Higher FG% Under Mullen than Sherrill

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

I was curious so I looked at Sherrill's tenure and Mullen's tenure and compared the FG%. Under Sherrill we were 163/256 FGA/FGM for 63.67%. Under Mullen we are 77/118 for 65.25%.

[ShotgunDawg]

I was curious so I looked at Sherrill's tenure and Mullen's tenure and compared the FG%. Under Sherrill we were 163/256 FGA/FGM for 63.67%. Under Mullen we are 77/118 for 65.25%.

While true, I think this could be a little misleading.

Mullen's offense is far superior to The Kang's and thus the degree of difficulty for the kickers is much lower. I remember Kang having some powerful leg guys that missed field goals from 45-55 yards, while Mullen's miss FGs from 25-35.

Mullen's offense is incredibly efficient and our kickers just don't have the opportunity to attempt as many 40+ yard FGs as Kang's offense did.

I'd be curious to see how the percentages matchup on extra-points.

[War Machine Dawg]

While true, I think this could be a little misleading.

Mullen's offense is far superior to The Kang's and thus the degree of difficulty for the kickers is much lower. I remember Kang having some powerful leg guys that missed field goals from 45-55 yards, while Mullen's miss FGs from 25-35.

Mullen's offense is incredibly efficient and our kickers just don't have the opportunity to attempt as many 40+ yard FGs as Kang's offense did.

I'd be curious to see how the percentages matchup on extra-points.

Also worth noting that The Kang's kicking game went to shit at the end. John Michael Marlin, anyone? There is no question in my mind The Kang is/was a much better evaluator of kicking talent than Mullen. And good points about the differences in the offenses skewing the stats. Hadn't really thought about that, but it's definitely a factor. I'd still trade every kicker of the Mullen era for Hazelwood or Westerfield.

[missouridawg]

Ha, the digging of heels gets deeper as the stats continue to prove ignorance. Nice work guys.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

Also worth noting that The Kang's kicking game went to shit at the end. John Michael Marlin, anyone? There is no question in my mind The Kang is/was a much better evaluator of kicking talent than Mullen. And good points about the differences in the offenses skewing the stats. Hadn't really thought about that, but it's definitely a factor. I'd still trade every kicker of the Mullen era for Hazelwood or Westerfield.

Sherrill's best kicker FG% wise was Brent Smith who kicked in his last two seasons. Agreed that Marlin was bad though.

[Coach34]

Great thread idea. Nice work

[Really Clark?]

While true, I think this could be a little misleading.

Mullen's offense is far superior to The Kang's and thus the degree of difficulty for the kickers is much lower. I remember Kang having some powerful leg guys that missed field goals from 45-55 yards, while Mullen's miss FGs from 25-35.

Mullen's offense is incredibly efficient and our kickers just don't have the opportunity to attempt as many 40+ yard FGs as Kang's offense did.

I'd be curious to see how the percentages matchup on extra-points.

Not really or at least as far back as 2000 at Hailstate stats. Brent Smith was outstanding but DePasquale (twice) and Sobiesk last year were better percentage wise all over 80%. Sobiesk missed 3 PAT's last year out of 59 attempts but Westerfield missed 2 in 39 attempts. Brent Smith didn't miss any in two years but that only totaled 35 attempts. John Michael Marlin was 20-23 PAT's in 2001. But he hit only 50% of FG going 6-10 from inside of 40 yards. The year before last we were horrible and that is what we all remember. But the year before Bell was 66.7% going 6-10 from 30-39 yards and 4-7 over 40 with a long of 47. Of course if he is the guy we all will be nervous until he proves that he can overcome his mental issues.

ETA. Westerfield in 1999 was 18-20 PAT's 18-24 in FG with 9-11 inside of 40. 8-12 from 40-49 and one attempt outside of 50 and made a 51 yarder.
1998 Hazelwood was 32-35 in PAT's and 15-24 in FG. 3-8 from 30-39. 2-6 from 40-49, 1-1 outside of 50 for 52. His numbers look better because he was 9-9 inside of 30 which maybe the highest attempts inside that range compared to any of Mullen's guys.

Haven't found older stats yet

[War Machine Dawg]

Sherrill's best kicker FG% wise was Brent Smith who kicked in his last two seasons. Agreed that Marlin was bad though.

I remember Brent Smith being very good. Could've sworn he played for Croom, though. Was he one of the crossovers?

[thf24]

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I have a good feeling that Bell is going to step up and be solid this year. I think his sophomore year causes people to forget that he wasn't nearly as bad as a freshman, and the year off from place kicking last year may be what he needed to reset and get the mental aspect straight.

