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Why we fired our punter
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09-03-2018, 01:02 PM
purpleptsd has a good article on the matter. if someone can copy and paste the artilce thatd be great. my mobile isnt playing nice....probably user error.
https://purpleptsd.com/why-sign-matt-wile/
09-03-2018, 01:07 PM
Can't past entire articles on the board. But here is the heart of it:
But to everyone’s surprise, they cut Quigley on Saturday and picked up the relatively untested Matt Wile instead. After a season like 2017, why? It’s first important to understand what sort of evidence actually help reveal whether a punter is good or not. As we’ve found out, a long punt isn’t necessarily a good one. A touchback cuts 20 yards off the field position gained, and “out kicking your coverage” can lead to dangerous returns with a head of steam. Similarly, “net punt yards” (or the distance of the punt minus the return) don’t really tell us about the punter. Tray Matthews could miss a tackle leading to a return touchdown, and that has very little to do with the punter. Mike Priefer values hangtime very highly, as that helps limit return opportunities for the other team. Distance isn’t so much of a concern. The logic here is that punt returns only kill you on explosive plays. The difference between 10 yards of field position has a smaller impact than the risk of a big return. Quigley had a cool 4.55 seconds of average hangtime on his 56 punts in 2017. That tied for 4th leaguewide. In his preseason battle with rookie Taylor Symmank, he lost the distance, return and fair catch battles, but won the job based off 0.06 seconds more of average hangtime. In the preseason, however, Quigley faltered. That 4.55 fell more than a full half second (4.01) – enough for a full step more for the returner before he has to start evading tacklers. As a result, 15 of Quigley’s 22 punts were returned, some to disastrous result. It makes sense that after such a performance, Priefer and the Vikings would look to make a change. Meanwhile in Pittsburgh, Matt Wile was losing a punting battle to Jordan Berry. Wile had three tenths of a second more hangtime than Berry (2nd most hangtime of all preseason punters), more punts inside the 20, no touchbacks, and a longer average distance. More of Wile’s punts were returned, but with hangtime like his, that’s unlikely to sustain. Matt Wile only punted during one regular season, 2016 in Atlanta and Arizona. Between the two teams, he averaged 4.50 seconds of hangtime on 12 punts, right on Quigley’s 2017 pace and not too far behind his own preseason 4.74. While the sample is small, Matt Wile’s punts have been remarkably consistent and exactly what the Vikings look for. It could be seen as an overreaction to a few bad games from Quigley, who’s largely been consistent in the hangtime game even through the worst of his injury problems in New York and Arizona. That said, there’s nothing in Matt Wile’s career to date to bring up concern other than a lack of sample size. This move is more likely drastic action taken to prevent the punt coverage woes of the preseason from translating into the regular season. Add that to cuts of players like Mike Needham and Jake Weineke, both of whom missed special teams tackles in the preseason, and it’s clear the Vikings have taken this problem seriously. https://purpleptsd.com/why-sign-matt-wile/
09-03-2018, 01:16 PM
This gives me alot of information but still doesn't really answer my big one. Why if this guy is such an upgrade has he not punted in a regular season game since 2016 and for 2 different teams at that. I hope we don't have to find out. No argument that Quigley underperformed in the pre-season. I trust Priefer he's done a good job for us. I still have the question why this new guy hasn't gotten a job for so long.
09-03-2018, 02:04 PM
Quote: @suncoastvike said:grass is always greener in other pastures? the article says hang time so thats what we’re going with. id assume this kid isnt a probowler and at best gets us back to average.
09-03-2018, 02:12 PM
Quote: @AGRforever said:
09-03-2018, 04:44 PM
Quote: @suncoastvike said:I don't know why were acting like Quigley is some great punter that is above being replaced. He started in Chicago as an UDFA in 2012. Since his rookie season, he's bounced around to 5 more teams in 5 seasons with his longest stop in New York for 3 years. Quigley is a nice guy who is a decent NFL punter. He had a solid season for us last year, but clearly wasn't performing how he did in 2017. Now we have a new journeyman punter who was kicking well in preseason. Hopefully he keeps it up and punts well for us the rest of the year. If not, it shouldn't be hard to find another guy off the street. I guess I don't get the angst about this.
09-03-2018, 05:32 PM
Quote: @Wetlander said:
09-03-2018, 05:52 PM
This smacks of either a panic move by Priefer or a locker room conflict. By all accounts Quigley is a nice guy and I find the locker room theory hard to sccept. Possible but not probable. That leaves Priefer. ST did not perform well in preseason. I think it makes more sense Quigley was Priefer's fall guy. Quigley put a lot of punts inside the 20. That may not have helped his net aversge but its a significant fact. I hope Wile pays off of course but i cant help but think this is at best a lateral move.
09-03-2018, 07:00 PM
Quote: @suncoastvike said:
09-03-2018, 07:03 PM
Quote: @Caactorvike said:the article dirrectly says it was a hang time issue and that the new guy has similar hang time as quigley last year |
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