We all saw Andrew Frank make his debut last preseason game as he went 2 for 2 which also included a 51 yard field goal. I found this 10 minute video on youtube and was impressed with the way this kid talks and carries himself. Check it out. [video=youtube;K1lRbu9mQPw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1lRbu9mQPw[/video]
I really hope so. Caleb has been inconsistent since he came on board. Much of that is due to him being injury prone. Franks has a better leg and is getting better all the time. I read that he had no real instruction in college and learned his craft basically on his own. I think he has a bigger upside-who knows how good he can be with some real coaching. The way I see it, at this point he is no worse than Sturgis and can only get better. Sturgis is what he is.
After watching that video, I'm convinced that he should be the starter over Sturgis. He seems to have a lot of upside to him. I'm rooting for him.
Staying with Sturgis is the safe pick. If he does well no one questions it. If he doesn't do well it could be questioned but no one could say for certain that Franks was the answer, it was an even gamble. However, if they take Franks and he does well, that's the big pay off, however, if they take him and he sucks everyone will say they should have given Sturgis another chance, at least he was a known entity. Basically, I expect they're feeling that they have to be 100% that Franks is the guy or Sturgis isn't the guy in order to pick Frank's. I'm not sure the difference between was that great.
To add a little frosting to the cake here is Andrew Franks nailing a 58 yard field goal [video=youtube;m0s6TsOAtPc]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0s6TsOAtPc[/video]
I have to re-watch the game, but was one of his kickoffs a little short? Like around the 10-yard line? Or was that Sturgis? I believe it was early in the Falcons game after the first TD.
Yes, but it lead to a muffed catch and almost a TO. It was a weird kick that could've been a coach's decision. Throughout the preseason, Franks has been kicking touchbacks way better than Sturgis. Sturgis even kicked one out of bounds already. If Franks wins the job, it's actually because of his kickoffs.
Is there much difference, or any, in the salary of the 2 kickers? Enough to make a difference in the salary cap?
Sturgis probably keeps his job due to draft stock, they spent a very high pick on him, and they seem to really put a lot of stock, in draft stock, which is a mistake imo.
It was a 5th rounder 2 years ago with a different GM. I hope you're wrong and that doesn't play a factor. Franks looks good
Franks' leg is obviously stronger. Game before last, Sturgis kicked a 49 yarder that barely cleared the crossbar. Franks hit that 51 yarder with enough room to spare it may have been good from 60. Franks' kickoffs more consistently go out of the end zone. I think Sturgis' leg was stronger early in his rookie season than it is now. When he pulled something around the time of the Ravens game that year, he appears to me to have never came back with quite the same strength. Seeing how well Carp is doing in Barfalo just adds salt to the wound of us ever keeping Sturgis over him.
Saving money this year means more to spend on keeping our FAs next offseason. If you ask me whether I'd rather have Franks as our kicker and keep Lamar Miller next offseason, or have Sturgis as our kicker and lose Lamar Miller to Free Agency I will take Franks and Miller every time.
That is the very definition of a false equivalency. Keeping Sturgis has no effect on keeping Lamar Miller or not. Besides, there is only a $50,000 in salary difference between the two, and Sturgis has $145,000 guaranteed. So cutting him now actually turns into a net loss in money.
Sturgis only made 78.4% of his field goals last year. There were only 4 kickers with a worse percentage of field goals made. The year before he was only 76.5%. Those numbers are not good enough. Does that inspire any confidence in anyone? Really how much worse could Franks be than that? And you get a much stronger leg. With Franks getting real coaching for the first time in a long time I say his needle is pointing up unlike Caleb who appears to be who he is, a sub 80% kicker. That is abysmal.
I think staying with Sturgis is actually the riskier move. Sure Sturgis is the known vet but typically that means there is something in their game that they do consistently well whether that is kick-offs, PATs or field goals. Sturgis has been inconsistent in all three aspects of the kicking game and can't stay healthy. What happens if we go with Sturgis and then mid-season he gets hurt again? Seems to me Franks floor is what we've gotten from Sturgis the past three seasons and his ceiling could be much higher.
Then why is he still here, he kicked his way to the unemployment line the last 2 years, yet here he still is.
Agreed. The idea that his draft slot under a different GM would have any bearing is far-fetched. If anything I think the slightly higher salary (5th round vs. UDFA) is a bigger consideration. IMO either kicker should be better this year than what we've had the past two seasons. I think Sturgis' inconsistency has been primarily a result of his injuries. He wasn't injury prone in college or inconsistent so I don't know that I'd consider his continuing to be injury prone in the pros or inconsistent as a given or even likely. So even if we stuck with Sturgis I'd expect him to be better. That being said, my understanding is that Franks has a stronger leg. Sturgis has never been great at the longer kicks even in college. The big knock on Franks was his inconsistency early on, but according to Rizzi he's been improving daily. If they feel he's reached a point where his consistency is about on par with Sturgis and he has a stronger leg and is cheaper, I would have to think that Franks gets the nod. Of course, we can't answer that 'IF'. There's been a ton of practices we simply have no info on.
cedric thompson is a 5th rounder who might get cut, so its totally unimportant if you are a kicker or a safety, 5th round picks will get cut
Soooooooooooooo, if a 5th round is a lot for a kicker, why do you claim a great punter is so much more valuable than an average punter?
I can't stop laughing, every time I look at that sentence it just keeps getting funnier. lol, you win.
Saying its funny, cause you got nothing is irrelevant. I challenge you to think this through, instead of doing whatever it is you think you're doing. Kickers are more important than punters. And a 5th round pick is high for a kicker in your estimation. So please, tell the class why teams generally wait the 5 th round to draft punters (if they draft them at all) if they are so important. This is not rocket science.
B/c he was expected to be consistent once he got through the injury and he was cheap generally and relative to the guy that he replaced. Additionally, most would say that we got rid of Carpenter too quickly after a sub par year so there would be some natural hesitancy to do the same thing again.
We did get rid of Carp after a sub par year, Sturgis is coming off 2 horrible years, he should have been fired, there's no team in the league that keeps a K after 2 sub 80% seasons. In 2 years ≈ Sturgis has missed 16 kicks, 8 each year, 3 inside of 40, that's pathetic, he should be fired, why would you keep this guy? If he was an UDFA he probably would have been fired after his first horrible season, and rightfully so, bad Ks are a dime a dozen.
I think Sturgis hit like his 1st 20 field goals in the regular season his rookie year. Then he strained his leg or something and he hasn't been the same since. While a 5th round investment is alot for a kicker it is not unheard of. However, I think they kept him last year with the belief that if he was healthy his stats would improve. I think it was more to seeing if he would regain form rather than retaining investment. Just guessing, my .02, for what it's worth, etc..............