knapplc Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 An excerpt from THIS ARTICLE at Philly.com. April related a story from Henery's school-record 57-yard game-winning field goal against Colorado in 2008. April said Nebraska coach Bob Pellini asked Henery if he could make the kick, and Henery said: "Coach, I'll hit it." April spent a day with Henery at Nebraska in March, and he came back sold on the kicker's mental toughness. Henery grew up in Omaha but only had scholarship offers from smaller schools. He walked on with the Cornhuskers. "The year he went to Nebraska, Nebraska had just signed the top kicker in the country [Adi Kunalic, who ended up becoming a kickoff specialist]. [Henery] wanted to go to Nebraska . . . Probably every person in Omaha wants to go to the University of Nebraska, I would think," April said. "When I visited with him, I asked him, 'What were you thinking about when they signed the top kid in the country?' . . . He said, 'Well, I wanted to kick for Nebraska, and I was going there to beat him out.' He didn't say it all arrogant or anything . . . He's self-assured, and you have to be that way." April said that while conventional draft strategy questions the value of drafting of kickers, another way to look at it is, if Henery has a successful career, he will score far more points and have a much bigger impact than just about anyone else the Eagles could have drafted in the fourth round. "If he ends up being what we think he ends up being, he'll lead the team in points for 10, 15 years," April said. "That's a big weapon, now." That's good stuff about Alex wanting to beat Kunalic for the job. And unquestionably he did. Earlier in the article the Iggles say they're not having Alex handle punting, which I think is a huge mistake. The guy could save them another salary and a roster spot. Why not let him punt? Quote Link to comment
Saunders Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 An excerpt from THIS ARTICLE at Philly.com. April related a story from Henery's school-record 57-yard game-winning field goal against Colorado in 2008. April said Nebraska coach Bob Pellini asked Henery if he could make the kick, and Henery said: "Coach, I'll hit it." April spent a day with Henery at Nebraska in March, and he came back sold on the kicker's mental toughness. Henery grew up in Omaha but only had scholarship offers from smaller schools. He walked on with the Cornhuskers. "The year he went to Nebraska, Nebraska had just signed the top kicker in the country [Adi Kunalic, who ended up becoming a kickoff specialist]. [Henery] wanted to go to Nebraska . . . Probably every person in Omaha wants to go to the University of Nebraska, I would think," April said. "When I visited with him, I asked him, 'What were you thinking about when they signed the top kid in the country?' . . . He said, 'Well, I wanted to kick for Nebraska, and I was going there to beat him out.' He didn't say it all arrogant or anything . . . He's self-assured, and you have to be that way." April said that while conventional draft strategy questions the value of drafting of kickers, another way to look at it is, if Henery has a successful career, he will score far more points and have a much bigger impact than just about anyone else the Eagles could have drafted in the fourth round. "If he ends up being what we think he ends up being, he'll lead the team in points for 10, 15 years," April said. "That's a big weapon, now." That's good stuff about Alex wanting to beat Kunalic for the job. And unquestionably he did. Earlier in the article the Iggles say they're not having Alex handle punting, which I think is a huge mistake. The guy could save them another salary and a roster spot. Why not let him punt? Maybe fatigue? NFL teams punt more than CFB teams, and the extra games could be an issue too. Quote Link to comment
MinnwiscowaSker Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Bob Pellini. Love it. 1 Quote Link to comment
knapplc Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 Maybe fatigue? NFL teams punt more than CFB teams, and the extra games could be an issue too. Hard to say what their reasoning is. I would think fatigue would be pretty low on their list, though. Last year the Jets punted the most and that was still only 96 times. Arizona kicked the most times last year, with 96 combined extra points and field goal attempts. If he did both, that would be, at most, 200 plays over the course of a season. That shouldn't be enough to fatigue a guy. Quote Link to comment
whateveritis1224 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 You're also forgetting all the extra kicks in practice he would have to do. So in the end that 200 is a gross underestimate. Quote Link to comment
knapplc Posted May 19, 2011 Author Share Posted May 19, 2011 You're also forgetting all the extra kicks in practice he would have to do. So in the end that 200 is a gross underestimate. And that would be different that what he does now..... how? Even 800 kicks/punts a year, even 1,000 doesn't compare to the 1,000 plays any other player makes during games and practice. Be realistic. He's a kicker, not a cornerback. Quote Link to comment
The Dude Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 He would have to handle kickoffs too, being the only kicker on the roster. I don't think the Eagles want him out there taking blocks and trying to tackle guys on kickoffs, let alone punts. Quote Link to comment
Landlord Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 All the extra kicks in practice, all the field goals, all the punts, and all the kickoffs. Kickoffs take a much bigger tole, I think. Quote Link to comment
GMoose Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Plus Alex doesn't really have NFL caliber distance on his punts either. Especially with an NFL ball which gives less distance. Although he is money on those coffin kicks...I wonder if they'll cycle him in and out. That would be interesting. Quote Link to comment
GBR #1 Posted May 19, 2011 Share Posted May 19, 2011 Funny, my brother lives next door to Alex. I get a text from my brother that he just waived to Alex while he was cutting his parent's yard. Dude is down right humble. I don't think he'll be cutting that yard much longer! Quote Link to comment
Scarlet Overkill Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Plus Alex doesn't really have NFL caliber distance on his punts either. Especially with an NFL ball which gives less distance. Although he is money on those coffin kicks...I wonder if they'll cycle him in and out. That would be interesting. They have a good punter (or decent enough) - but would like to see Henery get a shot at it. Quote Link to comment
NUance Posted May 20, 2011 Share Posted May 20, 2011 Plus Alex doesn't really have NFL caliber distance on his punts either. Especially with an NFL ball which gives less distance. Although he is money on those coffin kicks...I wonder if they'll cycle him in and out. That would be interesting. They have a good punter (or decent enough) - but would like to see Henery get a shot at it. Yeah, good points both. OTOH, maybe they'll have him punting in a year or two. It's not likely an NFL team would hand all the kicking/punting duties to an untested rookie. Quote Link to comment
NebraskaShellback Posted May 25, 2011 Share Posted May 25, 2011 He will always be a HUSKER at heart!Thank you Henry.......... Quote Link to comment
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