Regarding the stats post on the prior page, one factor that has to be considered with Graham is that the vast majority of his kicks are indoors. It's an apples and oranges comparison when you look at his numbers relative to guys like Akers and Gostkowski, who play at least half of their games in outdoor climates with windy and cool/cold conditions. The statistical bar has to be higher for a kicker in Houston. My worry with Shayne is that he seems to be trending downward, and I'd like the Texans to take preemptive action if need be. He's now missed three straight field goals in the 45-51 range. He narrowly snuck in the 32-yarder to win on Thanksgiving. All four of those were indoors. It's a concern. Graham seemed a lot steadier early in the year, so I'm not completely writing him off. But between his recent struggles and the kickoff woes, you can't blame Kubiak for considering other options. EDIT: I'll add that if Gary does make the switch, I hope he holds a true competition. Not like last year at punter when he went with Matt Turk because he was a "trusted veteran". The Ravens brought in Justin Tucker, an undrafted rookie, and he's been fabulous. The Redskins ditched veteran Billy Cundiff after a month and brought in rookie Kai Forbath, who's 10-of-10 (including 7-of-7 beyond 40 yards). The Texans obviously were fine with the philosophy when they drafted Bullock in the fifth round, so I hope they keep an open mind if a switch is made in the next couple weeks.
I don't think it's possible, but even if it were, I doubt three months is a long enough time to rehab a torn groin and be at NFL kicking strength.
Some of this is on Kubiak; I thought his play-calling prior to the kick was terrible. After Walter cost you five (*huge*) yards, you have to, IMO, get those yards back. So he of course... takes his best offensive playmaker off the field. Wait - wha?? The game is literally 1-3 plays away from being over - why is Foster coming out of the game?? Did a body part fall off? You should be going to your playmakers not your back-ups. Foster *has* to be out there. The situation called for him or a high-percentage quick-hit screen to AJ, which is more or less a guaranteed 8-10 yards. Instead, Forsett loses 2 yards and suddenly, what was once a 42-yard kick is now a 49-yard kick. And you know your kicker is dicey at 50. And then he more or less gives away third down to set Graham up on his preferred hashmark, which wound up costing him two more yards. Terrible game-management there.
Im looking at David Akers stats and almost of half of his misses have been in a dome: @ St. Louis - 2-3 @ New Orleans 1-3 @Minnesota 2-3 @ Arizona 1-1 His record indoor is 6-13 also David Akers misses have already cost the game for the 49ers. even him and newspapers articles are saying something is wrong with him, but he doesnt what. and again, he has 6-10 in the 40-49 yard range, and 1-5 in the 50+ yard range.
