First off, I'm a big fan of our rookie punter. But why must the punter be the holder, even if he hasn't done it before?
There may be other, better options. And given the personal dynamics at play, nobody except a coach would dare rock the boat.
No kicker is going to throw his holder under the bus.
The holds are fine," they say. They work together as a tightly knit pair - a team within a team.
The Rams have tried to make a non-holder into a holder. Because the punter usually holds for the place kicker - that's how it's done, right?
How has it worked out? We don't know so I raise the question again, knowing thatI've seen acurate kickers go south, or wide right, or wherever, when they chnge holders, And nobody says anything.
Will Crosby's accuracy fall off ju
In watching the tapes I see Eans' right hand pull
back and down from the ball, as if the points of the ball are not well secured by the left hand.
When I watch experienced holders, the
right hand comes quickly up, not down, and
away from the trajectory of the ball and the ball is
securely positioned by the left hand. Not saying it can't happen the other way, but how well is it being coached? And how good has Allen suddenly become aat it?
Holding is a skill measured in centimeters and tenths of seconds. A wee tip of angle at the hold can send the ball sailing once it is in flight.
Let's take a look back: Ram great
Nolan Cromwell held for Danny Villanueva and was regrded as
one of the absolute best holders in the business. He played a position where he was used to handling the football. And after him, I seem to recall that Ed Meador, also a pretty good DB, was the Ram holder.
If you're going to start from scratch, why not have a DB who is a good natural athlete and accustomed to handling a football learn to hold?
It worked for the Rams and Nolan Cromwell; why wouldn't it be an ideal solution now? There are at least three naturally athletic DB's on our roster with good hands, one of them could be an ideal holder. I'd like to see if one of them could become an elite holder - and watch our place kick accuracy improve as a result.
