Oregon Special Teams -- What's Up With Camden Lewis?

[SilverDuck]

It seems we've found our punter (though he hasn't had to do much, so not a huge body of work to extrapolate from), and the kick-off and punt coverage finally seems to be improving. And we've had a couple good returns we've not had in the past year or so.

 

But what is going on with Lewis? Last year he was money. This year he's missed multiple makeable field goals and kicked several kick-offs out of bounds (did he have any out of bounds last year?). Is he dealing with an injury of some sort? Or is it just mental? Hoping he and the coaches can get it righted soon, or it's going to cost our OBD at some point.

[Jon Joseph]

How best to line up your 4th putt?

 

The kid has the Yips. Can he kick his way out of it? Johnny Miller quit tournament golf because he could not conquer the yips. Bernhard Langer after missing the Ryder Cup winning putt on Kiowa Island did after a couple of years overcome the yips and became the Senior golfer with the most titles.

 

It's all between the ears.

 

The special teams did a good job of shutting down Z. Branch.

[OregonDucks]

Does Oregon have another placekicker on the roster? 

[Charles Fischer]

On 11/12/2023 at 10:58 AM, Jon Joseph said:

How best to line up your 4th putt?

 

The kid has the Yips. Can he kick his way out of it? Johnny Miller quit tournament golf because he could not conquer the yips. Bernhard Langer after missing the Ryder Cup winning putt on Kiowa Island did after a couple of years overcome the yips and became the Senior golfer with the most titles.

 

It's all between the ears.

 

The special teams did a good job of shutting down Z. Branch.

This.  It started with Cam's first game at Auburn when Bo was the Tiger QB.

[David Marsh]

On 11/12/2023 at 11:33 AM, OregonDucks said:

Does Oregon have another placekicker on the roster? 

I believe so .. don't know who but I know we have more than one. 

 

I believe in practice that Lewis is the best kicker we have but that isn't translating into the game right now. 

 

That 41 yarder that was missed should have been a fairly easy hit. The position wasn't straight on but it wasn't that much to either side and he had plenty of leg on it... Just no accuracy. 

 

Lewis also had a kick go out of bounds in kick off. I think that series Oregon got a nice stop but that sort of thing can't happen. 

[spartan2785]

He's just a very weak minded player, never has kicked a FG longer than 40 yards when there is any real pressure late in a game, always shanks it, almost threw the game away in the bowl game on the extra point, you just can't trust him with anything other than a chip shot, and even then I'm holding my breath.

[OregonDucks]

The roster shows 3 place-kickers;

 

	Andrew Boyle98	PK	6' 2"	200 lbs	JR	Camas, WA
	Camden Lewis49	PK	5' 10"	205 lbs	SR	Charlotte, NC
	Grant Meadors93	PK	5' 11"	180 lbs	FR	Bakersfield, CA

 

 

It might be worth giving someone else a shot in the ASU game.  Camden Lewis appears to have a case of the yips and I would not trust him to make a critical field goal to win or tie a game right now.  

 

Don't be surprised if Dan Lanning goes for a critical 4th down instead of kicking a field goal.

[DanLduck]

Camden needs to continue to kick in order to get his MOJO back. 

Yes, it's mental. But he has to work through it. We may need him, like we did against Texas Tech, so we need to keep giving him opportunities. 

 

As for kickoffs, his great kick after that ridiculous celebration penalty on Ferguson, 15 yards further back, put them on their 15!  That was huge!

 

He is also kicking more touch backs than any other kicker in years.

 

Keep on fighting Camden!

You'll get through this. 

[OregonDucks]

On 11/12/2023 at 1:14 PM, DanLduck said:

Camden needs to continue to kick in order to get his MOJO back. 

Yes, it's mental. But he has to work through it. We may need him, like we did against Texas Tech, so we need to keep giving him opportunities. 

 

With all due respect, he has had a month since the missed kick against UW to bounce back.  How much more time do you give him?  Are you willing to potentially lose a game, for a team with national championship aspirations, to stick with a kicker who appears to be in his own head?  

 

I'm not as confident that he'll be able to fix this issue during the season and I wouldn't put a game in his hands (or foot). I would:

   1) Give one of the other two kickers on the roster a chance in the ASU game, assuming that they have looked competent in practice.

   2) If I don't feel confident in the other kickers, I would start going for every critical 4th down on offense, unless it's a straight ahead kick under 40 yards.

