one of the most enforced things on this blog is not to attack players. We are told they are children taking on a heavy load and it’s a struggle ( which I’m sure it is ) yet we act like a player whose 50 for 50 or whatever he was will just slide into being told he is now a part of a ATL system. Wells was essentially money on his game kicks and he was told he had to compete EACH WEEK for the job. Maybe he lost confidence or had personal issues to deal with but I would consider it a slap in the face. especially so if I were given a message that said we are bringing in 3 more kickers so uh just letting you know, which was undoubtedly the message since both kickers left.
I don’t think we will ever know unless Wells or King talk but it looks like it looks. Graham came in 2 games ago and he wasn’t even listed ATL, it’s just got to bust your bubble when there’s a change and it’s someone whose not ATL that goes in.
im not arguing that he didn’t lose it, I’m just saying why I think he would. Gotta be big pressure being a # 2 or 3 in one system and surprising everyone, including yourself, and then being told by the next coach you have to do it week to week In practice.
It's possible that CPJ didn't force kickers to compete. I doubt it. There was no safety being #1 the year Wells came in as option #3. It's the default nature of D1 athletics.
If Wells could not stand the pressure of competition (
practice), I doubt he could stand the pressure of competition (
game). Kickers are sometimes fickle. Self-created head games happen as much as anything. I agree with you to an extent, maybe Wells kicked well year 1 based on the ability to kick freely/no expectations. Then, there became expectations.
Now, I'm not saying definitively that Wells was fickle nor that the coaches are entirely absolved. No one knows; probably not even those directly involved. I am projecting a bit like others. My opinion starts with direct observation of Wells struggling in warm-ups to consistently get the ball above the uprights and shanking kicks 10-20 yards wide left. Regardless of how bad a coach mishandles a kicker, I don't blame that entire lack of performance primarily on coaching. And watching that was so discouraging that there is no way, despite the prior year's performance, that one could logically assume he'll turn it around in game action.
It's one thing to become a head case and miss barely (relatively) wide left or wide right a la FSU kickers of old. It's entirely another to struggle to make solid contact. Of course, that's what our current crop is doing which lends credence the other direction, but our coaches have been around long enough and have a track record at Temple wherein they had a decent kicker and the back-ups could at least convert XPs. And if the coaches are at fault and they somehow forgot how to coach kickers, it will be their undoing because it's that critically important to W/L, O and D aside.
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Transitioning to this year, I don't think CGC, Saban, nor Lombardi, etc. can coach their way out of our current kicking situation. The kickers are what they are, and barring an unexpected light switch moment, we and the coaches are in a finger-crossing situation this offseason that something works out. Hopefully they have an Ace up the sleeve. Maybe a grad transfer. Maybe Verdisco is the answer. We've had a couple walk-on kickers injured over the last several years that might be the root of the issue, and potentially it's just bad luck. We cannot afford to assume the current crop will contribute.
