Why Billy Cundiff Is Our Man

[JohnJohnson]

Cundiff was 21/26 total this season, which is solid, but I distinctly remember a couple of BAD snaps (all of his misses came with the Ravens, he was 6/6 with Cleveland). In addition, he missed a 56 yard attempt against Pittsburgh and a 51 yard attempt at the end of the first half at Oakland. He can make 50+ yard field goals (his long is 56), and his leg is obviously a major upside since he can do kickoffs. The fact that he came into a highly scrutinized kicking situation and performed well under pressure is telling, and with consistent long snapping I am sure he would do even better.

What we don't want to do is repeat the same mistake we made this season; taking a chance on a young kicker when your team is a playoff contender.

[Dubs]

he is a good kicker but i dont think we should leave him to the job. He needs some competition come mini/training camp. Id love to see Graham Gano back here.

yes much of our issues at kicker this year can be contributed to poor snaps and thats the real issue that needs to be addressed.

[FlaccoIsHot]

I like Cundiff...I was impressed with how he come in and gave the ravens some stability at that position. Hopefully Katula will be back to his normal self next season which will help Cundiff even more.

I do agree that there should be some competetion in camp, not just handing him the job. Feel much better with him in the mix than Hauschka...

[Ed_Reed20]

I see the team bringing in a kicker or maybe even a few to push Cundiff but he should keep his job.

[Bazooka Joe]

I honestly do not believe drafting a kicker is in our best interest.

1. If we were a rebuilding team, then yes you draft a kicker. We are a contending team that needs experience at that position.

2. I like Cundiff, but why not carry both Cundiff and Stover. Stover handles everything under 40 yards unless we play a dome team. Cundiff handles all the 40+ yard kicks and the kick offs. Cundiff is still very young in terms of kickers, so once Stover retires, just give the fulltime job to Cundiff.

[Ed_Reed20]

[quote name='Bazooka Joe' date='30 January 2010 - 04:49 PM' timestamp='1264888180' post='353156']
2. I like Cundiff, but why not carry both Cundiff and Stover. Stover handles everything under 40 yards unless we play a dome team. Cundiff handles all the 40+ yard kicks and the kick offs. Cundiff is still very young in terms of kickers, so once Stover retires, just give the fulltime job to Cundiff.
[/quote]

I like that idea.

[darklight1216]

[quote name='Bazooka Joe' date='30 January 2010 - 04:49 PM' timestamp='1264888180' post='353156']
I honestly do not believe drafting a kicker is in our best interest.

1. If we were a rebuilding team, then yes you draft a kicker. We are a contending team that needs experience at that position.

2. I like Cundiff, but why not carry both Cundiff and Stover. Stover handles everything under 40 yards unless we play a dome team. Cundiff handles all the 40+ yard kicks and the kick offs. Cundiff is still very young in terms of kickers, so once Stover retires, just give the fulltime job to Cundiff.
[/quote]
We don't have to draft a kicker. Even if we want a new guy, we can always bring in someone who was undrafted a la Gano.

The problem with carrying two kickers is that you only have a limited number of roster spots. When there are injuries -and there will always be injuries- it's convenient to have a guy ready to replace an offensive or defensive player.

[JEEPercreepermd]

[quote name='Bazooka Joe' date='30 January 2010 - 04:49 PM' timestamp='1264888180' post='353156']
I honestly do not believe drafting a kicker is in our best interest.

1. If we were a rebuilding team, then yes you draft a kicker. We are a contending team that needs experience at that position.

2. I like Cundiff, but why not carry both Cundiff and Stover. Stover handles everything under 40 yards unless we play a dome team. Cundiff handles all the 40+ yard kicks and the kick offs. Cundiff is still very young in terms of kickers, so once Stover retires, just give the fulltime job to Cundiff.
[/quote]
The Ravens have done that several times over the years with Stover. The problem is that Harbaugh would much rather carry an extra Offensive or Defensive player over two kickers

[BritishRaven]

Some competition might be nice, but I can't see him losing the job.

I think he's just reliable enough for us to only carry one kicker.

[JohnJohnson]

They probably will bring in another kicker, but unless it's an established veteran I don't think he'll be too threatened, nor should he be. Even if we find a young guy who can nail them consistently in practice and has a bigger leg, we really can't take the chance that he'll need time to adapt to NFL pressure like Hauschka did (who I think will be fine, it just wasn't the year for us to start developing a kicker). So yeah they'll bring someone in but it's sort of pointless.

[Guest I-70WestRaven]

I agree with the thought that the Ravens will bring in some one to compete with Billy, but after all the bouncing around he's done I think it would just push him to work harder to be at his best. Right now it's his job to lose and I think he'll be up to the challenge.

[Bigbell]

i like cundiff!
hopefully he will stay...but we just gotta push him in camp.
katula needs to get his crap fixed though

[ravensconvert]

At the end of the day kickers contribute about 5% of the teams winning chance. Having a good kicker is the most cost efficient thing you can do in the NFL.

[lowrider]

[quote name='ravensconvert' date='31 January 2010 - 10:13 PM' timestamp='1264994008' post='353704']
At the end of the day kickers contribute about 5% of the teams winning chance. Having a good kicker is the most cost efficient thing you can do in the NFL.
[/quote]
But a very important 5%. We would have won a few games if we could kick a field goal. And if we would have won a few more games we could have won the division which could have put us against different teams in the playoffs. You never know. One player makes a huge difference and this year made me appreciate how great Stover is and how we just took that position for granted.

