DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Pure Football Forum Scottish Hammer- do you think his style will succeed in NFL

If ST can learn to tackle, those booming punts will be game changers.

The right guy won. Great punters were all rookies at one time. Recognizing those guys and knowing to keep them is the key. They did that.

When it comes to FG kickers, people seem to forget. In practice the team used uprights that were narrowed. So when you heard that one or two FG's were missed, would they have been missed with the standard, wider uprights?

And as I've said before, some players are just better in the clutch. In the heat of the moment. When the pressure is on. Seibert did exactly that during his time in the preseason. You couldn't ask for more than that from a rookie kicker.

There’s a lot of gambles this year. Some seem pretty smart (a 1st for OBJ) but some seem a little sketchy (trading duke before hunt gets back). This one seems to have longer odds imo. Statistics dictate the more risky gambles you have, the more you’ll lose. Pretty obvious. This one is pretty important. A single pinch point dictates a major strategic aspect of the entire game. Like I said in another thread, I think I’d rather have a super dependable 90 percenter than a guy who absolutely kills it 50-60% but potentially completely blows it at critical moments. We’re riverboat gamblers this year.

My concern is the ball would be lower on contact. I love the idea of stunning the NFL with drop kicks and revising strategy to counter it. Not sure it has to be declared. Rugby and Aussie rules football/ Take off with it, give it a bounce and a boot. Going for three isn't a bad thought as soon as you are in range.

Ask yourself what Bill Belichik might do with The Hammer.

I thought he won the job on his punting - the fact that he can be a sure tackler after the kick has gone is a bonus. I don't believe we'll see a gimick drop kick unless we are ahead in a game and comfortably controlling it. jmo. I think the guy looks like a legit talent - strength and accuracy.

I don't see Gillan as a big risk.

How much different is it to punt in HS or college V the pro's?

If a punt gets blocked, 99% of the time it is a blocking problem or snap problem, not a punting problem.

Catch the ball and strike the ball. In Scotland, you say "give it a good thump".

We made the right decision. Gillan can be a game changer. He can flip a field like few can or could.

I thought I posted this already, but I don't see it anywhere...

If the biggest thing we'll miss from Colquitt is his ability to pin punts deep, we will be okay. You're talking about a ball on the 5 versus a ball on the 20. If we're losing games because of that, we have much, much bigger problems than punter.

Gillan has shown he has the superior leg,is much younger, and much cheaper. He will learn the rest just fine. I would only be worried if he had a week leg or had tendencies to shank it.

Point was made, they were all rookies once, the Hammer has a stronger leg, is younger, is cheaper, and maybe he trains some other guys how to TACKLE...hope he's coached up to LIMIT his head butting. GM is gambling a bit, but who says any of us are alive tomorrow for sure......GO Browns!!!!

He's a ruby player .. coached to tackle without using a helmet .. so no head butting.

I'm skeptical of this move...one of the more job functions of the punter that seems to be overlooked here is holding of FG attempts. We're going into the season with 2 rookies specialists, and hate to say it but 2-3 games per season come down to FG or extra points made.

Don't get me wrong, I hope like hell it all works out great but I just hate to see something bad happen at the wrong time

IIRC, he was doing the holding for Seibert the past two games.

I thought Colquitt was holding against Indy for the 4-4 FG performance.

Hammer held for all kicks the last 2 preseason games.

Had no idea - thanks.

I agree. He will get better with direction and dropping it more on the 10.

The 4 for 4 was against the bucs, and Colquitt was the holder.

The special teams looked terrible in the preseason finale all around. Poor returns with drops. Kicking way beyond coverage. That allows better returns by opposing returners since they have an open field to catch and start their return. And I think we’ll see the hammer get nailed with a passel of blocked punts. But kicking a 68+ yd field goal to win a game or 2 may be worth it.

PerfectSpiral, I totally agree with your concerns, especially on outkicking the coverage. 40 yards, with 4+ second hang time consistency is the gold standard in punting. The Hammer certainly will be able to find that consistency, I hope.

My mistake, you are correct.

To be fair announcers praised Culquit for an excellent holds when it was not him that really made a great grab and hold on a snap behind him.

One Question, can he be as good as Colquit when it comes to pinning our opponent inside the 20-yard line???

That’s pretty much the unknown ... that was Colquitt’s name to fame. Hopefully its a learned quality

Just have him boot the punt out of the end zone. Never a return.

I think his leg strength when punting from our end of the field pretty much equals out losing some of the pinning them deep in their end. And who knows, perhaps he will be good at that too given some time. I am fine with the move.
Hopefully, these two kickers will be with the Browns for a long long time.

