Here's part of what the author said he thought he heard McVay saying:
"He seems to be indicating the snaps and holds may not be as consistent as they need to be."
Crosby all-of-a-sudden looks worse on practice than Havrisk. Common factor: They both are kicking out of the same holder. Will Crosby suddenly "improve" kicking out of Jame Gillan's holds?
I've seen good kickers start to miss when they change holders. During the Warner years in Arizona Niel Rackers started going wide right instead of dead-on when he had to change holders.
Remember the slo-mo videos of the holder spinning the ball so the laces were away from the kicker, spotting it down at just the right angles (there are two,) and getting his hands out of the way so as not to distort the impact of the kick?
I've asked repeatedly, even before Havrisk: Is it the holder? How can you reasonably expect to take a guy who has
never held before and who doesn't regularly handle the ball, regardless how well he can kick it, and make an NFL holder out of him? Maybe, with consistent holds, Allen could be the FG/XP kicker. Without a top-flight holder, we'll never know.
I've looked repeatedly at stills where Allen's right hand drops down instead of moving up and away from the spot. His left-hand fingers seem to be surrounding the tip of the ball, maybe not touching but almost, and possibly being grazed by the ball when it is kicked. Even I recognize these things as poor technique.
Other kicker's still show the ball being held on the spot by outstretched, straight index and/or middle left-hand fingers with the rest of the fingers stretched away from the ball, not partially cupped around it, while the right hand is always pulled up and away.
That's before we get to the angles of the hold.
I've also stated a couple of times that the Rams in the past used DB's, used to handling the ball and great natural athletes, to hold kicks.And their kicker rarely missed anything. Danny Villanueva kicking out of Nolan Cromwell and Eddie Meador's holds.
Could a quick-reflexed Tomlinson become a good holder? What about Durant? Yeast? Lake? Does anybody on the team have experience hiolding? Wentz, even? Or a special teams guy?
Maybe it's time to start looking for potentially the best holder on staff. Train 'em up.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 12/23/2023 11:52AM by mtramfan.