 

Lewis can still handle kickoff duties.

[DuckFan33]

On 11/12/2023 at 10:48 AM, SilverDuck said:

It seems we've found our punter (though he hasn't had to do much, so not a huge body of work to extrapolate from), and the kick-off and punt coverage finally seems to be improving. And we've had a couple good returns we've not had in the past year or so.

 

But what is going on with Lewis? Last year he was money. This year he's missed multiple makeable field goals and kicked several kick-offs out of bounds (did he have any out of bounds last year?). Is he dealing with an injury of some sort? Or is it just mental? Hoping he and the coaches can get it righted soon, or it's going to cost our OBD at some point.

Been wondering this now ever since the Stanford game.   I read somewhere he's kicked it out of bounds 5 times now and missed 5 out his last 8 FG attempts.  I'm getting Moldanado vibes.  I hope he gets it together for the stretch run. 

[CalBear95]

Is there some rule that the Ducks aren't allowed to have a reliable kicker?  Maybe it's selective memory but this seems to be an historical problem for the Ducks.

[Haywarduck]

Bernard Langer only came back from the yips with a putter that is now illegal, without it he probably would still be missing short puts and announcing at best.

 

Unless we are working towards making Lewis ready for the draft, we should look at next year and get one of the guys behind him kicking during games. 

 

Lanning signed this kid off the transfer portal and he looks like he is the real deal. I say see how he does in games because Lewis is kicking one out of bounds just about every game and missing makable field goals. 

 

Time to see if we have somebody ready for next year, the yips are real. I would like to see who is the next guy up before next season.

 

 

[Jon Joseph]

The putter and he still uses a long shaft putter, is legal. Anchoring the putter was determined to be illegal.

 

Langer has won a lot of $ on the Senior tour using the same style of putter but modifying his grip to conform to the rules.

 

Unless you want tips on how to line up your 4th putt, this concludes my knowledge of putting.

[Pennsylvania Duck]

On 11/12/2023 at 5:00 PM, Haywarduck said:

Bernard Langer only came back from the yips with a putter that is now illegal, without it he probably would still be missing short puts and announcing at best.

 

Unless we are working towards making Lewis ready for the draft, we should look at next year and get one of the guys behind him kicking during games. 

 

Lanning signed this kid off the transfer portal and he looks like he is the real deal. I say see how he does in games because Lewis is kicking one out of bounds just about every game and missing makable field goals. 

 

Time to see if we have somebody ready for next year, the yips are real. I would like to see who is the next guy up before next season.

 

 

 

I am not sure of the circumstances, but Andrew Boyle has been on the injured/inactive list almost every week since the first couple of games. Isn't Grant Meadors a field goal kicker? I thought he kicked in some of the OOC games.

 

 

[Mic]

The TV pundits on Pac-12 After Dark were right, "with the exception of the Kicking game, Oregon is about as complete a team as there is in the Pac and maybe the country".  

 

The Kicking game is more than suspect. It's a liability.

 

It's not just missed field goals at critical times in the game (Washington & USC) but kickoffs out of bounds when what the team needs is one thru the end zone and un-returnable.  Camden kicked at least 2 out of bounds last night.  And this was in his home stadium in front of a home crowd.  

 

He's got to get this under control just as the rest of the team has to get penalties under control or this team isn't the "complete team" everyone is thinking or hoping it is.  Both can and eventually will get you beat.

[Charles Fischer]

We remember the misses, naturally, and not the makes.

 

But last year at the end of the bowl game--we score with almost no time remaining and it is 27-27 with the PAT to go.  Now keep in mind that Lewis has been kicking the PATs right down the middle.

 

But this was a game-winner, and he got the yips.  He kicked it, and it bounced off the upright, but went in.  Remember the "Chunk" sound?  

 

[Annie]

I hope Camden can get his act together real soon. Meanwhile, this guy sounds promising for the future.

 

West Linn kicker Gage Hurych ready for next level with Oregon Ducks

WWW.KOIN.COM

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There are a lot of new starters on this year’s squad for the Lions, but something that hasn’t changed is the person putting the ball...

 hope

[OregonDucks]

Camden Lewis's 2023 stats:

 

  20-29 yards:  4-4 

  30-39 yards:  2-3

  40-49 yards:  3-6

  50+ yards:  0-1

 

If Oregon is faced with a 40-49 yard field goal, it's 50/50 that he'll make it (note: if the game is on the line, the odds are probably even less).

