I’ve been consciously following National Football League for
almost 40 years and cannot recall a season where games ended in sweetness of
victory or agony of defeat from one player’s accuracy. We’ve watched weekly
highlights of place kickers across the NFL perform shanks, doinks, and far
right gaffes on both point after touchdown attempts and field goals that ultimately
may have played a role in a team’s win-loss record.
Between injuries and performance consistency, teams across
the league are facing significant challenges in securing a viable place kicker.
If there were ever a case re-thinking the power ranking of kickers on a team's roster, we’re seeing it time after time… game after game in the last two
years.
If I could get ‘cheeky’ for a moment- NFL may want to take a
look at contracting rugby kickers. All kidding aside, we can no longer glaze
over or assume a kicker is ‘automatic’ from any distance these days. I’ve
experienced the heartbreak front and center being a proud member of the faithful
San Francisco Forty Niner fan base. The two games the team has lost this year
ended in failed kicks. Robbie Gould, the starting kicker for San Francisco has
been 93% -95% accurate in the previous two years in field goal attempts. For 2019, Gould’s current
accuracy on field goals this year is at a disappointing 63%. Statistics are not noted regarding missed
point after attempts, but I do know there was a game earlier in the year where
Gould did miss 3 point after attempts. Thankfully, those short-distance point-after
gaffes did not affect those game results, where San Francisco ultimately ended
up winning. Gould has been affected this season as well by injury. Gould’s
replacement, Chase McLaughlin has made 13 of 17 field goal attempts, giving him
76% accuracy. Unfortunately, one of those misses affected a game outcome, where
Chase ‘McMissed’ a game winning field goal attempt in overtime against NFC West
rival Seattle Seahawks. Robbie Gould recently missed a field goal in regulation
against the Baltimore Ravens, where the added three points may have culminated
in a tie score for an opportunity to go into overtime, and a chance to win the
game.
San Francisco is not alone in missed field goal woes. Adam Vinatieri
now the starting place kicker for Indianapolis Colts has seen better years.
Vinatieri’s most famous boot to win a game occurred in 2002 while kicking for
the New England Patriots. He kicked an overtime game-winning field goal in
blizzard conditions to catapult the Patriots in the Super Bowl as the AFC
Champion team. Indianapolis can only hope Vinatieri could see such accuracy and
performance now. The kicker once known as Mr. Automatic has been incredibly ‘not-so-matic’,
causing some painful losses this year. The Oakland Raiders has experienced
cringing misses with their main kicker on their payroll, Daniel Carlson as
well.
Football fans and sports analysts must be as perplexed as I,
wondering what has changed in the last year creating doubt and questions with a
teams’ kicking game. A player taking a spot on the special teams roster that’s
been overlooked and taken for granted for many decades has now been shoved in
the spotlight (not always for shiny happy moments). Teams across the NFL may be
hiring ‘special scout’ specifically to pursue “The athlete with the golden foot”
to boost a part of special teams that’s witnessing a mysterious decline.
For now, enjoy a supporting piece on the kicker regression of
2019:
And enjoy some noted recent kicking snafus:
