Regarding Russell Erxeleben!

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by Bill in Sinton, Mar 1, 2009.

  1. Hpslugga

    Hpslugga 2,500+ Posts


     
  2. Steel Shank

    Steel Shank 1,000+ Posts

    Under "All Americans" on Texassports.com:

    Russell Erxleben, P/PK - 1976, 77, 78
     
  3. Hpslugga

    Hpslugga 2,500+ Posts

  4. Steel Shank

    Steel Shank 1,000+ Posts

    Steel Shank knew you'd come around. [​IMG]

    Admittedly, he didn't do well in the pros, but SS doesn't really care about the pros.
     
  5. Hpslugga

    Hpslugga 2,500+ Posts

    Let me recap the relevant points just to show what I’m getting at because I don’t think you followed.

    The OP said

     
  6. Steel Shank

    Steel Shank 1,000+ Posts

    Did he ever lose a game for us?
     
  7. Hpslugga

    Hpslugga 2,500+ Posts

    I don't accept the premise of that question, even if the "answer" was favorable to Dawson. No one man wins or loses football games.

    The bottom line is that Dawson was more accurate, had either as strong or a stronger leg, and thus was more reliable for his team.
     
  8. TornJock

    TornJock 100+ Posts


     
  9. Htown77

    Htown77 5,000+ Posts

    I wish we could find another kicker and punter like RE too. I also prefer kickers who will choose be part of the playboy all-american team, hpslugga cough phil dawson cough.
    Lets recap the main points:
    op: RE was the best I wish we had another
    slugga: RE was horrible in the pros making him a horrible kicker who cheated. I love/am Phil Dawson.
    steel: WTF?
    me: Phil Dawson wasn't on the playboy all-american team, a worse crime than
    anything RE did.
    OP: Wasn't VY great? I wish we had another.
    slugga: VY isn't doing well in the pros so he must have sucked in college. Since VY hasn't done well in the NFL, I really don't want another VY on the forty acres. I really don't like winning football games or national championships either. I just want players to do well in the pros. I don't want another ricky williams or cedric benson either.
     
  10. gobears92

    gobears92 Guest

    this thread kicks *** with everyone chiming in....we need more like it... [​IMG]
     
  11. Steel Shank

    Steel Shank 1,000+ Posts

    The OP was just throwing out some props to a former UT All-American. No need to make it a "who's better".

    Who's ready for a sandwich and a beer?
     
  12. topwater

    topwater 100+ Posts

    TornJock is right. RE was an average QB in high school. hell, if I could bring him down, he wasn't gonna be too good at the next level. dude could frickin' kick though
     
  13. orangecat

    orangecat 1,000+ Posts

    slugga, I understand what you are saying about accuracy being more important than length, but I sure don't remember any big misses. And take this from someone who remembers some misses.

    I remember one of Ward's attempts on January 1, 1984. I saw it go right over the upright, thought it was good, but I'm pretty sure the rule is that if it goes over the upright it's no good.

    But I do remember the two games he won in '77, the OU game everybody remembers, but the other one is the very next week, against the Hogs. 13-9. RE accounts for 7 of the 13 points.
     
  14. blonthang

    blonthang 2,500+ Posts

    My recollection: Erxleben was a straight-on, classic field goal kicker, with the "side-winder" soccer kickers just coming into vogue.

    I remember a friend comment when watching him kick a field goal against Rice, something to the effect: "He's got a REAL good leg, but his "wind up", his approach and time-to-kick, combined with his straight-on style (apparently soccer style gives quicker loft above the defensive linemen's hands) --- won't make it in the pros as a place kicker."

    Something like that.

    His (apparent) slow delivery was also noted by my friend when he punted. IIRC, Texas had him set back deeper than typical punters for this reason, but since he had such a strong leg it didn't hurt his punting --- actually, gave pursuit another half second or so.

    My cobwebs in the brain recollection.

    Oh, btw, I did see his kick against Rice in 1977 --- what was it, 67 yards? The crowd gasped as we saw him place the tee --- on TEXAS' side of the 50-yard line to kick a field goal.

    He made it with a couple of yards to spare.

    Hook 'em
     
  15. Hpslugga

    Hpslugga 2,500+ Posts


     
  16. RomaVicta

    RomaVicta 5,000+ Posts

    I don't recall Erxleben being innaccurate.

    I do remember another anecdote from the OU game of 1977. After one of RE's field goals, he kicked off and hit one of the uprights. A guy behind said, "hell, that's even harder than kicking a field goal."

    Pretty good quip.
     
  17. Hpslugga

    Hpslugga 2,500+ Posts

    He wasn't "inaccurate" per se, he was just less accurate than a lot of the great kickers we've had.
     
  18. orangecat

    orangecat 1,000+ Posts

    For those of you who were at the '77 OU game, had his punt at the end of the game not been caught, do you think it rolls to the end zone? IOW, could this have been a 90+ yard punt?
     
