[Hacksaw_64]

find somebody else

[Elvis]

Maybe we use the Niner game as a competition?

[Neil039]

Agree with previous posters...bring in a Veteran. This time of year there is no time to wait for a kicker to "kick" his nerves!

[ocbasko]

I’m leaning toward bringing in a veteran which is solid <40 and a kickoff specialist as another poster mentioned. I expect we should find out quickly if they’re going to make a move. Hugh loss overall so we’ll have to be more aggressive on 4th downs when in FG range.

[Lewal]

Boy, do we miss GZ. Not having him cost us at least 7 points yesterday. There is no good answer at this point. We aren't getting a good kicker off the street at this point in the season. Not sure how the Rams allowed themselves to get into this predicament when they knew GZ was barely holding up all year.

Technically he only cost us 3 points because we went for it on fourth down (instead of kicking a field goal) and ended up with a touch down + extra point. Therefore, we netted +4 points because of him on that drive. Lol.

[SWAdude]

WHO IS THIS MYSTERY SOLID VETERAN WHO IS AVAILABLE?!??

Read my mind.

They looked at like 13 kickers. Kind of late in the season for a pro bowl potential replacement.

Pickens are slim.

[actionjack]

Bring in someone new, missed two kicks from short distance. Bring in Carpenter

[Hacksaw]

Technically he only cost us 3 points because we went for it on fourth down (instead of kicking a field goal) and ended up with a touch down + extra point. Therefore, we netted +4 points because of him on that drive. Lol.

We need to call it by series imo.
Hecker threw the 4th down pass that fell incomplete so we turned the ball over on downs rather
than score 3 (most likely the way GZ has been kicking). So his presence more than likely cost us 3 points.
We picked them off two plays later, went down and scored 6. Then he missed the extra point. So to that moment he cost us 4 points.
Then on a subsequent drive he missed a chip-shot field goal costing us another 3 points.

My scorecard has Ficken cost us 7 points.

That is plenty of enough points to lose a playoff game.

[snackdaddy]

Its definitely gonna be scary going in with Ficken. Since this game is not really important I think they gotta play for a FG early. Something in the 40 to 50 yard range. If they got 3rd and 5 at the 30 go ahead and run it. I believe knowing if he can be the guy is more important than winning this one.

Playoffs are usually close games and if you have a distinct disadvantage in that part of your game, winning's gonna be tough. Imagine you're down 2 points with a couple timeouts and two minutes. Plenty of opportunity to get in FG range. If you don't believe in your kicker you're likely gonna do things different than would normally do.

[AltiTude Ram]

Its definitely gonna be scary going in with Ficken. Since this game is not really important I think they gotta play for a FG early. Something in the 40 to 50 yard range. If they got 3rd and 5 at the 30 go ahead and run it. I believe knowing if he can be the guy is more important than winning this one.

Playoffs are usually close games and if you have a distinct disadvantage in that part of your game, winning's gonna be tough. Imagine you're down 2 points with a couple timeouts and two minutes. Plenty of opportunity to get in FG range. If you don't believe in your kicker you're likely gonna do things different than would normally do.

I think this is the best approach. Give the kid a chance to prove the nerves are gone and he can make the kick.

If he misses another easy one this week then pick someone up with experience for the playoffs. They just tried out 12 kickers last week so they have a list of possible replacements.

I agree having someone you can trust in a playoff game is a huge advantage. Missing GZ hurts. Let's hope they get this figured out before it's too late.