Post by David on May 19, 2016 13:04:09 GMT -8
Veteran K Brady Beeson returns to Spokane (image courtesy of Gary Peterson Photography/Spokane Empire)
5.19.16 -
The revolving door as the Spokane Empire's kicker has spun again as the team announced the re-singing of Brady Beeson to the active roster.
Beeson (6'2'', 215 lbs, University of St. Thomas) is a 4-year arena/indoor football veteran and looks to solidify himself as the Empire's kicker for the rest of the season. He played in only 1 game for the Empire, a 54-51 victory against the Iowa Barnstormers on April 1st. He was a perfect 6-for-6 on extra point attempts, but 0-for-3 on field goal attempts. Beeson was released the following week in favor of veteran K Kyle Brotzman.
Prior to joining Spokane, Beeson joined Tri-Cities just before the 2012 IFL Playoffs. He would spend next two seasons as the Fever's primary kicker. After the 2014 season, he would go on to sign with the Portland Thunder of the Arena Football League. He entered the 2015 season as the Thunder's primary kicker. In a Week 1 victory against the Los Angeles KISS, he went 6 for 6 on extra point attempts. The next week, he was replaced by K Zach Ramirez after head coach Mike Hohensee expressed displeasure with Beeson's kickoffs. Soon afterward, Beeson rejoined the Fever and finished out the season. In two and a half seasons with the Fever, he became the team's all-time leading scorer by a kicker, converting 59 field goals and 165 extra points for a total of 342 total points.
The signing of Beeson resulted in the team's release of K Steve Wakefield, who signed with Spokane on on April 15th.
Kicker Steven Wakefield (image courtesy of Sarah Gordon / Tri-City Herald)
Wakefield (5'11, 180 lbs, Mercyhurst) began the season with the Tri-Cities Fever, playing in 6 games and converting 18-of-27 extra points (66.0%) but was 10-of-27 on field goal attempts. Since joining the Empire on April 15th, he was very successful on kickoff and on onside kicks, but inconsistent on extra points (10-of-17), including going 0-of-2 on the Empire's first two scoring drives in a 50-63 loss to the Sioux Falls Storm. The missed extra points prompted the Empire to attempt 2-point conversions for the rest of the game. Wakefield was 0-for-4 on 3 point field goals, but three of those attempts were essentially punts as they ranged for 50 yards or more.
Empire fans have to be hoping that Beeson will be a solid fixture at the kicking position, especially when it comes to converting extra points. The Empire currently rank 8th in the IFL with a PAT conversion rate of 69.4%. The only other teams worse than the Empire at PAT conversions are the Tri-Cities Fever (68.2%) and the Green Bay Blizzard (66.0%).
As a team, the Empire are a combined 0-11 on 3-point field goal attempts (7 were beyond 50 yards) and are the only team in the IFL not to convert on a 3-point field goal. According to the Spokesman-Review, eight other IFL teams have made between 9 and 17 field goals. The only other team aside from Spokane not to have 9 or more field goals converted is the Iowa Barnstormers, who are 3-of-14 on field goals.
Despite the struggles at kicker, the Empire rank 2nd in the IFL in kickoff coverage (33.5 yard net) and have recovered 4-of-5 onside kick attempts. In comparison, the rest of the IFL is 14-of-20 on onside kick attempts.
- DKH
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