I’ve read other articles that say it is having an impact on the longer field goals being made vs the old process the league used.
# Lions’ Jake Bates, Dave Fipp deny new K-ball process has dramatic effect on kicker range
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It seems like just about every week now, Jake Bates checks his phone in the locker room after a game and learns that one of his colleagues struck another moonshot field goal.
“‘Oh, my gosh…(Buccaneers kicker Chase) McLaughlin hit a 65 (-yard field goal),’ and then two weeks ago, got off the field, ‘Holy cow, (Cowboys kicker Brandon) Aubrey hit a 64,’” Bates said. “It’s pretty amazing to see what a lot of guys are doing around the league, but I think it’s good for our position and good for the sport.”
Bates has yet to make a 60-yard field goal in the NFL, but he’s plenty capable. He showed that at the UFL level, making a 64-yard walk-off in his pro debut with the Michigan Panthers, and just tied his career long (58 yards) with a kick that had plenty of leg in a win over the Cleveland Browns.
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Eagles defensive coordinator Vic Fangio has a theory that centers around the team’s new rules on kicking balls, or “K-balls,” as they’re referred to. K-balls are different in that they are vigorously rubbed with a stiff brush to removed the bumps and soften the seams.
“The bottom line is you’re trying to break down the seams and you’re trying to round the ball out, and then you’re also trying to make it a little bit more tactile because it comes out kind of slippery right out of the box,” Lions special teams coordinator Dave Fipp explained.
“… The rounder and smoother you can get it, and the more grip you can get it, the better for really all three of those guys, snapper, punter, kicker.”
Previously, teams only had about an hour before gametime to prepare the kicking balls. It was a fast and furious process, and if a team didn’t have a good man on the job, it could negatively impact the quality of the K-ball. But that practice has since gone away. Teams are now able to keep the balls at their facility and prepare them throughout the week, which Fangio believes has unilaterally altered the range of NFL kickers.
Earlier this week, Fangio compared it to the steroid era in baseball, saying it’s only a matter of time before Aubrey puts home a 70-yard kick. Jacksonville Jaguars kicker Cam Little unofficially hit that mark with a 70-yard field goal in the preseason.
“It’s almost like they need an asterisk here like it was the live-ball era, or the asterisk for those home runs (Barry) Bonds, (Sammy) Sosa, and (Mark) McGwire were hitting,” Fangio said. “The way they’ve changed the ball … has drastically changed the field goals.”
Fipp responded to Fangio’s comments on Thursday, saying, “I’m not sure how much Vic Fangio knows.”
“I do respect the heck out of him. Great coach. … I would say that I don’t think that it makes a big difference,” Fipp said. “I think it’s very minimal. I think it’s one of those things that is perfect for the NFL. It draws headlines and people talk about it.”
(frm, little hesitant on this next section and where it will lead on this board, yea you know who you are…)
Still, Fipp and Bates both acknowledged the fact they might be a bit privileged on the matter. The man who prepares Detroit’s K-balls, equipment assistant Khamari Prude, is recognized as one of the best around.
“We’re a little spoiled because Khamari does our balls and he’s unbelievable at it already as is, so like, for us, we already have the best ball we can get because he’s so good at breaking them in,” Bates said.
