The Case for Hauschka

[RiverDog]

Second best FG percentage in the league at 94.3%, second only to Matt Pratner, who had the luxury of kicking in the thin air in Denver. He only missed on 2 FG attempts with one of those coming when Chris Maragos was our holder, and I'm sure we all remember that abortion of a play. Hauschka was money for us, perfect in all of his 50+ yard attempts, won a big game for us in OT with a 45+ FG. He was perfect in the playoffs.

He was 5th in the league in kickoffs for touchbacks with 48, a stat that's a little unfair as any golfer can tell you about the difference a ball carries at sea level and in humid conditions vs. a warmer, drier climate, or in the static air of a dome, and obviously you can't compare Hauschka's effort to the 81 KO's for touchbacks Pratner had.

Bottom line is that Hauschka has to be considered one of the best, if not the best, all around kickers in the league.

Jim Moore had a pretty good take on Hauschka's worth to us.

http://mynorthwest.com/384/2474988/Losi ... bite-Hawks

[HumanCockroach]

Not dismissing Haushckas work, but it was Ryan that was to kick on that ill fated attempt. Blocked in Indy, and I just can't remember his "miss". He missed one, but I think it was like a 55 yarder or something....

[RiverDog]

Not dismissing Haushckas work, but it was Ryan that was to kick on that ill fated attempt. Blocked in Indy, and I just can't remember his "miss". He missed one, but I think it was like a 55 yarder or something....

The miss came against the Niners in SF. Inside 40 and I think it hit the upright. The other miss was on a blocked attempt in Indy. Now that my memory has been jogged, what I was thinking of was when Maragos was holding for Ryan when Hauschka went out with a possible concussion. That had to have been the ugliest play of the year for us.

But the point's still the same.

[Zorn76]

Not sure what the hang-up is, either.

He's the best in the league, was a big contributor during a SB winning season...so pay the man.

I think we survive ok if he goes, but there's just no need to risk it in the first place.

[monkey]

Yeah, to me at least, this one seems to be a no brainer. You have one of the leagues best, most reliable, most consistent kickers, and even if you franchised him, his salary would be worth what 3 million? Pay the man! This seems really silly to me as well.
Why even take a chance when it comes to the kicking game, which is SUCH a big part of football no matter how much the NFL tries to regulate it out of the game.

[burrrton]

Hausch is the man ++

[RiverDog]

I was surprised that we didn't resign him before he hit FA. I realize that we have to watch our budget, but kickers are cheap, and when you find a guy with his kind of range and accuracy plus over 50% touchbacks, he's worth top dollar. Don't know why we didn't franchise him. Seems like money well spent.

I can only assume that Hauschka or his agent is the hang up and that his demands are seen as unreasonable. Like you said, it's a no brainer.

[mykc14]

Although I agree with the common feeling of this thread that retaining Haushcka is a no-brainer our FO puts value on players/positions and is unwilling to go beyond those numbers which is a characteristic that I like. It seems that his salary demands are probably too high right now and if they don't go down I doubt he is a our kicker next year. He was money and was certainly one of the top kickers in the league last year, but I am often reminded of something that JS or PC said about our players and their impending free agency (this isn't a direct quote): "We have great players and we want them to earn a lot of money but they all can't be the highest paid players at their positions" or something like that. The main point is they can't afford to pay Sherm top dollar, Thomas top dollar, RW top dollar, Beast top dollar, and Hauschka top dollar, and Okung top dollar (11 mil cap hit this year, ouch! although it does drop to like 7 or 8 mil next year), etc..

[THX-1138]

I won't even bother looking up the stats or numbers because I feel fairly certain that Hauschka was the leading point scorer for our team last year. In a lot of our games he was the points reason that we won; in other words it was his production that allowed us to win.

I felt this way before the loss in the playoffs to Atlanta. Hauschka is the man, not only for us but in regards to the rest of the league. I have no doubt that he is the best kicker going, bar none. And as a person he seems very unassuming and "normal". Plus he's not a bad athlete (although please keep your head on a swivel, bro'!). At the very least franchising him isn't going to kill our cap and it will give us a marked advantage in all phases of the kicking game outside of punting, which we also have nicely handled in the fantastic Ryan.

Lock this dude up!

