It's one thing when your team has to settle for a FG attempt when you driven inside the opponents 15, 10, or 5 yard line.
It's another when you get some points even though you never even got to the red zone.
Most of Columbia's FG attempts in 2012 were after drives that did breach the opponent red zone... but just barely.
Nine of the 11 kicks were from 38 yards out or longer. And the reason why the Lions could be confident enough to attempt so many long kicks was Luke Eddy.
Eddy's 68.4% success rate last year as a FG kicker was still a bit lower than what his coaches would like, but the strength of his leg remains unquestioned. He still kicked more FG's than anyone else in the Ivies. And five of his six misses in 2012 were from 40 or more yards out. He was a near automatic 10-11 from closer in.
With Columbia trailing 17-3 early in the second half of the week three game against Princeton, Eddy came through with one of his best kicks of the year.
After a Lion drive sputtered at the Tiger 24, Eddy came in and calmly booted a 41-yard field goal to keep the Columbia hopes alive at 17-6.
Only one of Eddy's 2012 FG's was longer than that 41-yarder.
And another good part of the score was that it was a rare time in the season when it didn't seem like the Lions were just having to settle for three when they could have easily grabbed seven.
10 comments:
Jake,
Why don't we organize a Blogger/poster get together at Baker parking lot before the first game with Fordham. We could tailgate , and hire a bus to take us to da' Bronx.
I am sure that your good friends in the Athletics dept would allow it.
" Oh who owns da' Bronx, oh who owns..."
... why not "the scrimmage" with Lafayette ???
I love it!
Do we know that it will happen (and when)?
The dept. has arranged for shuttle buses from Baker to the Fordham road games in the past.
Fordham is my least favorite venue. The stadium is high school at best. Hard to believe Fordham wants to upgrade its football program without doing something about its football stadium. The metal stands are just awful, and the fact that there is no visitors' side gives our guys no sideline support.
My beef is that it is way too easy to get lost looking for the place and then getting back home. Bring your GPS's everyone!
Jake, Your comments about the kicking game make me smile. How quickly we forget. Just about 3 years to the date we were begging for some one to just hit extra points and field goals inside the 30.
Luke Eddy came in and shattered all kinds of records his freshman year and we lost our perspective. According to the Columbia media guide, we got a kicker who set 120 year old records for most extra points in a season, most consecutive extra points in a season and a career, most extra points in a career, most field goals in a season. I would guess, this season he is within reach of the few records he has not already broken. The kicking game was in shambles before Eddy and Delaney!
We are watching under grad college kickers. The average NFL kicker is at 82% so 68% is only one or two kicks different. Kicking at Wien Stadium is one of the most difficult places in the nation. The field is surrounded by city scape hi rises and the confluence of two rivers. Similar to difficult Heinz Stadium in Pittsburgh. Tough place.
Jake,
Just out of curiosity, how many opposition field goals over 40 yards have been made at Kraft Field the last 3 seasons? Off the top of my head, I can only remember one......
That would be a good comparison. I can't remember many teams even trying over 40 at Kraft......
I am a grad from Penn "77".
I read your comments about kicking. Your kicker came to Franklin Field this past season and hit a pressure packed field goal with no time left at the half after 2 timeouts. It was one of 2 field goals that game.
Then 2 years earlier he hit 2 field goals here at Franklin Field. One of the kicks was for 48 yards and would have been good for at least 60 yards out.
Let me get this straight, your problem is your junior Ivy League kicker is not hitting enough over 40 yard field goals???? If he hits a couple will the problem then be he doesn't hit enough 50 yard field goals???
He's doing fine on 40+-yarders and he's also one of the best kickers we've ever had. I just know the coaches would like just a little bit more from him. Not unusual.
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