J/c

Just a thought, but I wonder if he has a better kickoff leg than Seibert? The fact that he can kick FGs in an emergency is interesting too

J/C.. It's not his style succeeding that should be a concern... It's the return guys who might not succeed after a few hits by the Hammer..lol

I think that he will be fine with putting the ball inside the 20. Not Colquitt fine but league average fine. Didn't he put a couple inside the 20 during preseason?

His holding has really improved and I expect to continue to get better.

My only remaining concern is the situation where we are punting from inside our 5. That requires a really quick catch and kick. I haven't seen him have to do that yet.

Pints & punts: Browns rookie told he made team while in bar

The Associated Press
TOM WITHERS (AP Sports Writer)
The Associated PressSep 2, 2019, 2:56 PM

BEREA, Ohio (AP) -- Jamie Gillan was having a pint when the Browns told him he would punt for them this season.

The legend of ''The Scottish Hammer'' grows.

Gillan, an undrafted rookie free agent who came to the U.S. from Scotland as a teenager, said Monday he was having beers with his dad at a Cleveland bar when Browns general manager John Dorsey called to tell him he had made the final roster cuts.

Gillan said he didn't want to wait around to find out if he won the job, so he and his dad went to the ''The Flying Monkey'' when Dorsey called. Gillan said patrons at the bar erupted in celebration, and while he wanted to buy a round for the house, everyone was buying for him.

The 22-year-old beat out nine-year NFL veteran Britton Colquitt to win Cleveland's job. Gillan and fellow rookie Austin Seibert will handle Cleveland's kicking duties.

https://sports.yahoo.com/pints-punts-browns-rookie-told-made-team-while-185648612--nfl.html

JC...


I think we can see the new kid Hammer; has one hell of a leg and has some flair to his game.

Colquitt is very consistent and puts the ball in superb locations...note why he made the pro bowl, and has been employed for so long...

I do worry about the new guy out kicking coverage, and facing adversity and really learning the game (I think on building the Browns you can see the guy really knew nothing much about football)

I'm sure Colquitt would see or feel where the rush or blitz would come along, and alter his kick pre-snap or on the go...Something Gillan is going to really need to learn on the fly.

He will have his rookie moments, I'm sure the team is believing it wont cost us games.

I think many are overlooking his rugby background. Rugby players kick to spots, also the are forced to kick quickly.He also kicks the ball very high and has allowed coverage to be in place. The problem in the final game was that tackles were missed and his net average suffered from it. I think he will be fine.

Football player at a bar drinking... Doesn't sound like a good recipe.. He's asking for trouble.

Sorry.. I couldn't resist.

Go Browns.

I like that he was there with his dad and not his posse.

In Scotland they are called "clans," not posse.

Technically he was at the bar with his clan... Dad.

When I was looking for some specifics a few days ago on his punting I ran across some kicking tidbits. I guess the goal line is considered the +/- when rating these types of things... Seiberts's average kickoff was +4 (4 yard line) to -2 (2 yards deep). The Hammer's average kickoff was -8 to -12. In the one remaining preseason game, Seibert definitely kicked them deeper than that though.

awesome ...I didn’t realize that stat either ... thanks

I saw this a couple weeks ago, was gonna post it but figured people would think I'm "way too into him" lol. It shows that he works almost exclusively on directional punting at this point.


Also, a little food for thought, as far as "nailing kicks inside the 20", in the Tampa game Gillan did it three times out of six punts. If Colquitt played in that game he would have done it maybe once... Gillan's punts were, 50 to the 18 (OB), 54 to the 15 (FC) and 45 to the 18 (OB). Gillan will put some teams in bad field position that other punters can't, no matter how good they are at positional kicking, just because of his leg. The punts I just mentioned were his first three of the game, averaged nearly 50 yards, NONE were returned, and all were placed inside the 20. That, and a solid defense, set the tone for short fields for the offense and field goals after just one or two first downs.

Also, it is easy to argue whatever point you wish to press and conveniently exclude or ignore the other aspects. Every "style" can get blocked or be messed up. This myopic focus on holding or corner kicking, and such ignores the distance.

Can he flip your field? Are we complaining he kicks too far? Or maybe he tackles too well.

We kept the best leg. He has more to learn and reps to log. But he seems to be effective and tough and athletic and motivated to improve and to win. Let's win some games and pull for our punter.

My reply is number 119 and that amazes me. I am not making any predictions, but how in the hell does a punter warrant this many replies?