Case for Keeping Gano.....

tribeofjudah · Post by **tribeofjudah** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:19 am

To keep Gano or NO.........??? That is a the question. Here are some stats to persuade us to keep him:

By Rich Tandler

The most popular topic on my timeline right now is Graham Gano and, more specifically, how soon he should join the ranks of the unemployed. Missing a potential game-winning field goal in overtime against your team's most hated rival will do that.

Although I enjoy the occasional virtual tar and feathering this one needs to stop. The guy missed a 52-yard field goal. Around the NFL this year, field goals of 50 yards or longer are good about 68 percent of the time so one from 52 yards probably translates into about a two in three shot at making it. Those are decent odds, but not the kind you should lose your job over if you come out on the wrong side.

And, Redskins fans, do you really want to go back into the pool of unemployed kickers? Michael Hustead or Kris Heppner, anyone? And do you really want to send a guy who could be the next David Akers packing?

Gano is young and the Redskins have been living through his growing pains for about two years now. The team endured him making a league-worst 68.6 percent of his field goals last year. He’s not much better this year but three of his misses were blocked. Before yesterday he was three of four from 50+ yards including that team-record 59 yarder against the 49ers.

Not only that, Gano is arguably the best at kicking off in the NFL. Twenty two of his 35 kickoffs (62.8 percent) have resulted in touchbacks. The 10 times players returned his kickoffs they ended up with an average of 19.2 yards per return, the best in the NFL.

I know that there is a temptation to have heads roll in the wake of a frustrating loss. But it’s not like the loss cost the Redskins a playoff spot or anything. Graham Gano seems to be on the verge of being a very good kicker.

The better plan would be to let Gano continue to mature and work on his accuracy while the team is still maturing and working on what needs to be fixed. It would be a shame to go through the labor pains and then let some other team get the baby.

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:41 am

We certainly have a lot more important things to worry about here

Gano is not an issue at all - Gano will be the kicker we need when we REALLY need a good kicker

would have been great to make the 2 field goals he missed - we need an offense that scores touchdowns
AND a defense that can attack an offense trying to play catch up

we're getting there - we just need Gano to kick extra points AND be good at kicking into the end zone

tribeofjudah · Post by **tribeofjudah** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 11:22 am

But he's not CLUTCH yet.........will he get better and better....???

StorminMormon86 · Post by **StorminMormon86** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 12:57 pm

Damn you Gano for messing with my head. He broke the franchise record by kicking a 59 yarder but now has missed several crucial FGs in two games. I say we keep him on a VERY short leash for the remainder of the season.

ATX_Skins · Post by **ATX_Skins** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:00 pm

I like Gano.

tribeofjudah · Post by **tribeofjudah** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:35 pm

He's got plenty of upside........I WISH HE WAS A CLUTCH GUY

HarleyHog · Post by **HarleyHog** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:48 pm

Gano has enough upside to make him worth growing with. Eventually "clutch" kicks will become old hat, and if you score tds he's pretty good at pats

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 1:51 pm

Gano's importance will become apparent when the Skins really need him to make FGs - we are not a good team yet

When (NOT if) this team becomes a force again - Gano will be making all the FGs we need

Gano has a good kicking leg - these guys are rare

riggofan · Post by **riggofan** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 2:24 pm

Stick with him. Hopefully Gano feels awful for missing that OT kick against the cowboys. Learn from it, get better and never miss that kick again.

DarthMonk · Post by **DarthMonk** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:36 pm

Good to see all the support. I'm a Gano fan.

I was (once again) drinking a good Belgian beer with a friend as Gano prepared to kick. He was on the right hash. As he took his 2 steps back along the inside of the hash I remarked that he was stepping straight back (parallel to the sidelines) instead of at an angle directly away from the goal post support. Before he took his 2 steps sideways he should have been standing on the hash not inside it. Then he took his 2 steps sideways. The problem was they were perpendicular to the hash instead of perpendicular to what his line should have been.

