Quote Originally Posted by manbearchef View Post
No one is saying Medlocke is a great kicker, but you can't just drop a kicker who started the season 7-for-7, then had one blocked and missed two 40+ yarders. It's just stupid. I didn't expect Medlocke to be a permanent thing, but I figured he'd finish the season. The one reason I'd have kept Medlocke is he's shown that he can be clutch if need be (the 40 yarder against Chicago that took the lead in the 4th), which isn't an easy thing, especially for a young kicker.

I still say if we had Kasay over the past two years we'd have a good 4+ more wins.
Yes you can just drop a kicker who struggles with range. Actually it is common practice in the NFL. Kickers are on a VERY short leash and it only takes a couple misses before you get the axe. Just ask Medlock about his stint with the Chiefs. Medlock went 5-5 from 39 yards and under and went 2-5 from 40 yards and over. You can throw out the kicks from 39 and under because if you are a NFL Kicker you are gonna make it from that range 9 times out of 10 and perhaps 10 times out of 10. So when you look at the important stat which is the long field goals he is under 50% plus there were multiple kicks we passed up because Rivera felt he couldn't make it. I honestly liked Medlock but he just wasn't cutting it. Maybe they could have dumped him at the end of the year but there was no point in delaying the inevitable.