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Several of my friends are trying to convince me that it was a very wise move for us to trade up in the 5th to select a punter. I'm of the opinion that rebuilding teams shouldn't be dedicating resources to a punter, that we need as many bodies as we can get in order to increase our chances of finding position players that can contribute 2-3 years down the road.

But I am beginning to crack. This guy could be the next Guy:

[url]https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/the-seahawks’-new-australian-punter-can-kick-the-ball-a-mile/ar-AAx0IaM?ocid=spartanntp&ffid=gz
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Can anyone fix this frigging link for me?

Took me 2 tries, but this seemed to work

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/th ... tp&ffid=gz

Edit:
A punter can change field position, so maybe if he's consistent he can be a game changer at times.
Hang time is big for punt coverage, so as long as he doesn't out kick the coverage, it could be a big advantage for ST.

RiverDog wrote:Several of my friends are trying to convince me that it was a very wise move for us to trade up in the 5th to select a punter. I'm of the opinion that rebuilding teams shouldn't be dedicating resources to a punter, that we need as many bodies as we can get in order to increase our chances of finding position players that can contribute 2-3 years down the road.

But I am beginning to crack. This guy could be the next Guy:

[url]https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/the-seahawks’-new-australian-punter-can-kick-the-ball-a-mile/ar-AAx0IaM?ocid=spartanntp&ffid=gz
[/url]

Can anyone fix this frigging link for me?

From what I've read post draft, and reports from the rookie camp that he punted the ball almost 80 yards in the air the other day, and punted a ball 60 yards through the uprights, he might be the next Ray Guy and then some. Also, what he's really known for more than distance is his pin-like placement of punts, including the ability to use spin to control the bounce. It's crazy stuff.

See if this link works: https://12thmanrising.com/2018/05/09/se ... l-dickson/

Great punter helps the defense. You have a better chance of finding a great punter in the fifth than even an average backup player. It's a 5th round pick. I'm going to cry too much if the guy turns out to be an upgrade to Ryan.

His various spins on the ball may also increase out chances of turnovers on punts.
I would like to see massive improvement on the turnover numbers for the Hawks which was integral to the teams' success a few years ago and has seemed to decrease significantly the last couple years. Turnovers used to be a staple of the defense and special teams.

A guy out at VMAC who watched the punting competition that PC had him put on.

Dickson kicked a variety of kicks, punts, and even drop kicks. Pete then had the Linebacker Core compete with the T.E. Core to see who could catch the most balls.

He said that Dickson kicks the ball to an unbelievable altitude then the ball drops straight down in a corkscrew manner. He said that Dickson can also put various spins on the ball at will. He also did drop kicks of the ball and put it through the uprights that if done in a game would be worth 3 points. He not only would be Ray Guy 2.0 he would be BEYOND Ray Guy.

The "legend" of Ray Guy is because Al Davis drafted Guy in the 1st. round and he justified being picked that high by taking punting to another level and being justly enshrined in Canton.

That is big shoes to fill.

But, Dickson, IF he could be the first Aussie Style Punter he could change the game the way Chester Marcol brought soccer style place kicking to the NFL. I remember when most kickers kicked the ball straight on.

The key will be hang time and distance plush the intangible, COVERAGE. As long as he doesn't over kick coverage he would be in business.

Watching something new is exciting, and it is happening HERE!

Seahawks4Ever wrote:But, Dickson, IF he could be the first Aussie Style Punter he could change the game the way Chester Marcol brought soccer style place kicking to the NFL. I remember when most kickers kicked the ball straight on.

The first NFL soccer-style kicker was Pete Gogolak. When I was in high school, everyone place kicked straight ahead.

I have a hard time believing that Dickson possess some type of revolutionary style analogus to soccer style for place kickers. He's been at major university (U of Texas) for 3 years and there's been no mention of his punts being that much more difficult to field than other punters. We would have heard about this incredible art he supposedly posses long before now and would have been taken a lot higher than the 5th.

RiverDog wrote:Several of my friends are trying to convince me that it was a very wise move for us to trade up in the 5th to select a punter. I'm of the opinion that rebuilding teams shouldn't be dedicating resources to a punter, that we need as many bodies as we can get in order to increase our chances of finding position players that can contribute 2-3 years down the road.

But I am beginning to crack. This guy could be the next Guy:

[url]https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/the-seahawks’-new-australian-punter-can-kick-the-ball-a-mile/ar-AAx0IaM?ocid=spartanntp&ffid=gz
[/url]

Can anyone fix this frigging link for me?

I don't think he needs to be the next Ray Guy. If he is even a top half of the league punter for the next 10 years it was a good move. He saves us money for at least the next 4 years and would be better than Ryan has been. From what he has shown in college he can actually be a weapon. We'll see if it translates to the NFL. I wasn't jumping up and down with the pick, but I don't have a problem with it either.

As far as finding a diamond in the rough positional player with that pick goes I can see the logic in that, but picking a punter in the draft is a once in 10 year thing (hopefully). Also, the odds of a drafted punter contributing to our championship in 3 years is much higher than a random 5th round positional player.

Aseahawkfan wrote:Great punter helps the defense. You have a better chance of finding a great punter in the fifth than even an average backup player. It's a 5th round pick. I'm going to cry too much if the guy turns out to be an upgrade to Ryan.

I agree with this and to take it a step further there was a good chance the Hawks weren't going to keep Ryan around this season anyway. His cap hit this year is 3.2 mil and next year would be 3.6 mil. Dickson's TOTAL cap hit over the next 4 years is only about 2.8 mil. If he is at least a league average punter the cap savings alone is worth a 5th round pick.

mykc14 wrote:I don't think he needs to be the next Ray Guy. If he is even a top half of the league punter for the next 10 years it was a good move. He saves us money for at least the next 4 years and would be better than Ryan has been. From what he has shown in college he can actually be a weapon. We'll see if it translates to the NFL. I wasn't jumping up and down with the pick, but I don't have a problem with it either.

Yes, I'm beginning to warm up to this pick due to this and other observations.

As far as finding a diamond in the rough positional player with that pick goes I can see the logic in that, but picking a punter in the draft is a once in 10 year thing (hopefully). Also, the odds of a drafted punter contributing to our championship in 3 years is much higher than a random 5th round positional player.

But the potential payoff for a positional player is much higher than it is for a punter. In other words, I'd rather take 1 in 10 chance that a positional player will contribute than a 1 in 5 chance that a punter will contribute. The ceiling is much higher for a positional player, meaning the risk is more justifiable.

Like I said, I am to the point where I'm good with it.

After basically gutting the defense either through moves or injuries, drafting the best punter available isn't a horrible idea, at least if he's as good as advertised, the opposing O will have to work a little harder to score at will...