I hope this is clear. He should have stepped back away from the goal post support and been mid-hash. Then he should have taken 2 steps at right angles to that line which would not be straight across the field but across and back at a slight angle.

In essence, he lined up on the right upright. This semi-drunk fan told his friend (70chip btw) "He's lined up to make or miss by a foot to the right."

Well, he left it a foot outside right.

If you haven't erased it yet give it a watch. I just did and saw the same thing.

Someone please forward this to him and his frickin' coach.

I feel better now - kinda. -drinking

DarthMonk

CanesSkins26 · Post by **CanesSkins26** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:46 pm

tribeofjudah wrote:To keep Gano or NO.........??? That is a the question. Here are some stats to persuade us to keep him:

By Rich Tandler

The most popular topic on my timeline right now is Graham Gano and, more specifically, how soon he should join the ranks of the unemployed. Missing a potential game-winning field goal in overtime against your team's most hated rival will do that.

Although I enjoy the occasional virtual tar and feathering this one needs to stop. The guy missed a 52-yard field goal. Around the NFL this year, field goals of 50 yards or longer are good about 68 percent of the time so one from 52 yards probably translates into about a two in three shot at making it. Those are decent odds, but not the kind you should lose your job over if you come out on the wrong side.

And, Redskins fans, do you really want to go back into the pool of unemployed kickers? Michael Hustead or Kris Heppner, anyone? And do you really want to send a guy who could be the next David Akers packing?

Gano is young and the Redskins have been living through his growing pains for about two years now. The team endured him making a league-worst 68.6 percent of his field goals last year. He’s not much better this year but three of his misses were blocked. Before yesterday he was three of four from 50+ yards including that team-record 59 yarder against the 49ers.

Not only that, Gano is arguably the best at kicking off in the NFL. Twenty two of his 35 kickoffs (62.8 percent) have resulted in touchbacks. The 10 times players returned his kickoffs they ended up with an average of 19.2 yards per return, the best in the NFL.

I know that there is a temptation to have heads roll in the wake of a frustrating loss. But it’s not like the loss cost the Redskins a playoff spot or anything. Graham Gano seems to be on the verge of being a very good kicker.

The better plan would be to let Gano continue to mature and work on his accuracy while the team is still maturing and working on what needs to be fixed. It would be a shame to go through the labor pains and then let some other team get the baby.

Tandler is grasping at straws with that argument. Gano is terrible. 19 missed kicks in 26 games is awful.

And it's not like he's only missing kicks from 50-plus yards. This year is 3-6 from 30-39 yards and 4-7 from 40-49 yards. That's barely 50 percent from 30-49 yards. That's bad for a college kicker, let alone an NFL player.

Statistically, there are 29 NFL kickers with a higher field goal percentage than Gano this season, and only Jay Feely has a worse percentage. Just as an example of how bad Gano is, 24 other kickers are converting 80 percent or more of their field goals this season, while Gano is sitting at 66.7 percent, which is right around where he was last season.

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 3:55 pm

I can remember far worse kickers than Gano that have played for the Skins in the last 10 years.

If we are going to try to make a switch, I'd say definitely don't move on this until after this season is over. The odds that a replacement will exceed Gano's performance (on both kickoffs and FG attempts) are not in our favor. And besides, we have enough instability as it is.

I see nothing wrong with bringing in competition for him next year, of course. Personally I like Gano and think he will succeed here long-term, but I can understand the frustration some people have over our kicking situation.

CanesSkins26 · Post by **CanesSkins26** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:01 pm

Irn-Bru wrote:I can remember far worse kickers than Gano that have played for the Skins in the last 10 years.

If we are going to try to make a switch, I'd say definitely don't move on this until after this season is over. The odds that a replacement will exceed Gano's performance (on both kickoffs and FG attempts) are not in our favor. And besides, we have enough instability as it is.

I see nothing wrong with bringing in competition for him next year, of course. Personally I like Gano and think he will succeed here long-term, but I can understand the frustration some people have over our kicking situation.