[BrunswickDawg]

I know it is sacrilege, but Jackie had some terrible kickers.
1991 Chris Gardner 33/35, 9/14 (64%)
1992 Chris Gardner 18/21, 15/27 (56%)
1993 Tom Burke 18/18, 17/23 (74%)
1994 Tim Rogers 34/36, 12/20 (60%)
1995 Tim Rogers 12/12. 5/11 (46%)
1995 Brian Hazelwood 10/10, 4/5 (80%)
1996 Brian Hazelwood 25/26, 8/18 (44%)
1997 Brian Hazelwood 22/23, 16/26 (62%)
1998 Brian Hazelwood 32/35, 15/24 (63%)
1999 Scott Westerfield 18/20, 18/24 (75%)
2000 Scott Westerfield 37/39, 12/18 (67%)

Who were no better than these guys
2012 Devon Bell 43/44, 14/21 (67%)
2013 Devon Bell 25/26, 6/14 (43%)
2014 Evan Sobiesk 56/59, 12/14 (86%)

We just remember a couple of them for game winning kicks.

[Eric Nies Grind Time]

Maybe it's wishful thinking, but I have a good feeling that Bell is going to step up and be solid this year. I think his sophomore year causes people to forget that he wasn't nearly as bad as a freshman, and the year off from place kicking last year may be what he needed to reset and get the mental aspect straight.

I think unless we get a really special FG kicker on campus Mullen will probably stick with the higher percentage field goals from now on.

[LC Dawg]

I know it is sacrilege, but Jackie had some terrible kickers.
1991 Chris Gardner 33/35, 9/14 (64%)
1992 Chris Gardner 18/21, 15/27 (56%)
1993 Tom Burke 18/18, 17/23 (74%)
1994 Tim Rogers 34/36, 12/20 (60%)
1995 Tim Rogers 12/12. 5/11 (46%)
1995 Brian Hazelwood 10/10, 4/5 (80%)
1996 Brian Hazelwood 25/26, 8/18 (44%)
1997 Brian Hazelwood 22/23, 16/26 (62%)
1998 Brian Hazelwood 32/35, 15/24 (63%)
1999 Scott Westerfield 18/20, 18/24 (75%)
2000 Scott Westerfield 37/39, 12/18 (67%)

Who were no better than these guys
2012 Devon Bell 43/44, 14/21 (67%)
2013 Devon Bell 25/26, 6/14 (43%)
2014 Evan Sobiesk 56/59, 12/14 (86%)

We just remember a couple of them for game winning kicks.

I'm guilty of this because these numbers surprise me.
There is really no way to spin this if someone wants to compare Coach Sherrill's kickers to Coach Mullen's.
I do think that Coach Sherrill put more emphasis on special teams but I think they were more important to his teams because a lot of his offenses weren't very dynamic.
I would like to see a good field goal percentage from our current team and a little more production from kickoff returns but I am ok with the rest of our special teams.

[MadDawg]

Also worth noting that we have been so atrocious at FG kicking recently, many times we don't even try FG when we could if we had a kicker.

[smootness]

I know it is sacrilege, but Jackie had some terrible kickers.
1991 Chris Gardner 33/35, 9/14 (64%)
1992 Chris Gardner 18/21, 15/27 (56%)
1993 Tom Burke 18/18, 17/23 (74%)
1994 Tim Rogers 34/36, 12/20 (60%)
1995 Tim Rogers 12/12. 5/11 (46%)
1995 Brian Hazelwood 10/10, 4/5 (80%)
1996 Brian Hazelwood 25/26, 8/18 (44%)
1997 Brian Hazelwood 22/23, 16/26 (62%)
1998 Brian Hazelwood 32/35, 15/24 (63%)
1999 Scott Westerfield 18/20, 18/24 (75%)
2000 Scott Westerfield 37/39, 12/18 (67%)

Who were no better than these guys
2012 Devon Bell 43/44, 14/21 (67%)
2013 Devon Bell 25/26, 6/14 (43%)
2014 Evan Sobiesk 56/59, 12/14 (86%)

We just remember a couple of them for game winning kicks.

There's also a perception difference, where our offense struggled so much at times under Sherrill that we weren't as concerned with misses but really celebrated the makes. Under Mullen, any time the offense fails to put up points on a drive, it's a disappointment, so makes are expected and if he misses, we miss out on any points and are more frustrated.

Also, we spent most of our energy then criticizing the offense. That's tougher to do with Mullen, and fans always want to criticize something, so it falls on the kicking game.