 

Since Lewis missed the game-tying field goal at Washington, he is 0-3 for field goals longer than 40 yards.

 

He's nearly perfect from under 40 yards.

[kirklandduck]

This is Camden’s 5th year as kicker for Oregon. If he can’t get his mental game under control by now then it’s time to move on. DL preaches competition at every position, kicker should not be exempt.

[mikethehiker]

This has been so sad to watch. Seems like he has a great support system and wonderful parents who attend games. After a strong 2022 and first 4 games this year, his confidence was very high. 
 

Then came natural grass at Stanford and it’s been downhill again since. I’d never want to be a field goal kicker. 

 

I’ve contended for a while that Oregon should kick more field goals, especially in our OOC preseason games instead of touchdown or bust mentality we’ve displayed for the last 15 years. To me it has always implied that we don’t value field goals until we do and it’s too late. 

[Jon Joseph]

Watching the reply today I had a thought (rare for moi.)

 

Cam, change your jersey and find numbers that do not add up to 13.

[Annie]

At the Auburn-Oregon championship game, I seem to remember Chip deciding to go for a TD 3 or 4 times on short-and-goal rather than try a field goal. Was that Chip just being BB Chip or was he concerned that the kicker wouldn't succeed on the short attempts?

Edited November 13, 2023 by Annie

[Log Haulin]

Lewis made 87ish percent of his fg last year. 64ish percent this year. He was perfect through first 5 games. He has to make these from 45 and in or Lanning needs to try someone else.

 

Penalties and the kicking game will cost Ducks again if it isn't fixed.

[Washington Waddler]

     The pressure of higher expectations from last year, for everyone, has certainly climbed. And, unlike receivers who run a bad route or drop a pass, kickers have no quarterback to go back and talk it over with. It’s all on them.
 

     You might compare his mental situation to that of soccer players assigned penalty shoot out kicks. You can see the ones who get the job done never over think it. They just go out and execute — head down, cold execution.
 

     I don’t know if Camden is over thinking it or not, but it makes me uncomfortable every time this year seeing him out there during time outs kicking at air.

Edited November 13, 2023 by Washington Waddler
missing terms

[spartan2785]

His raw numbers aren't that bad, it's just the pressure kicks where it seems like he gets the yips.  Generally if it's a chip shot he make it, this year against Texas Tech he had two chippies that he made in the 4th quarter.  Last year he had a 41 yard FG to take the lead with 11 minutes to go against Utah.  In 2021 he had a chippie to take the lead against Fresno.  Had basically an extra point attempt to win the game against WSU in his freshman season.

 

Hasn't really had that many kick attempts in the 4th quarter overall in pressure situations overall.  Which probably is more about our coaching staff's propensity for being aggressive in 4th down situations, but might also say something about their actual confidence in Lewis to make a pressure kick outside 35 or so yards.

 

He's probably better than I have given him credit for in the past, but it's also that fact that he doesn't look very confident either.  His kickoffs have also been very up and down, he'll boom one, and then he'll kick one out of bounds.  It's always hard to tell if he's being told to try and directional kick so that we can maybe get a good coverage tackle or if he's just shanking it.

[DrJacksPlaidPants]

On 11/12/2023 at 10:44 PM, Charles Fischer said:

We remember the misses, naturally, and not the makes.

 

But last year at the end of the bowl game--we score with almost no time remaining and it is 27-27 with the PAT to go.  Now keep in mind that Lewis has been kicking the PATs right down the middle.

 

But this was a game-winner, and he got the yips.  He kicked it, and it bounced off the upright, but went in.  Remember the "Chunk" sound?  

 

I remember that kick well. However, I gave him the benefit of the doubt because the playing surface looked like a half eaten taco salad.

[Jon Joseph]

On 11/13/2023 at 6:10 PM, DrJacksPlaidPants said:

I remember that kick well. However, I gave him the benefit of the doubt because the playing surface looked like a half eaten taco salad.

Love the comment. Reminds me of ex-lady friends. 

[Jon Joseph]

Log, too many penalties? Yes.

 

But spinning the ball in the end zone = 15 yards? And a couple of phantom PI calls.

 

We've found our way out of here. Thank Goodness!