Todd France

[Kerr]

So the majority wants to axe Lindell and a few are in favor of keeping Lindell. Well, it doesn't sound like the coaching staff is all that satisfied with Lindell either if they're looking at other alternatives. Personally, i'd rather have someone else in there because Lindell makes me nervous everytime he's going for a fg. Anyway, This kicker, Todd France is surprisingly not as bad as he's made out to be. I was looking at the preseason stats when he was with Tampa Bay and he was perfect on all his kicks. His longest was a 49 yarder, but I don't know if he can kick any higher than that. He had a tight race with Matt Bryant, but TB decided to keep Bryant over France even though France beat him in terms of consistency. I did notice that Bryant had a stronger leg on kickoffs though. I really could care less if Lindell has a "big leg". I want our kicker to be more consistent. That's not too much to ask for.

[obi wan]

Re: Todd France

but Lindell doesnt even have a "big leg" i dont know where that bs comes from. he never kicks it into the endzone and we know he isnt good from long range on fg attempts.

[eyedog]

Re: Todd France

You wouldn't think so. It loooks like the season starts with Lindell though and as soon as he misses the first 30 yarder to cost us a game he had better be on the streets. I've had it with him myself.

[casdhf]

Re: Todd France

He did make a 54-yarder here at RWS, right?

[Michael82]

Re: Todd France

Todd France could equal Shayne Graham?

[Mr. Miyagi]

Re: Todd France

Shouldn't he be Todd "Freedom"?

[Gunzlingr]

Re: Todd France

Shouldn't he be Todd "Freedom"?

I tell you it is a marketer's dream! Get Fletcher on the field with him during pregame and everyone can chant "I see London, I see France....."

[obi wan]

Re: Todd France

Todd France could equal Shayne Graham?

we could only hope so, look how good he is now.

[Michael82]

Re: Todd France

we could only hope so, look how good he is now.

That's what I'm thinking and hoping.

[Kerr]

Re: Todd France

we could only hope so, look how good he is now.

I don't know if it's because it was a change of team or because he just needed time. That's something the GW regime didn't do at all.

[Michael82]

Re: Todd France

eh, maybe not.

[Michael82]

Re: Todd France

This was his NFL Europe Stats. Doesn't sound much better than Rian Lindell and he may be out of juice by midseason too.

Player 1-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50+ Total
France, T (TB) 0-0 5-5 9-13 8-11 2-5 24-34

[Jan Reimers]

Re: Todd France

He did make a 54-yarder here at RWS, right?

And just missed another 54-yarder, which had enough leg. His XP miss, which his detractors seem to dwell on, was the result of a poor snap. His lifetime FG numbers are pretty good, and he has never missed an XP in the regular season.

[Night Train]

Re: Todd France

I understand both sides but it's hard to give Lindell a strong vote of confidence. He's 4-12 from 40 and beyond the last 2 years and TD did have Todd France in for a look the other day. My feeling is that if Lindell blows a short or critical FG within the 1st 2 weeks, he'll cut himself. As Chris Brown of Bills Digest stated, he's not having a good week of practice since that 32 yard shank in the Lions game. The guy seems like a head case and isn't comfortable.

[OpIv37]

Re: Todd France

one point about Lindell's kickoffs- Marv Levy said in his book that for kick coverage, the height of the ball was more important than the distance because that's what gave the coverage unit time to set up. From that standpoint, Lindell's fine, although it would be nice to have the option to kick a touchback in certain game situations.

Personally I'd like to see Lindell gone, but only if there's someone capable of replacing him. From what Kerr said, France could be just as good and a hell of a lot cheaper (money that could go towards extending Clements or Willis).