[RiverDog]

Although I agree with the common feeling of this thread that retaining Haushcka is a no-brainer our FO puts value on players/positions and is unwilling to go beyond those numbers which is a characteristic that I like. It seems that his salary demands are probably too high right now and if they don't go down I doubt he is a our kicker next year. He was money and was certainly one of the top kickers in the league last year, but I am often reminded of something that JS or PC said about our players and their impending free agency (this isn't a direct quote): "We have great players and we want them to earn a lot of money but they all can't be the highest paid players at their positions" or something like that. The main point is they can't afford to pay Sherm top dollar, Thomas top dollar, RW top dollar, Beast top dollar, and Hauschka top dollar, and Okung top dollar (11 mil cap hit this year, ouch! although it does drop to like 7 or 8 mil next year), etc..

Then why didn't we slap the FT on him? He was already making $1.5M, it would have only cost $3.5M to slap the FT on him. A net of $2M seems like a small price to pay for a kicker that's as valuable as he is.

[mykc14]

Although I agree with the common feeling of this thread that retaining Haushcka is a no-brainer our FO puts value on players/positions and is unwilling to go beyond those numbers which is a characteristic that I like. It seems that his salary demands are probably too high right now and if they don't go down I doubt he is a our kicker next year. He was money and was certainly one of the top kickers in the league last year, but I am often reminded of something that JS or PC said about our players and their impending free agency (this isn't a direct quote): "We have great players and we want them to earn a lot of money but they all can't be the highest paid players at their positions" or something like that. The main point is they can't afford to pay Sherm top dollar, Thomas top dollar, RW top dollar, Beast top dollar, and Hauschka top dollar, and Okung top dollar (11 mil cap hit this year, ouch! although it does drop to like 7 or 8 mil next year), etc..

Then why didn't we slap the FT on him? He was already making $1.5M, it would have only cost $3.5M to slap the FT on him. A net of $2M seems like a small price to pay for a kicker that's as valuable as he is.

I have no idea. Maybe even at 3.5 his number would have just been too high for them or maybe they felt it would hinder them trying to make a long term contract or inflate his value as they worked on a multi-year deal. Maybe they just have a number for him or his position and it is less than 3.5 mil. Maybe they are fundamentally against using the F-Tag. Maybe they really feel that they can sign him long-term in the 2.5 mil range and are waiting for his number to drop.

[NorthHawk]

That's a dangerous game to play, mykc14. If another team steps up then we lose one of the most dependable FG kickers for the want of probably less than 1% of the Cap difference.

[mykc14]

That's a dangerous game to play, mykc14. If another team steps up then we lose one of the most dependable FG kickers for the want of probably less than 1% of the Cap difference.

I don't disagree and obviously I don't have an inside look at what the FO is doing/thinking but that is just an outsiders view. It might be a dangerous game but it seems to be what they do. Obviously we don't know all the details but they *supposedly* let Tate go and the difference was around a mil a year and it seems like they were willing to let Bennett go for about the same difference. Again we really don't know that for sure and certainly don't know the contract structures of those offers but it seems like our FO puts a value on certain players and isn't willing to go beyond that number. I am not saying they would do that with everybody, like if their number for RW was 18 mil and he wanted 19 they would let him walk, but it seems to be how they have handled most of their free-agents so far. In the end the consequence for paying 5 players 1 mil more than you value them leads to a tight salary situation and is the difference between being able to sign somebody like Bennett last year or not.

[RiverDog]

I have no idea. Maybe even at 3.5 his number would have just been too high for them or maybe they felt it would hinder them trying to make a long term contract or inflate his value as they worked on a multi-year deal. Maybe they just have a number for him or his position and it is less than 3.5 mil. Maybe they are fundamentally against using the F-Tag. Maybe they really feel that they can sign him long-term in the 2.5 mil range and are waiting for his number to drop.

If the FO is prepared to give him a long term contract for $2.5M, it seems like a pretty big risk to be quibbling over an additional $1M when our salary cap is $132M, especially when all we're talking about is one year.

I'm not sure what objection the FO would have against the FT. It's a tool that management fought hard to get and that every player understands. Besides, why would Hauschka complain? He'd be getting a raise from $1.5M to $3.5M, something like a 125% or so raise. I sure wouldn't mind that kind of raise.