[Boya]

The Special teams units have been solid under Mullen. The coverage units have performed very well on both punts and kickoffs, the return units are solid ( with exception of graham last year), FG kicking is on par with what I've seen at other schools and It seems like we have blocked more kicks than we have had blocked.

Now I would prefer that we use explosive players in the return game but apparently Mullen prefers to play it safe.

[BrunswickDawg]

I'm guilty of this because these numbers surprise me.
There is really no way to spin this if someone wants to compare Coach Sherrill's kickers to Coach Mullen's.
I do think that Coach Sherrill put more emphasis on special teams but I think they were more important to his teams because a lot of his offenses weren't very dynamic.
I would like to see a good field goal percentage from our current team and a little more production from kickoff returns but I am ok with the rest of our special teams.

I'll go you one better. According to sports-reference.com, going back to 1976 (first year kicking stats are available) Evan Sobiesk had the highest FG% in school history for anyone having more than 5 attempts in a season. Only Hazelwood and Brent Smith close at 80% & 81% in a season.

[BrunswickDawg]

Also worth noting that we have been so atrocious at FG kicking recently, many times we don't even try FG when we could if we had a kicker.

Which if you believe the stats (like that Arkansas HS school does), it is a better play percentage wise to go for a first down anyway. Frankly, it seemed like every drive that stalled at the 35 under Jackie we kicked and missed 45% of the time or more. I'd rather take one more shot at extending the drive.

[Johnson85]

Ha, the digging of heels gets deeper as the stats continue to prove ignorance. Nice work guys.

How were the kickers in general then compared to now though?

I thought kickers had gotten considerably better over the last couple of decades as soccer has grown as a sport.

So even though we're as good or better stats wise, we're not as good relative to other kicking games. No clue if that's right.

[Really Clark?]

I'll go you one better. According to sports-reference.com, going back to 1976 (first year kicking stats are available) Evan Sobiesk had the highest FG% in school history for anyone having more than 5 attempts in a season. Only Hazelwood and Brent Smith close at 80% & 81% in a season.

You are forgetting DePasuale who went 83.3% twice and a career 76.2% for 42 attempts

[BulldogBear]

Also worth noting that The Kang's kicking game went to shit at the end. John Michael Marlin, anyone? There is no question in my mind The Kang is/was a much better evaluator of kicking talent than Mullen. And good points about the differences in the offenses skewing the stats. Hadn't really thought about that, but it's definitely a factor. I'd still trade every kicker of the Mullen era for Hazelwood or Westerfield.

It got where my Dad would say, "Time to trot out Whiff Marlin."

[AROB44]

Here was another pretty good kicker for us:

Joel Logan 1987-90

41 made field goals (3rd) on 61 attempts (3rd) for a .672 percentage (4th)

[missouridawg]

You are forgetting DePasuale who went 83.3% twice and a career 76.2% for 42 attempts

Brauchle was fairly solid too, right?

[Really Clark?]

Brauchle was fairly solid too, right?

Eh. Maybe his first year on long FG. 6-9 his first year with 0-2 from 30-39 yards but 2-3 from over 40 with a 49 yard long. (48 was DePasuale long that year). 3-7 his second year 1-4 from 30-39 yards, 2-3 from 40-49 with 47 long his second year. He had 2 blk as well. He was to be the guy and had the stronger leg but DeP was 5-7 his first 2 years from over 40 and Sean was 4-6. DeP last year hurt his numbers for missing 4 over 40 yards 2-6.

[BrunswickDawg]

You are forgetting DePasuale who went 83.3% twice and a career 76.2% for 42 attempts

Yeah, for some reason I read those as 73.3% as skipped him. I was skimming pretty quick to get those numbers.

[Johnson85]

It got where my Dad would say, "Time to trot out Whiff Marlin."

He really was a basket case. I was told by a trainer that in practice his kickoffs would go out of the back of the endzone. But come game time, he couldn't even make it to the end zone. I understand not having it mentally together to hit field goals, but not being able to hold it together on a typical, non-end of the game kick off is a different level.

[War Machine Dawg]

Also worth noting that we have been so atrocious at FG kicking recently, many times we don't even try FG when we could if we had a kicker.

THIS is the heart of the problem. FG% is a nice stat, but it doesn't tell the whole story. I'd like to see the number of 40+ yard attempts we made under JWS vs Mullen. I'm willing to bet we took way more long FG attempts. Now we just don't bother unless it's 35 yards or less. Those should be chip shots for a legit SEC quality K.

