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Redskins Re-Sign Kai Forbath

"Only a Redskins fan would think" Kai Forbath is underrated... :)

The guy is generally consistent inside the 40, but he doesn't have the leg to kick off or kick field goals consistently over 50 yards. The fact that coaches don't trust him in those situations and the statistics support that he is a quality High School & College Kicker, but not an NFL Kicker.

When Graham Gano missed FGs & Extra-Points, a lot of times it was poor execution of blocking... When Kai does it, it's because he's kicking the ball into the extended arms of the opposing special teams.

Graham Gano in 2011 (his last year as a Redskins) hit 4-6 FGs from 50+ yards... Kai Forbath over 3 seasons is 2-4... When you calculate his career FG% is 88% and he rarely is entrusted to attempt anything over 50 yards, he is average at best in the NFL. Kai Forbath is basically Alex Henerey... He is Nick Folk under 50 yards, without the 50% of FGM over 50 yards... What distinguishes an NFL kickers isn't their accuracy from inside 50 yards, it's what they do over 50... Kai won't ever distinguish himself, because everytime we hear he is working on strengthening his leg, he pulls something.

They need to get someone in to challenge Kai Forbath now, because he's a weak link.

Cheers,

SPR
 
Football Outsides has pretty interesting ST Rankings on this... Granted, it's advanced stats and some might not care.

FOOTBALL OUTSIDERS: Innovative Statistics, Intelligent Analysis | 2012 SPECIAL TEAMS RATINGS

Let's start with 2012 & we'll only consider FG/XP... According to the the page, it says "Field goal rating compares each field goal to the league-average percentage of field goals from that distance. "

So, we get a pretty good idea where KobraKai ranks against the rest of the league in just FG kicking how they've done it:

2012 - We scored 1.2, which would put us in the middle of the pack (14th, I think)...
2013 - We scored -2.5, which would put us at 22nd in the league.
2014 - We scored -0.5, which would put as at around 19th in the league.

Cheers,

SPR
 
I appreciate the snark Smoot :) but Forbath a 'weak link'? I think that's an incredibly harsh assessment. He's the most consistent place kicker we've had in 20 years. Yeah, he needs to get a lot stronger on kickoffs if that's going to fall to him, but some of those missed longer kicks were blocked (that's not entirely on him) and I'm not going to slaughter him on a sample size of 4 kicks. He kicked , what , 17 in a row in 2012, and has been super solid since. I don't see how that qualifies as 'weak'. I appreciate the effort in backing up your argument with #'s I just don't think that tells the whole tale...
 
I'm glad you took my comment in the spirit it was intended, Boone. I guess a part of what I'm trying to say is that the small sample size is directly related to his weak leg, & that will likely never improve after 3 seasons in the NFL. Time to move on, if we can find a capable challenger.
 
Also, the link I posted from FO shows we have a Kicker who is pretty average with other NFL Kickers inside 50 yards, but can't hang with them above 50. You also see it in his short KOs, but I didn't break down stats for that.
 
Smoot Point said:
I'm glad you took my comment in the spirit it was intended, Boone. I guess a part of what I'm trying to say is that the small sample size is directly related to his weak leg, & that will likely never improve after 3 seasons in the NFL. Time to move on, if we can find a capable challenger.
Click to expand...

I think that's a pretty big assumption Smooty. It could be true, but how would you know that the reason we aren't trying 50+ yarders is a lack of confidence in Forbath? I'd suggest it's due to almost never being close in games and feeling the need to go for it on 4th down or punting that is the more likely explanation.

Smoot Point said:
Also, the link I posted from FO shows we have a Kicker who is pretty average with other NFL Kickers inside 50 yards, but can't hang with them above 50. You also see it in his short KOs, but I didn't break down stats for that.
Click to expand...

I'll grant you he has not been as impressive since 2012 - but what Redskin has? Alfred Morris, who is a great RB, has looked pedestrian recently. That's what happens when you are having a horrible season with coaching changes or the threat of coaching changes.

I am not arguing Forbath is the best kicker in the league. But saying he's a 'weak link' - that's over the top imho. I'm betting if we stick with him, he'll prove to be the most reliable kicker the Redskins have had since Moseley.
 
I think he's a weak NFL kicker, & we could use an upgrade. His 4 attempts are over 3 years, many get more than that in a season. It has nothing to do with team success, just look at the Vikings, Jaguars, Raiders, etc... Some made 5 last year, let alone attempted. He certainly isn't underrated.
 
I believe I witnessed some improvement in Kai's kickoffs last year, no they were not overly consistently strong but most were 'serviceable'

I recall some discussion amongst ourselves last year regarding swing changes and how it affects performance, as Kai was working on his long range, we were concerned that it might taint his accuracy some, it did not appear to.

Last years competition was almost too close to call, it seems that the pressure kick history attributed to Kai gave him the edge, despite his 'noodle leg'
 
I haven't done any research on this (yet :friendly_wink:) but a question occurs to me on this subject.

Just how much impact, or putting it another way, how important a factor in an NFL team's success hinges on the ability of their FG kicker to hit a high percentage of FGs over 50 yards? What pops into my head is what would it say about a team who has to resort to trying 50+ yard FGs? Having drives that fizzle out often enough that attempting 50+ yard field goals is a viable strategic component of an offense's ability to score says more to me about a team's offense than it does about their FG kicker.
 
He's an above average short range field goal kicker. That's pretty much it. He can't even stay healthy during the season kicking short range field goals.
 
Forbath lead the team in points. A bad team but hey, I don't consider him the weak link on a bad team. The least of Redskin worries. At the team banquet, I give props to Forbath and McCoy. The highlight of the year.
 
Pretty much every NFL team's FG/PAT kicker is their leading scorer.
 
Well, you resign Forbath until the GM brings someone in who is better.

Last year the 'highly regarded' Zack Hocker came in and couldn't beat him out.

Strong leg, but no consistency.

Bruce Allen is no Bobby Beathard.

Last year's sixth and seventh round picks didn't look from Day 1 as if they even had a chance to sniff a roster spot.
 
I think some are taking something I wrote out of context... I didn't say Forbath is THE weak link. I said he is "A" weak link. He isn't the only problem, and maybe not the most important problem, but he is a slightly above average NFL Kicker at short range & a very weak NFL kicker at long range, which makes him not a very good NFL Kicker, therefore it's important to upgrade the position. Keep bringing in competent challenges for him until you find the right guy.
 
To echo what some others have said ...

Kai is The Man ... 'til a better Man comes to town.
 
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