Gameday Injury Updates (merged--MET)

[Tarpon75]

So the majority of our offseason pick ups have been close to useless =\

Meriweather/Garcon= hurt and can't play, one of them has yet to take a snap.

Jackson- suspended. ...who else did we pick up? Morgan? Meh, kind of a waste. Williams at Safety is ok I guess. ..

Strongly disagree on the Morgan part. I like Morgan on this team and think he adds alot to the offense even when not catching the ball.He blocks very well and gives that bigger body reciver that is needed,in particular when Garcon is out.Long term Morgan and Garcon should turn out to be very good acquisitions.

[Hunter_R]

Um, he's #23 in the league in punting average, and he has the 3rd most amount of returned punts in the league cause he doesn't get enough hangtime. If that's "great" for you guys, then not sure what to tell you. We could do better than a 38 year old retread. Not to mention that opposing punters are averaging over 50 yards/punt again us because since we never try to block a punt/kick, opposing kickers have all day to punt and make FGs (haven't missed against us yet this year). We're losing that field position/special teams battle.

He's not dead last, so that's great... I guess. Reminds me of Brooks and Plackemeier. People were so happy to be rid of Brooks they didn't mind going from the worst punter in the league to the... worst punter in the league (the stats may have actually gotten worse. I can't remember).

[rick7423]

Um, he's #23 in the league in punting average, and he has the 3rd most amount of returned punts in the league cause he doesn't get enough hangtime. If that's "great" for you guys, then not sure what to tell you. We could do better than a 38 year old retread. Not to mention that opposing punters are averaging over 50 yards/punt again us because since we never try to block a punt/kick, opposing kickers have all day to punt and make FGs (haven't missed against us yet this year). We're losing that field position/special teams battle.

Here are his splits:
BY FIELD POSITION PUNTS AVG LNG YDS TB TB% IN20 IN20% ATT YDS AVG NET
OWN 1-20 7 47.4 61 332 0 0.0 0 0.0 5 28 5.6 43.4
OWN 21-50 18 46.0 58 828 1 5.6 5 27.8 12 75 6.3 40.7
OPP 49-20 5 35.6 44 178 1 20.0 4 80.0 0 0 0.0 31.6

He is actually doing better this year, on average, than last year with the exception of inside the 20%. He is doing his job very well.

IMHO, punting average is one of the worst statistics to use to put value on a punter. touch back % and inside the 20% is a much better metric.

(I tried to format these stats but it did not work as well as I hoped, sorry)

[rk3025]

Morgan has been an excellent pickup

[Mr. Sinister]

Morgan has been an excellent pickup

Yeah, just not the way that simple would want him to be. He has been terrific in the running game, as well as throwing blocks for other guys who run after the catch. I think that as the coaches and Griffin get more comfortable with the passing game, he'll start to make a bigger impact catching the ball.

[SkinsCrushCowboys]

It should be painfully obvious we build through the draft not through other teams over priced free agents.....very impressed with our draft classes, very unimpressed with our recent free agent aquisitions.

[MartinC]

It should be painfully obvious we build through the draft not through other teams over priced free agents.....very impressed with our draft classes, very unimpressed with our recent free agent aquisitions.

Well given we have no first round pick the next two years we are going to have to be active in free agency to address the needs we have on the right side of our Oline and secondary. I agree the draft needs to be where you really build your roster but you can't ignore free agency.

We have been unlucky so far with Garçon, Morgan has been steady receiving and excellent blocking but clearly Jackson and Merriweather have contributed nothing but we knew they were risks coming in and neither have big contracts.

[SkinsCrushCowboys]

Well given we have no first round pick the next two years we are going to have to be active in free agency to address the needs we have on the right side of our Oline and secondary. I agree the draft needs to be where you really build your roster but you can't ignore free agency.

We have been unlucky so far with Garçon, Morgan has been steady receiving and excellent blocking but clearly Jackson and Merriweather have contributed nothing but we knew they were risks coming in and neither have big contracts.

Albert Morris was a sixth round pick. London Fletcher. There are a bunch of players that can contribute. I agree with some free agency, but the sign the big name has just not worked out year after year. In addition to the lack of picks (until we trade cousins) we have the second half of that bs penatly to pay next year, so it will be a challenge

[stevemcqueen1]

Yeah, don't forget two blocks as well.

I wouldn't say great, I wouldn't say horrible. Just middling at this point in his career. Wouldn't mind a upgrade if one is out there, injury or not.

Wouldn't pin those blocks on the punter or the staff though. Not the Sundberg one anyway. That was a freak occurrence.

[stevemcqueen1]

Honestly, I think Danny Smith just ruins specialists. Gano had an excellent pedigree at FSU. Rocca was really good his first year, but regressed badly. Durant Brooks was one of the better punting prospects coming in, but we ruined him as well. ARE was a good returner at Pittsburgh but horrible here. Banks has been pretty bad, and some of it has to be bad coaching.

It's the nature of specialists. They get few opportunities and their sample sizes are small and their stats skew wildly from season to season. Ever wonder why nobody really bothers to rank kickers for fantasy? One year a guy will be amazing, like David Akers was last season. The next he'll miss a ton of easy kicks, like Akers has this season. It's completely unpredictable.

Regarding kick returners, Randle El's problem was that he was too slow and hesitant to be good. Returners have a short shelf life. Most lose the confidence to do it well pretty quickly.

[MartinC]

Albert Morris was a sixth round pick. London Fletcher. There are a bunch of players that can contribute. I agree with some free agency, but the sign the big name has just not worked out year after year. In addition to the lack of picks (until we trade cousins) we have the second half of that bs penatly to pay next year, so it will be a challenge

You can certainly develop players from the bottom half of the draft and even undrafted free agents. I also agree the big 'splash' signing has certainly not worked here.

But next year we are looking at a need to upgrade RT, SS, FS, CB and ideally the pass rush from the D'Line. Like you say taking into account the cap penalty and lack of a 1st round pick it's going to be hard to do everything.

[WellsHTTR]

It should be painfully obvious we build through the draft not through other teams over priced free agents.....very impressed with our draft classes, very unimpressed with our recent free agent aquisitions.

Bowen, Cofield, and Wilson might be disappointed to hear you say that.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Been a busy day. Did we flip punters or not?

Hail.

[kjames35]

Where's Aldrick Robinson?

[SkinsCrushCowboys]

You can certainly develop players from the bottom half of the draft and even undrafted free agents. I also agree the big 'splash' signing has certainly not worked here.

But next year we are looking at a need to upgrade RT, SS, FS, CB and ideally the pass rush from the D'Line. Like you say taking into account the cap penalty and lack of a 1st round pick it's going to be hard to do everything.

Agree, we have a lot to do, reduced money and picks. Need some diamonds in the rough. Even if someone came knocking for Cousins we would not get more than a 3rd for him. Maybe Allen can work some magic with the numbers. Would be great to get that bull**** mine back. Hail