The Stover Question

Stover wants to return (come back, not punt return) and kick for somebody, and Harbaugh speaks to him regularly, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him wearing purple and black again if the coaching staff feels we need him. Until then, I’m going to go with the only other option that has showed us anything at all in the pros: Hauschka.

As to having more than one kicker on the roster, I think Mike Preston says it best when he says the Ravens are taking a chance. If you don’t bring back Stover, we’re taking a chance on our kicking game. What happens if Hauschka or Gano can’t give us that consistency that we’re used to? On the other hand, if we have Stover, it could be at the expense of that Carr or kickoff TD that adh is talking about.

There is definitely a dilemma in this situation. I agree that we should give as much help to Chris Carr and our return game which has been weak over the past couple of seasons. But I also think that the one extra roster spot, as Mike Preston said, is not really worth it. I’m not 100% that Stover will still be available if the Ravens realize Hauschka and Gano cannot get the job done. Don’t get me wrong, I think Hauschka has a lot of potential as shown by the 54 yard field goal he nailed against Houston last year. But I think sacrificing Matt Stover at the expense of maybe one or two kickoff or punt return TD’s is a big risk that the Ravens shouldn’t be taking.

The Ravens football strength and philosophy, since 2000, has been field position and time of position. We keep the ball- the other team cannot score. We win/control the filed position battle, we will score more points. In the NFL, a 10 – 3 Ravens win is worth just as much as a Patriots or Colts 37 – 24 win. Their are no points for style in the NFL.

The Ravens probably feel as if they gave up too many long FG’s/short field TD’s due not consistently kicking off into the endzone. They probably also feel that with the improved return game, (and the return game was most definitely improved during this off-season), coupled with longer kickoffs, we win the battle of field position. With improved field position, maybe the opposition is not in a position to even attempt a field goal, which means we may not need to kick a game winning FG ourselves late in the game; or, if that is the case, because of improved field position for the Ravens, our game winning FG attempt is a 23 yarder vice a 43 yarder…

It all comes down to the front office calculus. In their minds, better field position outweighs consistent 35 yard – 45 yard FG’s.

Full disclosure: I am very much against using two roster spots for kickers for many of the reasons stated in above posts.

And at some point an organization has to bite the bullet and “transition” from their veteran kicker to some young kid, be it Gano or Hauschka or somebody next year or whatever (and I do mean young, as we have discussed in other posts). I still have a hard time believing Hauschka is/was a paid professional NFL football player…

The good news is, the NFL track record has shown that you know within a mater of just a few games whether a kicker has “it” or not; unlike QB’s, WR’s et al which may take years to make that determination.

I was the first one to vote Gano!

I would love to have Stover kicking for us, but it just does not make sense for us to bring him back now.

I mean, if we bring him back, then he is just going to have to retire again sometime or be let go. We already have a kicking competition going on, and it is a great competition. These guys are fighting it out to win this job and the coaches say it is neck and neck right now.

We are going to have to move on sometime. And right now is a perfect time to try and breed one of these 2 young guys into our next stud kicker. I just do not buy into Ozzie and the coaches bringing in a 3RD kicker and just throwing all the hard work and competition out the window of Graham and Steve. Check out this story from www.BaltimoreRavens.com if you have not yet.

As former Ravens kicker Matt Stover’s name surfaced in the news last weekend, the current crop of kickers continued to battle in becoming his heir Monday.

Stover recently told the Baltimore Sun that he is still very much interested in reclaiming the spot he occupied for 19 seasons, dating back to the Ravens’ days as the Cleveland Browns before their 1996 move.

"I would love to come back and play for the Ravens," Stover said in the Sun article. "It’s a great organization with great people."

But while Stover holds out hope and the Ravens leave the door open to that possibility, Steve Hauschka and Graham Gano are doing their best in fending off the accomplished veteran.

What is keeping Stover’s name in the running is consistency, however. Stover, 41, was not re-signed this year as an unrestricted free agent and no other team picked him up, even though he is the second most accurate kicker in NFL history.

Instead, the Ravens’ two young prospects have been trying to separate themselves on a daily basis – typically to mixed reviews.

Last week, Gano connected on a 60-yard field goal that would have split the uprights from 4 more yards. On Monday, Gano seemed to spray his attempts all over the field.

Hauschka was wide right on two boots early last week, but pushed a strong performance as the practices wore on.

At this point, the two-man race seems to be neck-and-neck.

"As we watch them develop, you can see how they are both getting better," said special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg. "We’ve had some opportunities to work on things that during the season, you don’t have a lot of time to do because you’re preparing for your opponents every week.

"Now, we can go out and work with them right after practice."

That work has included tweaks to various mechanics on the field and scrutinizing film inside team headquarters.

Rosburg has been watching the competition like a hawk. The Ravens have even assigned an intern to record every single kick from both prospects, which helps him evaluate between the two and allows Hauschka and Gano to hone their skill.

"The film has been great," said Gano, the recipient of the 2008 Lou Groza Award as a senior at Florida State. "Some of my kicks had a tendency to trail left, and with the weather conditions here, they were doing that a lot more. The coaches worked with me and now that’s not happening any more.

"It was more with where I’m planting and my swing plane, coming more downfield than going across the field. All that, along with some other things really helped me."

For Hauschka, keeping his head down through the kick and maintaining an open foot were the focuses.

"I think I’ve got all the potential in the world, but the main thing was to know that I was going to have a chance here all offseason to get better every day and then assess where we’re at day one, first game of the season," he said. "That’s what I was most excited about was that they have the confidence in me to give me a chance throughout the whole offseason to show them what I can do."

Some may think that the job is Hauschka’s to lose after he connected on a 54-yard field goal in Houston last season, but that is not entirely the case.

Gano has looked equally impressive at times.

But to hold off a steely veteran such as Stover, who resides with his family in Baltimore, Hauschka and Gano will have to sustain their impressive performances throughout the summer.

The weight of each kick is not lost on either of them.

"I feel like I’ve hit the ball well, but I still have a long way to go with my consistency," Gano said. "I’m making a lot of them, but unless they look perfect every time, I’m not happy. I want them all to look the same."

and that just cannot be done. Stover had a great career and is money inside the 40, but then again, most NFL kickers are. That 43 yarder BARELY made it all 43 yards against the Titans. Both kids can boom it from 50+. In the NFL today, you need a kicker who can hit from 50 yards or even more. Stover couldn’t get it done and it’s time, let it go. I personally like Gano as he didn’t miss in college last year from inside the 49, and hit 5 of 7 from beyond 50! Either one of them will be an upgrade and with the game on the line, they’ll get it done. Remember, Stover was pretty average beyond 40 yards, so be ready to give some slack to them if and when they do miss one or two!

tough one here…matt carried our O for so long. he does hurt us on kickoffs. he should have been replaced on those years ago. the kids can do both.

Any chance one of the kid-kickers makes the 53 man roster and then the other clears waivers and makes the practice squad?

I have a sneaky feeling that if Stover does not end up on the Ravens roster, that by week six or seven, some team, due to injuries, will come a calling. usually happens every year: some team loses a kicker to injury and they go and dust off some crusty old guy (not that I am calling Stover crusty :) )

I am a little surprised that they do not have Stover out there as a non-roster invitee or some similar designation… Think about the advice he could impart.

indoor team would snag him. that gives him another 5 yards.