[HumanCockroach]

As much as I like Hauschka he was someone they picked up off the scrap heap. Maybe they feel they can do it again? Who knows, however, this front office HAS used the FT once already on a kicker ( Mare) so I doubt the are fundamentally against it, Hauschka spelled the doom for Mare ( younger cheaper option). Honestly, I just don't feel like they value certain positions whether it be OG or Kicker. Every team has to make those kinds of decisions, and decide where their priorities lie, maybe Hauschka is being aloud to see that their offer is fair, maybe they could care less, no one here really knows. Maybe they have their eye on someone else? Or a player to draft or sign from college something tells me he'll be back, but that could just be hope talking...

[RiverDog]

As much as I like Hauschka he was someone they picked up off the scrap heap. Maybe they feel they can do it again? Who knows, however, this front office HAS used the FT once already on a kicker ( Mare) so I doubt the are fundamentally against it, Hauschka spelled the doom for Mare ( younger cheaper option). Honestly, I just don't feel like they value certain positions whether it be OG or Kicker. Every team has to make those kinds of decisions, and decide where their priorities lie, maybe Hauschka is being aloud to see that their offer is fair, maybe they could care less, no one here really knows. Maybe they have their eye on someone else? Or a player to draft or sign from college something tells me he'll be back, but that could just be hope talking...

All I can think of is that they must think that the market for FG kickers, even a really good one like Hauschka, is really thin. I can't imagine them thinking they can upgrade or even tread water by drafting one or picking up another off the scrap heap. How can you improve on what he did last season?

I have a suspicion he might be back, too. They could have told him that they'd match any team's offer, kinda like a transition tag, let the other teams do your bargaining for you.

[briwas101]

Hauschka is a tough one for me. I have always viewed kickers as being pretty disposable. Obviously there is a big difference between someone who consistently makes almost all their field goals and someone who shanks kicks from 25 yards out, but there are so many kickers in between those extremes that I often feel the extra $1-2m that you save can be better used elsewhere.

What is making it hard for me is that i would be absolutely crushed if our season came down to a field goal and our new kicker choked. Also, with our offense being less-than-stellar I can see us having to settle for FGs a lot and that obviously makes our kicker more important.

I think if I were Schneider I would really try to play up our Super Bowl win and our likely competing for more Super Bowls in the future to try to get him to meet half-way. Hauschka can go to pretty much any team he wants, but none of them give him the same Super Bowl chance as the Hawks do. Those extra games mean extra playoff game checks, too.

Besides, kickers can kick until they are almost old enough to qualify for Social Security so it isn't like he has to take the money before he's on the wrong side of 30. He can enjoy his blessing of being on a Super Bowl team for now and then in a few years when he's up for another contract he can go to the highest bidder.

If they can agree on a contract that pays him $2.5m or less I don't think i would have any reason to complain about it, but that is a high enough amount that one bad season gets him the axe instead of another shot.

[mykc14]

I have no idea. Maybe even at 3.5 his number would have just been too high for them or maybe they felt it would hinder them trying to make a long term contract or inflate his value as they worked on a multi-year deal. Maybe they just have a number for him or his position and it is less than 3.5 mil. Maybe they are fundamentally against using the F-Tag. Maybe they really feel that they can sign him long-term in the 2.5 mil range and are waiting for his number to drop.

If the FO is prepared to give him a long term contract for $2.5M, it seems like a pretty big risk to be quibbling over an additional $1M when our salary cap is $132M, especially when all we're talking about is one year.

I'm not sure what objection the FO would have against the FT. It's a tool that management fought hard to get and that every player understands. Besides, why would Hauschka complain? He'd be getting a raise from $1.5M to $3.5M, something like a 125% or so raise. I sure wouldn't mind that kind of raise.

Obviously we have no idea what numbers are being thrown around but there is a reason that they didn't pay him the money or franchise him. I understand that the F-tag is a tool that benefits the Front Office but there is a reason that most teams don't use it. I also agree that it seems to make perfect sense to use it on Hauschka but they clearly didn't feel he was worth. I don't know their thinking I can only speculate.

[RiverDog]

I have no idea. Maybe even at 3.5 his number would have just been too high for them or maybe they felt it would hinder them trying to make a long term contract or inflate his value as they worked on a multi-year deal. Maybe they just have a number for him or his position and it is less than 3.5 mil. Maybe they are fundamentally against using the F-Tag. Maybe they really feel that they can sign him long-term in the 2.5 mil range and are waiting for his number to drop.

If the FO is prepared to give him a long term contract for $2.5M, it seems like a pretty big risk to be quibbling over an additional $1M when our salary cap is $132M, especially when all we're talking about is one year.

I'm not sure what objection the FO would have against the FT. It's a tool that management fought hard to get and that every player understands. Besides, why would Hauschka complain? He'd be getting a raise from $1.5M to $3.5M, something like a 125% or so raise. I sure wouldn't mind that kind of raise.

Obviously we have no idea what numbers are being thrown around but there is a reason that they didn't pay him the money or franchise him. I understand that the F-tag is a tool that benefits the Front Office but there is a reason that most teams don't use it. I also agree that it seems to make perfect sense to use it on Hauschka but they clearly didn't feel he was worth. I don't know their thinking I can only speculate.

Most teams don't use it because it's very expensive. But it's relatively cheap for kickers. The Jets slapped the FT on their place kicker this season. We've used it twice on kickers (Josh Brown, Olindo Mare). It's almost a slap in the face to Hauschka not to use it as it is to use it as our failing to do so tells him we don't think he's worth it.

Obviously, we're all speculating. All I can guess is that we have an even lower appraisal of kickers than most and that JS thinks he might need every penny we can to sign Earl and/or Sherman this season. Even so, the FT only lasts one season, so it can't be because of contracts due down the road, like Russell's. It's almost bizarre that we're not using it.

[Agent 86]

I am thinking the FO has seen too many kickers have a good season and then struggle the next. With kickers it is a big mental thing. Miss a couple, and you see the confidence shrink.

That being said, Hauschka was clutch, and was very good at kicking touchbacks. I would like to see him back.

But see David Akers, who hit 44 of 52 FG in 2011, then struggled the next year dropping down to 69% and ultimately being released.

Kickers are a different bunch, and not a position where you really want to have it being the highest paid in the league if you are in the Seahawks position. Every dollar counts in trying to maintain this team.

Man, I think it is awesome that this FO is in a spot where they can dictate, not having to overpay to get players here anymore.

[Eaglehawk]

He has only one bad game all year and the hawks are thinking about this?

Pay him his 3 million of whatever it is and be done with it. I think that maybe H wants more. That MUST be the hold up.
How much more I don't know.

[HumanCockroach]

Anyone think maybe it isn't the salary, but the guaranteed money that is hanging up the deal? Kind of what I am thinking Hauschka is looking for security ( after all he is a cast off) and maybe for some reasons stated they don't feel comfortable promising the years or money, to provide that for him.....

That said, there have been plenty of consistently good kickers to play decades in the NFL. Several in Seattle in fact. Johnson, Brown etc. In fact, consistency is far more common, then ones that fall off cliffs, performance wise.

[Eaglehawk]

Maybe it is the guaranteed money HC.

But why wouldn't the hawks pay him his 1.5 million guaranteed and be done with it?

This is so strange to me. Who is his agent anyway?

[Hawktawk]

Not dismissing Haushckas work, but it was Ryan that was to kick on that ill fated attempt. Blocked in Indy, and I just can't remember his "miss". He missed one, but I think it was like a 55 yarder or something....

The miss came against the Niners in SF. Inside 40 and I think it hit the upright. The other miss was on a blocked attempt in Indy. Now that my memory has been jogged, what I was thinking of was when Maragos was holding for Ryan when Hauschka went out with a possible concussion. That had to have been the ugliest play of the year for us.

But the point's still the same.

I remember a brutal Hauschka miss in week 16 against AZ in the home loss. I was at that miserable game.Malcolm Smith picked off Palmer and almost returned it for a TD. He got tackled at about the 4. 3 horrible offensive plays later Hauschka hit the left upright on basically an extra point try. It was right before halftime and was a factor in the momentum shifting and Seattle losing the game.He also had a couple late in the season that went in but barely.It was disconcerting as he had been dead center all year. His kickoff that hit the crossbar in the SB was pretty cool though.
Kickers are like golfers. They have the stroke and then for lots of them they don't anymore all of a sudden. For me hes had enough great kicks I'd like to see him back but I always sweat bullets watching any kicker on any team I ever rooted for.