[darklight1216]

[quote name='ravensconvert' date='31 January 2010 - 10:13 PM' timestamp='1264994008' post='353704']
At the end of the day kickers contribute about 5% of the teams winning chance. Having a good kicker is the most cost efficient thing you can do in the NFL.
[/quote]
Where did that statistic come from? I think that if you did not have a single field goal or extra point, your chances of winning would decrease significantly. That is without considering the impact of kickoffs.

[BuckWilds]

[quote name='JEEPercreepermd' date='30 January 2010 - 06:19 PM' timestamp='1264893598' post='353233']
The Ravens have done that several times over the years with Stover. The problem is that Harbaugh would much rather carry an extra Offensive or Defensive player over two kickers
[/quote]

Agreed. That 53-man roster fills up extremely quickly.

[jfc13]

[quote name='darklight1216' date='01 February 2010 - 06:30 AM' timestamp='1265023846' post='353813']
Where did that statistic come from? I think that if you did not have a single field goal or extra point, your chances of winning would decrease significantly. That is without considering the impact of kickoffs.
[/quote]
You know what they say... 63% of all statistics are made up on the spot...

[theblackdog]

I agree with all points here, I think Cundiff has done very well for us considering he was thrown into the fire right away. I see him putting on the purple and black for us again, but not without competition from others in training camp.

In defense of the kick he missed against the Steelers, he had said earlier that night that his range was about 53 yds (so it was going to be a long shot to make a 56 yd attempt) and the kicking team was rushed onto the field because there was only about 12 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Even though he missed the kick, it was only because it fell short, not because he shanked it to the right or left. A few yards up and we would have had the game in the bag without overtime. He still nailed it for us when it became critical in OT

[Twoo]

[quote name='Bazooka Joe' date='30 January 2010 - 04:49 PM' timestamp='1264888180' post='353156']
I honestly do not believe drafting a kicker is in our best interest.

1. If we were a rebuilding team, then yes you draft a kicker. We are a contending team that needs experience at that position.

[b]2. I like Cundiff, but why not carry both Cundiff and Stover. Stover handles everything under 40 yards unless we play a dome team. Cundiff handles all the 40+ yard kicks and the kick offs. Cundiff is still very young in terms of kickers, so once Stover retires, just give the fulltime job to Cundiff.[/b]
[/quote]


This idea makes me want to go scuba diving just to stab Dolphins.

Stover is gone, he will not be returning and carrying 2 kickers when we're more than efficient with Cundiff is an absolutely horrible idea. That's a roster spot that could be filled by a much more important player.

[ravens88]

I say stick with cundiff he has proven he can do the job we need from him on another note if he sucks this year we can draft a kicker like the kid from UCLA he is the best kicker in college football with all the accolades and everything. I mean the last pick in the draft this year has been kicking pretty solid for the chiefs

Ryan Succop KC K 25 29
10-10 in 20-29 yrds
7-7 in 30-39 yrds
6-7 in 40-49 yrds
2-5 in 50+ yrds
and 29-29 in extrapoints

So i feel that if cundiff has a solid year again keep him if he doesnt then in the 2011 draft lets grab a solid kicker instead of wasting it on plyers who dont even make our practice squad like peerman and i havent even heard Davon drew since he got drafted. Succop scored more points than either of them.. just my 2 cents

[Wacko4Zacko]

Why do we need two kickers on a team? Its such a waste of a spot on the roster.

[hammer]

Cundiff came in and did a good job. He deserves a chance to go into next year as the favorite for the job.

[varaven]

trade mcgahee for the raiders kicker! (this is a joke dont bash me too hard)

[JohnJohnson]

[quote name='varaven' date='02 February 2010 - 12:12 AM' timestamp='1265083936' post='354167']
trade mcgahee for the raiders kicker! (this is a joke dont bash me too hard)
[/quote]

I bet the Raiders have respect for Mcgahee after that stiff arm!

[63bru]

There are alot of great kickers available in free agency. Probably at least 5 that are better than Cundiff. If nothing else, we should bring one in for competition. Here is a list of the kickers available. I'd definitely be thrilled to get one.

http://www.walterfootball.com/freeagents2010KP.php

For the record, I believe that you should never draft a kicker. The bust rate is too high, and you can get a solid one in free agency, as this years crop indicates.

[JEEPercreepermd]

[quote name='63bru' date='06 February 2010 - 01:45 PM' timestamp='1265481925' post='356084']
There are alot of great kickers available in free agency. Probably at least 5 that are better than Cundiff. If nothing else, we should bring one in for competition. Here is a list of the kickers available. I'd definitely be thrilled to get one.

http://www.walterfootball.com/freeagents2010KP.php

For the record, I believe that you should never draft a kicker. The bust rate is too high, and you can get a solid one in free agency, as this years crop indicates.
[/quote]
The problem is that most of those kickers will probably be re-signed, unless they obviously just don't have it anymore.

[JohnJohnson]

The Ravens have limited options in free agency. If one of those kickers gets cut then we could bring him in, otherwise how would that work?

[Dan The Man Ravens #1 Fan]

I think they may bring someone in just to say they took a look at others. On the other side of this I think it is more of a boost to Cundiffs confidence knowing he has the job. Extra pressure is not always a good thing. He proved he can make the kicks and the kid definately has the boot. I think bringing in someone to challenge Katula is the more important than another kicker.

[Guest I-70WestRaven]

That's an impressive list, but I could see them all being resigned, especially Carpenter who is only 24. Then again you never know, but I think it's safe to say the Ravens will bring in someone, they have to that's just seems to be one of those "givens" a team does every year. You know Billy would love to shake that "journeyman" tag and find a home.

[63bru]

I think we'll probably let someone go for more than a kicker would cost. But the people who said that they will probably be resigned are likely right. I'm banking on one or two of them possibly becoming available.