Broncos training camp: Connor Barth improving kickoffs
By Tylor Walden
Dec 28, 2014; Denver, CO, USA; Denver Broncos kicker Connor Barth (1) attempts a field goal with a hold by punter Britton Colquitt (4) against the Oakland Raiders in the third quarter at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. The Broncos defeated the Raiders 47-14. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Going into training camp, Connor Barth had a huge weakness that led to the Denver Broncos going with three kickers instead of two. While he was near perfect last year on field goals, his kickoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs were subpar. However, Connor Barth appears to have improved.
During day five of training camp, Connor Barth showed off what he has been working on. His kickoffs appear to look much better than they did back on Week 13 of the 2014 season. If he has improved on the kickoffs, then this would give him a really good shot to expand his role on the roster. Not to mention it would allow the Broncos to have two kickers on the roster instead of three.
Connor Barth told me he worked with a kickoff coach in the offseason. It shows. He kicked a couple out of the endzone today.
— Vic Lombardi (@VicLombardi) August 4, 2015
The Denver Broncos are really hoping that they only need two kickers for the 2015 season and it appears that as long as Connor Barth can continue to impress on kickoffs, that most certainly will be the case. This in return would eliminate one kicker on the roster. Brandon McManus has been competing with Connor Barth on field goal tries. However, in the NFL, it depends on how consistent a player can be as a place kicker.
I am all for Connor Barth taking in the kick off duties. And that comes with two reasons. The first one is having that extra roster spot to have an extra offensive or defensive player. In my opinion, I think that spot should go to a player on defense due to the numerous injuries the team has suffered on defense in the past couple years.
The second reason behind Connor Barth kicking off is his consistency. He has become the team’s most consistent player when it comes to kicking the football. In the past two days of training camp, he has only missed one field goal where Brandon McManus has been somewhat been struggling. McManus went 2-4 on Monday and 3-4 on Tuesday.
With Connor Barth reliable on the field goal duties and his improvement on kick offs, perhaps Broncos fans can now breathe a little bit easier. However, it is still early in training camp and anything can happen. But from the way things look, we could see Connor Barth pulling double duty in the kicking game. And that is a good thing for the Broncos.