 44.4%
FG 50+ YDs 0/0 N/A

[Lawton4Life]

Obviously (I thought) my comment was tongue in cheek, but you are going back 2 seasons. And I don't think he missed 5 in '08, but you can check that; and he had more attempts in '08 than anyone in the world. Yes, some kickers go their whole college career w/o missing, but not very many. To get that last percent or 2, you need a perfect snapper and holder too. Stevens is what he is - a survivor :) I'll support him as long as Stoops puts him out there and if Hunnicutt takes over, I'll support him. And when Jimmy takes the field on senior day, I'll cheer. And I'll be extremely embarrassed as an OU fan if the crowd doesn't give him an honest cheer.

He was 94/99

I dont think anyone dislikes Jimmy Stevens the person, they just wish we had a better chance of making a 45 yard field goal. How many times did we go to the fake last year because they had no faith in his distance?

Just because you made the team and have Sooners on your jersey doesnt mean you're free from any kind of critique. I just want Jimmy to be better, but at the end of the day I wish him no harm.

[BoulderSooner79]

Critiquing is fine as it is with any player - it seems to get out of hand with Stevens and get personal. I wish he were better too or someone better would have won the job, but it didn't happen. His missed XPs in '08 were as a FR and FR kickers are notorious for having problems after kicking off a tee in HS. But he is a 4 year started and he is not getting any better, so he is just one of the parts that make the whole and it's the coaches job to optimize what they have.

[hawaii 5-0]

I've never had much confidence in Jimmy. From Day 1 he kicked a very flat ball, one that is apt to get blocked.

Not only has he got some kicks blocked but he's flat out missed some. His distance is pretty limited.

OU should be able to do better.

5-0

[Salt City Sooner]

Its not like he doesnt have a history of missed XPs..he missed something like 5 in 2008. Some kickers go their whole careers without missing that many
Hartley missed 5 PAT's in '07 (on 23 less attempts than Stevens had in '08) & I never saw anyone yelling for him to be benched.

[JLMSOONER]

Yeah, but Hartley could run like the wind on a fake and could judge the 1st down marker down to millimeters. Nothing like a little fear to motivate you!

[papawlambert]

Didn't Hartley kick some over 40?
Papaw

[cccasooner2]

Didn't Hartley kick some over 40?
Papaw

40-49 - 9/14 or 64.2 % (skewed a little his So. year when he was 42.8% and before discarding the surfboard counterweight)
50+ - 3/4 or 75% long of 53

[cccasooner2]

50 plus? You ain't asking for much...

There are a whole bunch of kickers in the NFL that don't do well at 50+...and I am guessing they are just about the best in the world or they wouldn't be doing it...

In last years NFL regular season only five kickers attempted five or more 50+ yard kicks...those five kickers hit on 16 of 31 kicks...

In last years NFL postseason there were three 50+ kicks...they were one out of three...

http://espn.go.com/nfl/statistics/player/_/stat/kicking/sort/fieldGoalsMade50/qualified/false


Amazing how rare a good kicker is. GH at 4 yrs experience is the youngster from my incomplete perusal. Most are in the 7-15 yr range. Getting one's foot in the door must be a b.