K Wil Lutz traded to the Broncos for a 2024 7th round pick (1 Viewer)

[HouseCall]

Lutz is going into a contract year

I think there's a decent chance Lutz goes back to his old self in Denver. Maybe not, but quite possible.

And there's a decent chance Grupe doesn't perform well for us or make big kicks in the regular season.

Didn't really have that same scenario in place back in 2016 like now where we're potentially saying "darn, apparently we kept the wrong one."

Not even saying I disagree with the decision made here.. but there's a chance we get to realize it was a mistake in real time.

Just curious… why do you think there’s a “decent chance” that Lutz returns to form and Grupe struggles?


Like every roster decision, current play isn’t the only factor that must be weighed.

Lutz is a vested vet on a nice contract - one that, if I’m not mistaken, is up after this season. Which means another contract if he’s to stay our kicker for 2024.

Grupe is a rookie on a rookie deal and if he succeeds, you have him in the mix for a few more years as he grows and matures

So even if Lutz has a statistically better season than Grupe - the upside is still always higher for the younger guy.

Was going with Grupe a risk? Sure. Same way trading away Donte Stallworth in 2006 and going with a converted TE out of Hofstra as your primary WR.

 

[NewOrleansFan]

I knew this was happening as soon as I read that Duncan said we were going with Lutz.

Duncan either didn’t watch the game or lacked of logic. When DA called the timeout on 3rd and 15 to switch to a run just to set up a long field goal and Grupe made it, that was a lock that our new kicker is 16 years old. The distance on the 60 yard attempt was just gravy.

 

[mleg1972]

Did Grupe ever have to kick into the wind in preseason? Did we even play outside in preseason?

He did his whole college career with almost 3 times the college attempts as Lutz had in college with a higher percentage. His stroke is so smooth and repeatable, unlike Lutz who has always had a trajectory issue. Just my $0.02.

 

[Brandon13]

Just curious… why do you think there’s a “decent chance” that Lutz returns to form and Grupe struggles?

I mean, to the extent that it's a clear mistake I would say maybe 20%-25% chance..

I hope Grupe plays great but until he's making kicks in the NFL in situations that actually matter I feel pretty agnostic on how he'll do. And I'd say Lutz is probably about a 50/50 proposition on whether he'll really get it back together or not.

 

[OCSaints]

Niners drafted a kicker in the 3rd round. Let’s laugh at them.

Raiders and Sebastian Janikowsk says 'hello' back to 2000 when they picked him in the 1st round

 

[gavinj]

Why is the agent annoyed? He's playing for another team but the agent will still get his pound of flesh, what's his problem?

He’s probably worried that his client’s confidence is rocked after he lost his job to a middle school kid.

 

[DeuceMcAllisterFan]

Raiders and Sebastian Janikowsk says 'hello' back to 2000 when they picked him in the 1st round

Considering how many busts they drafted in the first round over the years, Janikowski played 17 years for the raiders.

 

[DSnfla]

I did notice that Grupe's kicks always (except for the 60 yd one) went right down the middle, they started that way and stayed that way. Lutz that only happened sometimes, they could drift on him

 

[football]

Last year, I really thought we should move on from Lutz. But hearing that he was doing well and fully healthy now, I wasn't too thrill about losing a guy like that.

 

[limeyjohn]

I did notice that Grupe's kicks always (except for the 60 yd one) went right down the middle, they started that way and stayed that way. Lutz that only happened sometimes, they could drift on him

For sure, even his extra points seemed to drift a lot. Scared me half to death

 

[Saintly Marine]

For sure, even his extra points seemed to drift a lot. Scared me half to death

Anyone care to think that MAYBE, DA and Company feel positive enough with Carr and this offense that we won't need to many FG, or even long field goals. Same thinking could be applied to the punting situation. It's a risk and a gamble, as this is the NFL. However, IMHO, when you start to see guys opening talk about how EXCITED they are with the group, that usually tends to be a good thing. Most players if they think the team isn't quite ready, usually its mums the word, and " We are just trying to get better each day" responds. We will know in 8 wks where we stand.

 

[DSnfla]

Lutz is going into a contract year

Just curious… why do you think there’s a “decent chance” that Lutz returns to form and Grupe struggles?


Like every roster decision, current play isn’t the only factor that must be weighed.

Lutz is a vested vet on a nice contract - one that, if I’m not mistaken, is up after this season. Which means another contract if he’s to stay our kicker for 2024.

Grupe is a rookie on a rookie deal and if he succeeds, you have him in the mix for a few more years as he grows and matures

So even if Lutz has a statistically better season than Grupe - the upside is still always higher for the younger guy.

Was going with Grupe a risk? Sure. Same way trading away Donte Stallworth in 2006 and going with a converted TE out of Hofstra as your primary WR.

FG kicking is like 80% mental. Grupe is like the nerdiest-looking
guy in the league, which means he's probably got the mental aspect down.
I was worried because he's a small guy that his leg would not be that strong. He proved me wrong on that 60yd attempt. If it was just a bit more straight it would have been good from 65. It even started out good then just drifted right. I think he'll be fine

 

[Bill]

Did Grupe ever have to kick into the wind in preseason? Did we even play outside in preseason?

Two of our preseason games were in the Superdome. But one game was played in a semi-indoor stadium in Los Angeles. But it was during a tropical storm with a severely leaking roof. So there's that.

 

[Rouxble]

Why is the agent annoyed? He's playing for another team but the agent will still get his pound of flesh, what's his problem?

Probably because his client took a paycut to stay with the team and they traded him away.

 

[Bill]

If it was just a bit more straight it would have been good from 65. It even started out good then just drifted right.

As I recall that 60 yard attempt, it was still a dead straight kick. The endzone camera (from behind the uprights) indicated that the kick started offline to the right. It didn't draw left or fade right. Had he started the trajectory online, the kick was going to be good. A golfer makes a 'push' shot like that when his body gets a little ahead of the ball at impact.

I've heard kickers say that kicks from such a long distance (60+ yards) needs to be absolutely precise in that timing. A quarter inch off of either side of the 'sweet spot' on the football can result in a push right, a pull left, or a spin that creates a left or right curve of the ball in flight.

The fact that Grupe's kicks tend to fly very straight is an indication that he has very good mechanics and timing. But I'm also impressed with how quickly he gets the ball up & over the rushing linemen. Even a well aimed kick is worthless if it is consistently being blocked back into the kicker's face.