  19. pmg

    pmg 1,000+ Posts

    oreangecat,
    maybe. It's been a while; I was sitting on about the opposite side 15 caddy corner, close to RE when he kicked it and remember seeing the OU guy turn around to catch it. It certainly would have bounced at least another 10 yds but I can't say how close it was to that sideline.
     
  20. TDTexas!

    TDTexas! 250+ Posts


     
  21. overmaars

    overmaars 1,000+ Posts


     
  22. RomaVicta

    RomaVicta 5,000+ Posts

    orangecat,

    Going purely on memory, the punt was in the middle of the field and would have bounced at around the 25 with an excellent chance of getting to the endzone or dribbling out of bounds inside the ten.

    It is the best punt in a key situation I have ever seen.

    In either 74 or 75, OU had Joe Washington execute a quick kick that rolled fifty yards or so and put us too far from their endzone to score at the end of the game. As my memory has it, we were beginning to chew them up with the wishbone at the end of the game. Washington's kick and the call are also right up there with the most effective kicks I've ever seen.

    Oh, Washington made the kick from a running formation, caught us and everybody completely by surprise.
     
  23. blonthang

    blonthang 2,500+ Posts

    HPSlugga,

    Thanks for the insight.

    Obviously, you know a bunch about this stuff.

    Good info.

    Hook 'em
     
  24. kyler

    kyler 100+ Posts

    Soooo..........anyone have a tape of that '77 okla game????????

    Erxleben's FG's were 58 & 64 yds. THE punt: late in the 4th qtr, game on the line, backed up to our own goal line, okla had one last chance to get the ball in good field position, punt goes 69 yds, game over!
    Earl & the D were awesome, Erxleben never got enough credit. Ask that jackass switzer about Erxleben.
    If memory serves, Grant Teaff was involved in the rule change, I believe regarding bringing the ball back to the LOS after a missed FG. I remember hearing Erxleben refer to the "Grant Teaff rule"

    I don't know how he was recruited but the story about Coach Royal watching him kick in practice then telling him his QB days were over is accurate.

    If you get a chance to see the 4th &1 play, look for Brad Shearer down low on Lott while Johnnie Johnson goes high and puts the smack down.
     
  25. orangecat

    orangecat 1,000+ Posts

    yeah, I remember reading about Grant Teaff crying because A & M beat him because of two 60+ yard field goals by Franklin. I want to say 63 and 64 yards. Probably the first time anybody hit two field goals over 60 in one game.

    What was it with Grant Teaff and rules/officials?? what a pain.
     
  26. orangecat

    orangecat 1,000+ Posts

    Here is Wikipedia on Tony Franklin:

    Franklin played college football at Texas A&M University where he set the record for the longest collegiate field goal of 65 yards on October 16, 1976 against Baylor University. This record was short-lived when Ove Johansson—on the same day—kicked a 69 yard field goal.[1] However, Franklin also kicked a 64 yard field goal in the same game and remains the only college player to kick two 60+ yard field goals in one game.

    The thing about Franklin was he had so much more surface area hitting the ball than Erxleben. From what I remember reading in Dave Campbell's Texas Football, Tony kicked the ball with the top of his barefoot, not the instep. Now Tony might have benefited from his small foot. I bet his foot matched up perfectly with the size of the ball. His foot was reportedly a size 8 ish.

    A couple of other interesting tidbits.

    1. I remember watching on TV(Monday Night Football) as Tony made his 59 yard field goal against the Cowboys, and
    the ball would have been good from 65 easily.

    To me, this debunks the "tee theory" meaning because they had a tee in college, it was automatically going to take x amount of yards away from the kick in the pros without a tee, depending upon the kicker. Tony was unique. His game was almost as good. Remember Tony's longest in college was 65, and that kick was made with the old rules. The rule about placing the ball at the LOS limited the opportunities of someone like Tony. Had the NFL operated under the old college rules, Tony might have had multiple opportunities for 65 yard field goals.

    The other thing to me that is strange is that with Franklin so successful at using the top of his foot, why didn't others copy that style instead of using soccer style?
     
  27. Hpslugga

    Hpslugga 2,500+ Posts


     
  28. Live_at_Rauls

    Live_at_Rauls < 25 Posts

    "His (apparent) slow delivery was also noted by my friend when he punted. IIRC, Texas had him set back deeper than typical punters for this reason, but since he had such a strong leg it didn't hurt his punting"



    This is not entirely accurate. While he may have had a slow delivery on usual punting situations, he had a different style when punting from the endzone with less than his normal dropback distance.

    In normal situations, he would receive the ball, then take his steps and punt. When punting with restricted space out of the endzone, he would make his first step while the ball was centered, and then kick it, saving a step, and getting ball off much quicker.

    He used to practice this in pregame warmups.
     
  29. Texas Jack

    Texas Jack 1,000+ Posts


     
  30. Texas Jack

    Texas Jack 1,000+ Posts


     

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