[RiverDog]

Not dismissing Haushckas work, but it was Ryan that was to kick on that ill fated attempt. Blocked in Indy, and I just can't remember his "miss". He missed one, but I think it was like a 55 yarder or something....

The miss came against the Niners in SF. Inside 40 and I think it hit the upright. The other miss was on a blocked attempt in Indy. Now that my memory has been jogged, what I was thinking of was when Maragos was holding for Ryan when Hauschka went out with a possible concussion. That had to have been the ugliest play of the year for us.

But the point's still the same.

I remember a brutal Hauschka miss in week 16 against AZ in the home loss. I was at that miserable game.Malcolm Smith picked off Palmer and almost returned it for a TD. He got tackled at about the 4. 3 horrible offensive plays later Hauschka hit the left upright on basically an extra point try. It was right before halftime and was a factor in the momentum shifting and Seattle losing the game.He also had a couple late in the season that went in but barely.It was disconcerting as he had been dead center all year. His kickoff that hit the crossbar in the SB was pretty cool though.
Kickers are like golfers. They have the stroke and then for lots of them they don't anymore all of a sudden. For me hes had enough great kicks I'd like to see him back but I always sweat bullets watching any kicker on any team I ever rooted for.

Shows you how good my memory is. I thought that miss came against the Niners. I do remember it going 'boink' off the upright. And you're right, that was an absolutely brutal loss at home to the Cards, the worst loss we've had in two years IMO.

[HumanCockroach]

Yep, now that it is brought up, clear as a bell. That game made me sick from almost the opening kick off. Just couldn't shake the feeling that letting them hang around would come down to a lucky bounce or one big play for the Cards, and both occurred. Maxwell made a fantastic play on the ball, and it is still caught, ball bounces off the arm/turf and is ruled an interception and can't be overturned. The missed FG was the moment, it went from worry about losing, to certainty ( and it was RARE all year, believe me). It wasn't the FG to be honest, it was the inability to score a TD from the 4 after that huge play, followed by the kick.... ( by the way, the kick occurred because the ball was bobbled by the holder, and was sliding out of his hands on contact).....

[Zorn76]

Yea, the Cards loss was brutal, and when that chip shot doinked off the upright, you just knew things were gonna end badly, lol.

Not long after, though, I was sort of relieved the home streak was over. We had a clean slate, and began a new streak that ended in a SB win.

Maybe if we had beat AZ it still would've been the same result in NY, but I'm sure glad we didn't save our stinker for, say, the Saints or 49ers in the playoffs, especially the latter. Now THAT woulda been devastating, ha.

Hopefully, all this wraps up soon with our kicker. Houschka is as deserving as anybody at his position to get top dollar. And while I expect an improvement in the red zone TD category, it still is wise to have a guy that can't boot it and come through in the clutch when needed, which is exactly what Steven has done in Seattle.

[Hawktawk]

Yea, the Cards loss was brutal, and when that chip shot doinked off the upright, you just knew things were gonna end badly, lol.

Not long after, though, I was sort of relieved the home streak was over. We had a clean slate, and began a new streak that ended in a SB win.

Maybe if we had beat AZ it still would've been the same result in NY, but I'm sure glad we didn't save our stinker for, say, the Saints or 49ers in the playoffs, especially the latter. Now THAT woulda been devastating, ha.

Hopefully, all this wraps up soon with our kicker. Houschka is as deserving as anybody at his position to get top dollar. And while I expect an improvement in the red zone TD category, it still is wise to have a guy that can't boot it and come through in the clutch when needed, which is exactly what Steven has done in Seattle.

Bingo Zorn!
I went to that game with my best friend in the world. We always catch a game every year as my birthday gift from him. I pay for beer and taxis and he gets the room at the Edgewater and the tickets. I had a sick foreboding feeling and it turned out justified after the ridiculous forearm fumble call on Baldwin made it a formality. We were both pissed off and it made for an early evening but I told him on the way home that if they won the SB it would be OK and that might have been exactly what they needed. 5 weeks later it became a reality as we toasted a SB and lit fireworks with our ladies so maybe it was the best. it was hard to be that fan that particular day though. I also went to the Tampa game. Maybe I should just watch on TV:-)