Why can't Harvin kick off?

The guy is 265 pounds with a huge leg, wondering why he can't kick it into the end zone like 170 pound Boz can? I guess it's more about technique than leg strength?

 

Corollary: Why doesn't Tomlin have a backup plan for Boz getting hurt or put on the Covid list at the last minute?

 

Unlucky that ball went out of bounds.
Steelers could have had a chance to recover!

 

You answered your own question.

 

I mentioned this in another thread...Not just Tomlin ( but maybe it is just him ) I can't believe with world class athletes, that have been the best of the best their whole lives...Not ONE, out of 53, can kick a ball 25 yards...

I'm an old man and, I can tell you with a straight face...Right now I could take a 2 step run up, And kick a ball straight enough to make a 25 -30 yard kick...

There's not ONE Guy on that roster, that has the ability to kick a ball, 25-30 yards, If they practiced a dozen kicks a day?

That's hard to believe!

 

You're hired old man.

 

Harvin needs to work on his punting mechanics. Kicking could screw him up.

He shows amazing distance when he hits it right. Problem is he has too many lapses. Wondering how long the team puts up with his inconsistency? Berry is having a good year in MN and has out punted Harvin.

 

I’ll add that there are only 5 other punters with a worse avg than Harvin right now. I suspect the coaching staff is starting to worry.

tomlin is probably regretting that draft pick right now. Hope Harvin can clean it up quick.

 

If you are looking at average yards/punt, the Steelers are 25th, so more than 5 other punters. (pro-football-reference.com)
If you look at net yards per punt, the Steelers are 15th, better than 17 other teams. (teamrankings.com)
(Last year, the Steelers were 16th in yards/punt, but only 24th in net yards/punt.)

That latter stat doesn't look so bad, especially given a rookie who will hopefully get more consistent.
Their net yards per punt is almost 2 yards per punt better this season.
(Hang time? Situational kicking out of bounds? Better special teams coverage? Dunno.)

 

Punting and kicking are not similar. Kickoffs usually require a ten step approach while fgs are a 3 step approach and need to executed in under 1.7 seconds. If he had the week to practice those things, he might have been more comfortable attempting. you see on a weekly basis professional kickers ( who exclusively practice this specific task) missing extra points... Punting is a lot more straight forward with an up and down leg swing where the ball is dropped to create the spin or the bouncing... a kick off is more of a soccer kick. go back a decade when James Harrison had to long snap for us vs the giants and it went out of the endzone. Just because you can do it or used to do it, doesnt mean you can do it perfectly in a game situation

 

Not to dispell your well thought out theory but have you ever watched someone throw out the first pitch at a baseball game? Seen a free throw to win a cash prize? Shoot a puck for a prize? Longest drive on a golf course? My guess anyone who tried would:

A.) Stub their toe into the turf before hitting the ball
B.) Completely whiff and miss the ball entirely
C.) Kick it off the side of thier foot and have it go 10 yards and out of bounds. A shank
D.) Be concentrating so hard the trip themselves up.

Just like long snapping everyone thinks it's easy until you try it.

 

I think its a common mis-conception that just because a guy punts doesn't mean he can kick.

Its two totally different methods of movement in what you are doing.

It's like a golf swing vs a baseball swing type of thing.

 

I hear ya Thorn, I was a ball player though...And I played with Guys better than me....

These Guys ( from a small high school ) were good at EVERYTHING...Could fire a ball, shoot the ball, kick, hit a golf ball...They were NATURAL athletes, and could pick up about anything, and do it well!

That's my argument! These Guys were not even close to being professional athletes...A few played College... That's my point! If these Guys could pick up/ do about anything...Don't ya think a PROFESSIONAL athlete could!

 

I know I use 2 be able 2 , but not so sure right now. Been a Long Time , been a long time... been ....well...You get what I'm saying. LoL.

 

This.

With FGs, it isn't just the distance and the uprights.
It is the defenders rushing at you with blazing speed, so you have to rush your kick motion more than you want to.

It is why so many great college QBs turn out to be terrible NFL QBs.
The game is unforgiving if a players abilities at their position is not almost perfect.

 

its a ranking of punters with enough punts to qualify. Google any ranking list and he’s low on the list. Im judging punters not special teams coverage .

 

Your in real trouble is a game when you lose a specialist, kicker, punter or long snapper.

Remember that game long time ago against the Giants when we lost the long snapper for the game.

James Harrison came in to do it and he launched the snap right over the punters head.

Think it might of been our Super Bowl Year of 2008?

Never a good thing to lose these guys in a game, with a lot left to play.

Kickers, Punters, and Long Snappers, are a big reason why average humans can play with elite professional athletes.

 

I'll I know is after seeing Percy Harvin AKA "Pressley Harvin III" do the 1st kickoff, I was like OK, "I am good at seeing no PAT or FG attempts the rest of the day."

He got called Percy Harvin by Nantz yesterday.