09-12-2022, 08:49 AM
(09-12-2022, 07:20 AM)Wyche Wrote: We have another specialist long snapper on the practice squad we'll call up. You can't waste a game day roster spot on a guy who does one thing. That's why Wilcox is the emergency backup. He can do three things. Play teams, play TE, and be the emergency long snapper. You guys are just trying way too hard to not blame Joe Burrow, lol.
And you're trying way too hard to create a narrative that doesn't work (at least in my case). It was Burrow's worst performance to date. He was appalling. He was also part of what got us back into the game (after 10000 last chances) which is something the kicking unit didn't manage, but it's not lost on me that Burrow would take us to a 1-16 record with a season full of those games. We did overcome his performance though, it only took an Extra Point for us to have done so. But I'm aware the loss is far more on him than the kicking unit.
My point isn't about roster spots, but is about the emergency guy has to be in a better position to take over. Nobody expected it to be perfect, there's a reason he's the emergency relief, but we literally went from one of the best kicking units in the league, to that. It's not just the snapper either, there was no block on Fitzpatrick (who wasn't the furthest outside guy) for the Extra Point. We don't bleed the clock on the OT punt. Huber takes a crappy snap and doesn't help his already shaky kicking unit out, by just sitting on the ball. That's more a collapse than just 'emergency guy choked'. It's a lack of readiness and contingency, considering we only needed one unfortunate injury to be put in that position.
Could very much have stomached kicks beyond 40 yards being no longer sensible, but they couldn't get the most basic of kicking-related things down. We'd have been punting on Extra Points in the Super Bowl with this unit in, and you just can't have that.
Only plus is such a debacle will have them more ready in the future.