Agreed about waiting until the offseason. I just don't see how we can bring him back next season when for two straight years he is sitting at or near the bottom of the NFL in field goal percentage.

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 4:06 pm

I'm a Gano 'fan' but I'm VERY much in favor of bringing in some kickers and keeping the best
I'm confident that Gano will be kicking here next year

Canes is right, Gano has had a terrible season this year but we have bigger issues than him missing a bunch of kicks

a good offense will put the damn ball in the end zone - not be trying a bunch of FGs

Red_One43 · Post by **Red_One43** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 9:08 pm

There is no point in cutting Gano before the season's end.
I would have to say all options are open after the season is over - like looking young proven FA kickers if some exist and pay the big bucks for the best one. Otherwise, you bring back Gano and bring in serious competition unlike last year's competion.

Gano's problems seem to be mental. He kicked extremely well in the preseason. Does he have the mental toughness to kick in the regular season? Looking at the last two seasons, it looks like he doesn't. Like I said all options have to be open for Year 3.

welch · Post by **welch** » Tue Nov 22, 2011 10:34 pm

Stick with Gano. As mentioned above:

- Gano should improve

- No one available is better

- Why change kickers, again?

The team needs OL, DL, and receivers. Get them, and then lets see what the kicking looks like.

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:03 pm

welch wrote:Stick with Gano. As mentioned above:

- Gano should improve

- No one available is better

- Why change kickers, again?

The team needs OL, DL, and receivers. Get them, and then lets see what the kicking looks like.

thanks welch - with all the needs and issues we have the FG kicking is on the VERY bottom of the list

we'll hopefully see Smith bring in some kickers and Gano will show that he's the best available

we don't need to increase our FG production - we need to figure out how to score TDs

It's a fact that a good offense helps make a good defenses look a lot better AND that a good defense can make a good offense look very good - the same applies to Special Teams - if everything is going OK, the whole team looks like it's made up of all pros

we'll be fine here - we just need to add a few pieces and one of them is not a FG kicker - Gano will be fine

StorminMormon86 · Post by **StorminMormon86** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 12:08 pm

Gano played pretty damn good the first half of the season. Maybe the general attitude of the locker room has somehow affected him mentally, I don't know. Everybody has a bad game. No need to hang the guy...yet.

CanesSkins26 · Post by **CanesSkins26** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 2:02 pm

Gano's problems seem to be mental. He kicked extremely well in the preseason. Does he have the mental toughness to kick in the regular season? Looking at the last two seasons, it looks like he doesn't. Like I said all options have to be open for Year 3.

He went to FSU, so no, haha. I dont know what it is with that school and kickers but they had another kicker blow a game for them last Saturday against UVA.

SkinsJock · Post by **SkinsJock** » Wed Nov 23, 2011 2:19 pm

i will admit that I did not know that Gano came out of the FSU program - even more reason to keep him

tribeofjudah · Post by **tribeofjudah** » Sun Nov 27, 2011 8:59 pm

NOT sure about Gano's future here. Why why....?

I know the Line got BLOWN OUT by the hawks D....but I think Gano's kicks are LOW LOW LOW.

Can he PLEASE get those kicks UP HIGHER....???

Countertrey · Post by **Countertrey** » Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:01 pm

^ Whatever...

tribeofjudah · Post by **tribeofjudah** » Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:04 pm

Countertrey wrote:^ Whatever...

BET you $20 that Gano ...........

DarthMonk · Post by **DarthMonk** » Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:35 pm

tribeofjudah wrote:NOT sure about Gano's future here. Why why....?

I know the Line got BLOWN OUT by the hawks D....but I think Gano's kicks are LOW LOW LOW.

Can he PLEASE get those kicks UP HIGHER....???

I just went outside and put a ball on a tee and had my 6' 6" neighbor stand 2 steps in front of me with his arms raised (he was wearing kevlar). I found it pretty difficult to get the ball over him.

DarthMonk

Irn-Bru · Post by **Irn-Bru** » Sun Nov 27, 2011 9:56 pm

Rough day for Gano. I still hope we keep him around.

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