10-14-2021, 10:46 AM
Here are excerpts from an article where Darrin Simmons and Doug Pelfrey (ex-Bengal kicker) weigh in:
Simmons is going to change not a thing. Especially when he watched the Pelfrey-like veteran Crosby miss four kicks on the other side.
"He'll learn from it. He'll grow from it and he'll be fine. I don't worry about him one bit," Simmons says of his prized rookie. "I think the wind was a little bit different up above than maybe what we felt down below. It is what it is. It was the same for both sides."
"It depends on where the wind is coming from. If it's from the north or south. It depends a little on that," Simmons says. "Sometimes it's hard to know which way the wind is blowing, especially when you can't feel it. You're used to feeling the wind. When you don't feel a lot down on the field, it's different what was actually happening up above. I think the ball got affected more on top of the upright than it did down on the field."
Pelfrey sees more of those in McPherson's future.
"He's got the leg. The Bengals are on an uptick. They've got three wins. He's got a coach that believes in him. He's got a coach in Darrin that knows more about kicking than most NFL special teams coaches," Pelfrey says. "He's got a great long snapper in Clark Harris and a great holder in Kevin Huber. The fans are with him."
Don't underestimate the snapper and the holder. When Pelfrey had Greg Truitt snapping to Lee Johnson holding, he hit 81 percent of his kicks. Starting when Truitt blew out his knee in 1998, Johnson's last year with the Bengals, Pelfrey hit 68 percent of his kicks in '98 and '99 and he was out of the league in 2000.
Simmons is going to change not a thing. Especially when he watched the Pelfrey-like veteran Crosby miss four kicks on the other side.
"He'll learn from it. He'll grow from it and he'll be fine. I don't worry about him one bit," Simmons says of his prized rookie. "I think the wind was a little bit different up above than maybe what we felt down below. It is what it is. It was the same for both sides."
"It depends on where the wind is coming from. If it's from the north or south. It depends a little on that," Simmons says. "Sometimes it's hard to know which way the wind is blowing, especially when you can't feel it. You're used to feeling the wind. When you don't feel a lot down on the field, it's different what was actually happening up above. I think the ball got affected more on top of the upright than it did down on the field."
Pelfrey sees more of those in McPherson's future.
"He's got the leg. The Bengals are on an uptick. They've got three wins. He's got a coach that believes in him. He's got a coach in Darrin that knows more about kicking than most NFL special teams coaches," Pelfrey says. "He's got a great long snapper in Clark Harris and a great holder in Kevin Huber. The fans are with him."
Don't underestimate the snapper and the holder. When Pelfrey had Greg Truitt snapping to Lee Johnson holding, he hit 81 percent of his kicks. Starting when Truitt blew out his knee in 1998, Johnson's last year with the Bengals, Pelfrey hit 68 percent of his kicks in '98 and '99 and he was out of the league in 2000.
