The waters have been choppy for Detroit Lions kicker Jake Bates his first few weeks back on an NFL roster, but for the moment, he appears to have righted the ship.
i wont hang the kicker for missing those 50 yarders. We as fans have been spoiled in Motown with some heavy legs.
I will say the extra point will show the staffs confidence in the kicker. Will the Lions lead the league in 2 point conversions? The offense is built for it and the coach shows he is built to roll em.
I'd like to know how Bates breaks down and evaluates his mechanics and his camp struggles. They say life is an iterative process. What is a guy with such limited life experience kicking field goals learning with each iteration? Is he learning to tune out the rush more than he did in the UFL? Has he gained more insight into how much he has to adjust for wind? Does he think it's just bad luck that his stats have been worse outdoors than indoors? What does he like about kicking in Ford Field? in the last year, what's one part of his kicking operation/preparation that he's added with great success? Conversely, what's one thing he's learned to scrub from his operation/preparation? What's the best piece of advice or coaching that he's gotten about being a successful NFL kick and who did it come from?
I tried to get into the mechanics of kicking and it just wasn't an area he wanted to give away too much, in part because he noted it's difficult to explain without a visual. The one thing he said he's been working on is making sure he keeps his body going downfield through the kick and not falling off, which is probably comparable to a golf or baseball swing, in a sense.
I have noticed an increasing amount of so-called "soccer-style" kickers lining up with their chests almost parallel to the line of scrimmage as opposed to the conventional 45-degree angle. Seems like Bates is part of that trend. Wonder where it started?
My gut says he'll figure it out. A big part of the problem is lack of experience. I think this may be his first year doing field goals. It's really up to Fipp to get Bates into a routine that yields consistency.
Is it possible that his recent issues are a result of coaches working on minor tweaks to form what have yet to become part of muscle memory? If so, that might explain the seeming patience from Campbell.
Nice article and interview. I hope things work out with Bates. He seems like a good guy and has his head screwed on straight. The Lions have a long line of great kickers; Murray, Hanson, Prater. It'd be nice to add Bates to that list.
How often did we go for it last seasonwhen the distance was over 50 yards?there was no confidence in our kickers
i wont hang the kicker for missing those 50 yarders. We as fans have been spoiled in Motown with some heavy legs.
I will say the extra point will show the staffs confidence in the kicker. Will the Lions lead the league in 2 point conversions? The offense is built for it and the coach shows he is built to roll em.
Biggest nightmares, we have Frees/Henery 2.0
Thanks Justin. Great article.
I'd like to know how Bates breaks down and evaluates his mechanics and his camp struggles. They say life is an iterative process. What is a guy with such limited life experience kicking field goals learning with each iteration? Is he learning to tune out the rush more than he did in the UFL? Has he gained more insight into how much he has to adjust for wind? Does he think it's just bad luck that his stats have been worse outdoors than indoors? What does he like about kicking in Ford Field? in the last year, what's one part of his kicking operation/preparation that he's added with great success? Conversely, what's one thing he's learned to scrub from his operation/preparation? What's the best piece of advice or coaching that he's gotten about being a successful NFL kick and who did it come from?
I tried to get into the mechanics of kicking and it just wasn't an area he wanted to give away too much, in part because he noted it's difficult to explain without a visual. The one thing he said he's been working on is making sure he keeps his body going downfield through the kick and not falling off, which is probably comparable to a golf or baseball swing, in a sense.
I have noticed an increasing amount of so-called "soccer-style" kickers lining up with their chests almost parallel to the line of scrimmage as opposed to the conventional 45-degree angle. Seems like Bates is part of that trend. Wonder where it started?
As with golf swings, translation to consistent performance is difficult. But almost certainly manageable for a professional.
My gut says he'll figure it out. A big part of the problem is lack of experience. I think this may be his first year doing field goals. It's really up to Fipp to get Bates into a routine that yields consistency.
Is it possible that his recent issues are a result of coaches working on minor tweaks to form what have yet to become part of muscle memory? If so, that might explain the seeming patience from Campbell.
What do you mean "first year doing field goals"? He just came off a season of them with the Panthers
To be fair, that's all happened with the 2024 calendar year.
What I meant.
Ah, I was using "year" interchangeably with "season"
Nice article and interview. I hope things work out with Bates. He seems like a good guy and has his head screwed on straight. The Lions have a long line of great kickers; Murray, Hanson, Prater. It'd be nice to add Bates to that list.