That said, I fully admit the overall percentages are closer than I figured. And I was really disappointed when Sobiesk didn't come back, because I at least felt like we had a guy who was consistent from 35 and in. Now we're back to Head Case Bell, unless by some miracle we give Graves a shot. But considering Bell is the second coming of Morten Andersen in practice according to Mullen, I won't hold my breath on that. I'd still sell my soul to have Gardner, Hazelwood, Westerfield, or Smith on this team.

[War Machine Dawg]

Eh. Maybe his first year on long FG. 6-9 his first year with 0-2 from 30-39 yards but 2-3 from over 40 with a 49 yard long. (48 was DePasuale long that year). 3-7 his second year 1-4 from 30-39 yards, 2-3 from 40-49 with 47 long his second year. He had 2 blk as well. He was to be the guy and had the stronger leg but DeP was 5-7 his first 2 years from over 40 and Sean was 4-6. DeP last year hurt his numbers for missing 4 over 40 yards 2-6.

That's because like all of Mullen's kickers not named Brauchle or Bell, he didn't have the leg for a kick much beyond 40.

[smootness]

I'd still sell my soul to have Gardner, Hazelwood, Westerfield, or Smith on this team.

You must not value your soul very highly. Hazelwood was 3-8 from 30-39 in 1998, 2-6 from 40-49.

[BrunswickDawg]

You must not value your soul very highly. Hazelwood was 3-8 from 30-39 in 1998, 2-6 from 40-49.
Like I said, people are confusing a clutch game winning FG with actually having a good FG %.

Westerfield was 7/11 from 30-39, and 1/2 40+

[Really Clark?]

That's because like all of Mullen's kickers not named Brauchle or Bell, he didn't have the leg for a kick much beyond 40.

Did you read all of that post? His first two years were as good as Sean B with a 48 yard long. And even with his bad last year in long yardage FG he was still 54% for FG over 40 yards for his career. He didn't have the absolute strongest leg we have ever had but he was sneaky long. Just more of fans misremembering

[Really Clark?]

THIS is the heart of the problem. FG% is a nice stat, but it doesn't tell the whole story. I'd like to see the number of 40+ yard attempts we made under JWS vs Mullen. I'm willing to bet we took way more long FG attempts. Now we just don't bother unless it's 35 yards or less. Those should be chip shots for a legit SEC quality K.

That said, I fully admit the overall percentages are closer than I figured. And I was really disappointed when Sobiesk didn't come back, because I at least felt like we had a guy who was consistent from 35 and in. Now we're back to Head Case Bell, unless by some miracle we give Graves a shot. But considering Bell is the second coming of Morten Andersen in practice according to Mullen, I won't hold my breath on that. I'd still sell my soul to have Gardner, Hazelwood, Westerfield, or Smith on this team.

What's the bet and what do you consider "way more"?

[DownwardDawg]

Jackie had some good special teams, and some bad special teams. I've never understood the love for his ST's. The bad special teams are what sticks out to me. Not just FG kicking, but I remember giving up TD's and not returning worth a crap.
I do remember the blocked PAT and return in the SnowBowl though!!!! That trumps all except the Westerfield FG against UNM.

[Todd4State]

I think Jackie is somewhat overrated as a special teams coach. He insisted on Marlin over Brent Smith for a long time. And let's not forget punting to Derek Abney who burned our ass repeatedly- and yet we STILL kicked the ball to him. I remember Jeff Walker having several punts blocked in 1999 despite his reputation as well.

[DawgPoundtheRock]

It would be interesting to see a percentage comparison with the other SEC schools. That would come closer to telling us where we are field goal wise.

Remember, a guy like Kevin Butler (UGA) doesn't come along very often.

[BrunswickDawg]

It would be interesting to see a percentage comparison with the other SEC schools. That would come closer to telling us where we are field goal wise.

Remember, a guy like Kevin Butler (UGA) doesn't come along very often.
No, kickers like Butler don't.

Just look at last year -
Bama 12/19 63%
UGA 16/21 76%
Aub 18/24 75%
LSU 11/15 73%
OM 9/16 56%
Ark 9/14 64%
A&M 13/15 86%
FL 19/24 79%
MO 18/25 72%
KY 21/27 78%
SC 18/25 72%
Vandy 20/26 77%
State 12/16 75%

Outside of A&M on the high and OM on the low, everyone is about even.

[Pollodawg]

How dare the OP bring numerical fact into this argument.

[BrunswickDawg]

And you know what Kevin Butler's % was at UGA on FGs? 77/98 for 79%. If you had asked me, I would have said 95% because that guy was money and that giant kick against Clemson with a 50+ as time runs out and Larry Munson screaming "YEAH YEAH YEAH" convinced me of that.