Rose Bowl Preview: A Look At Kicker David Buehler

by Kevin HD on Dec 30, 2008 8:55 AM EST in Game Previews Comment 18 comments

"It’s more aerodynamic, plus it keeps me in line for field goals." -David Buehler

Let's be straight for a minute: kickers are kind of out of place in football. They are obviously important, but with the death of two-way players and increased specialization, someone who kicks a non-moving ball doesn't even have to be a decent athlete anymore. Or even sober.

But that doesn't mean they can't be. Enter USC place kicker David Buehler. He's fast:

David-buehler-40_medium

Of course, being a great athlete doesn't make you a great kicker, either. Considering he is often in favorable weather conditions and the best recruiting juggernaut UCS has to offer, well, his stats are a little underwhelming.

		Field Goals								PAT
	G	0-19	20-29	30-39	40-49	50+	FGM	FGA	PCT	XPM	XPA	PCT	pts
2008 - David Buehler	12	-	-	-	-	-	8	12	66.7%	60	61	98.4%

He didn't even attempt kicks in five of USC's 12 games, and only once hit more than one kick through the uprights in non-extra point situations. He ranks dead last in the Pac-10 in FG attempted and, naturally, FG made.

Now a lot of this is on his team, a kicker can only kick when presented the opportunity, but Carroll hasn't sent Buehler out to kick a 50+ yarder all season, suggesting he lacks some confidence in this particular special teams unit (although to be fair, this is for some reason a common trend in the conference). This is reinforced by Buehler's long on the season: just 43 yards. This ranks him 9th in the conference, 96th nationally.

So what does it mean? We'll it's hard to tell based on the sample size, but I'm confident in saying Buehler is no Kevin Kelly, something to consider if this game turns into the low scoring struggle the stats suggest it might.

[photo credit: usc.freedomblogging.com, figures from statsheet.com/cfb/teams/]

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"Or even sober"

I thought for sure that would be a link to a Sebastian Janikowski article.

--
Mr. Bob Dobalina

by Run Up The Score on Dec 30, 2008 9:11 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

It's really a take your pick.

Kevin @ Black Shoe Diaries

by Kevin HD on Dec 30, 2008 9:14 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Who doesn’t love a guy who gives himself roofies?

by Tailgate Shogun on Dec 31, 2008 7:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Kevin Kelly

It’s funny to think that two or three years ago, saying “he’s no Kevin Kelly” was a complement rather than a criticsm. Then again, the same goes for saying “he’s no Robbie Gould”

by EaglesPhan53 on Dec 30, 2008 9:21 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Also of note:

His haircut makes him look like a tool.

by Cairo on Dec 30, 2008 11:14 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Now a lot of this is on his team, a kicker can only kick when presented the opportunity, but Carroll hasn’t sent Buehler out to kick a 50+ yarder all season, suggesting he lacks some confidence in this particular special teams unit (although to be fair, this is for some reason a common trend in the conference).

I’d hope this just means someone on Carroll’s staff has done the math and realizes it’s almost always a better idea to go for it than to attempt a 45+ yard field goal (unless you’re just trying to work clock late in the game, in which case you might punt).

by drothgery on Dec 30, 2008 11:16 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

That’s closer to the truth. Buehler isn’t great on longer field goals, but then he isn’t asked to do it all that often. Generally the coaching staff tends to go for it on 4th down once they’re inside the opponents’ 35 – 30, and it works often enough that they keep doing it.

by DC Trojan on Dec 30, 2008 11:58 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Doesn't it depend in the kicker?

USC’s 4th down % is 61.1, good for 28th best nationally. If you have a decent kicker I have to think there are at least 3 or 4 situations where it makes sense to attempt a 45+ yarder. Most of the good kickers are 50+ on 50+ yarders, that’s more than most teams expect to be able to convert on 4th down (4th down percentage is skewed a little higher because teams rarely attempt it at 3+ yards). I don’t know enough about the math to tell you if it’s worth it.

But there is this: almost every school has attempted at least one 50+ kick, and with close games and end of half situations this makes sense even when you convert well on 4th downs…so based on the fact that USC’s kicker is 2/5 from 40-49 yards, and that he has zero 50+ attempts, I get the feeling he probably hits these things at a very low rate in practice. That’s all I’m saying.

Kevin @ Black Shoe Diaries

by Kevin HD on Dec 30, 2008 12:20 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

perfectly plausible.

by DC Trojan on Dec 30, 2008 2:06 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I think.........

it has more to do with Carroll knowing they can score at will and or hold the opponent ouf of the end zone anyway. Kind of like when Mike Martz used to use TO’s as though he had 10 of them a half. When you have the greatest show on turf and can get out of bounds at will, who needs timeouts.

Eric Watters Atlanta, Ga.

by ech2os on Dec 30, 2008 2:11 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Well...

I’ve heard some “analysts” today say that we won’t even score in the double digits, so I imagine Kevin Kelly will be our star for the day in their eyes.

I hope it doesn’t come down to the kickers though.

I was out in the trenches, which enables me to paint such a powerful picture, like Apocalypse Now.-Cormega

by OMEGAMAN on Dec 30, 2008 1:08 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Joe Paterno has agreed to wear UCLA's road jerseys for the game?

Wait. I’m getting confused.

by Cairo on Dec 30, 2008 2:25 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Touchbacks

I can’t believe it took me this long to re-connect the dots. Buehler’s real strength is kickoffs – he’s 46 of 81 for touchbacks. Those kicks that are returned, it’s for an average of just under 20 yards, and the average start point for opponents is their own 22. Given SC’s iffy special teams play, that makes Buehler pretty important to giving the defense decent field position to work with.

by DC Trojan on Dec 30, 2008 2:28 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Where's the kicker?

Buehler? Buehlerrr???

by Cairo on Dec 30, 2008 5:50 PM EST reply actions 1 recs

Nice.

Kevin @ Black Shoe Diaries

by Kevin HD on Dec 30, 2008 7:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Here's the key difference....

In case you were having a hard time telling Pete Carroll and Ben Stein… Pete Carroll didn’t go on the financial programs this year and claim that the sub-prime problem was overblown and that it was time to buy into financial services firms.

by DC Trojan on Dec 31, 2008 12:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Our Kicker

Buehler doubled as a safety in high school so I think tyhat explains the athleticism. Also, before the ucla game he was 8/9 on field goals. He had a really bad day for whatever reason. He definitely has a future in the NFL though with how strong of a kicker he is.

by Laughing Stock on Dec 31, 2008 12:27 AM EST reply actions 0 recs