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As the kicking competition carries on for the Indianapolis Colts, both Blake Grupe and Spencer Shrader had a number of attempts during Thursday's evening practice.
Under the lights and in front of a full crowd, both kickers had 10 field goal attempts, ranging from 32 yards all the way up to 61 yards, according to Jake Arthur of Roundtable Sports, with four attempts coming from 50-plus yards.
Arthur noted that Grupe had his first two misses of training camp, missing from 53 yards and 61 yards. Shrader had three misses on Thursday, missing from 41 yards, 53 yards, and 61 yards.
Grupe was 8-for-10 on the evening and Shrader 7-for-10. Overall in training camp, Grupe is 20-for-22 on field goals, while Shrader is 16-for-22, according to the Indy Star's Joel Erickson.
The makes and misses in these practice settings are an important part of the evaluation process, but there are other factors taken into account as well. Special teams coordinator Brian Mason mentioned recently that performance in preseason games will be crucial, along with the kickers showing that they are progressing and improving as the regular season nears.
Beyond whether or not the kick goes through the uprights, the amount of "variance" with each attempt is taken into account, and there are kicking sessions that take place away from the practice field.
Ultimately, the Colts are looking for consistency, and all those aforementioned factors help paint the complete picture, giving Mason the most data points possible to make an informed decision when it's roster cutdown time.
That said, Grupe very much appears to hold the advantage at the moment.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts kicking competition update: Where things stand after 7 practices
Continue reading...
Under the lights and in front of a full crowd, both kickers had 10 field goal attempts, ranging from 32 yards all the way up to 61 yards, according to Jake Arthur of Roundtable Sports, with four attempts coming from 50-plus yards.
Arthur noted that Grupe had his first two misses of training camp, missing from 53 yards and 61 yards. Shrader had three misses on Thursday, missing from 41 yards, 53 yards, and 61 yards.
Grupe was 8-for-10 on the evening and Shrader 7-for-10. Overall in training camp, Grupe is 20-for-22 on field goals, while Shrader is 16-for-22, according to the Indy Star's Joel Erickson.
The makes and misses in these practice settings are an important part of the evaluation process, but there are other factors taken into account as well. Special teams coordinator Brian Mason mentioned recently that performance in preseason games will be crucial, along with the kickers showing that they are progressing and improving as the regular season nears.
Beyond whether or not the kick goes through the uprights, the amount of "variance" with each attempt is taken into account, and there are kicking sessions that take place away from the practice field.
Ultimately, the Colts are looking for consistency, and all those aforementioned factors help paint the complete picture, giving Mason the most data points possible to make an informed decision when it's roster cutdown time.
That said, Grupe very much appears to hold the advantage at the moment.
This article originally appeared on Colts Wire: Colts kicking competition update: Where things stand after 7 practices
Continue reading...
