NFL Kickers better than ever
Excerpts from the OP excerpts of the 12/09/23 article in this thread, which was after week 13 of the 2023 season.
Shayne Graham played his final game in 2015 after 15 seasons as one of the best field goal kickers, statistically speaking, the NFL had seen.
Recently, Graham studied the all-time list of NFL career field goal percentage.
“I’m sitting at 18,” he said in late November. “For the longest time, I was number two. I may have even hit number one for a second. My 85.5 percent has been slowly dropping down the charts. As soon as these young guys hit 100 field goals, they qualify, and I just keep getting bumped down.”
On Sunday, Cleveland Browns kicker Dustin Hopkins made all three field goals he attempted and boosted his career percentage from 85.4 to 85.6. Graham dropped another spot, to 19th.
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Fast forward just 7 games played after this article was published and Shayne Graham has already fallen another 2 spots from 19th to 21st. By the end of this season, he most likely will barely be in the top 25. By the end of the 2026 season, he most certainly will be outside of the top 25. Brandon Aubrey (DAL), Cameron Dicker (LAC), and a few others haven't yet qualified with 100 attempts. When they do, they will soar past Graham on the all-time list.
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Excerpts from a 9/17/24 article by John Breech of CBS Sports as viewed at www.cbssports.com
NFL kickers off to historic start that's turning the league upside down through the first two weeks
Is 2024 the year of the kicker?
Through two weeks, the 2024 NFL season is turning into the year of the kicker.
Collectively, the NFL's 32 kickers have been so good this year from long range that coaches have been much more willing to send out their kicker for a long-distance field goal attempt.
Through the first two weeks of the season,
kickers have combined to hit 35 of 39 field goals (89.7%) from 50 yards or longer, which is the highest accuracy rate ever through two weeks.
The crazy thing about that stat is that the most accurate kicker in NFL history,
Justin Tucker, is responsible for two of those four misses.
The fact that kickers are hitting this many field goals from long range is unprecedented.
As recently as 2006, there were only 40 field goals from 50 yards or longer for the ENTIRE SEASON.
In 2006, kickers hit just 47.1% of their attempts from 50 yards or long, which tells you how much more accurate players have gotten at the position.
There have been 11 field goal attempts of 55 or longer this year with kickers hitting nine of them (81.8%). And once again, to put that in perspective, there were only eight attempts of 55 yards or longer during the ENTIRE 2006 season with kickers only hitting 25% of those.
The explosion of long kicks has been led by Houston's Kaʻimi Fairbairn, who has six field goals of 50 yards or more through the first two weeks. That number is the NFL record for the most field goals of 50 yards or longer in a two-game span.
In Week 1, Fairbairn and Chris Boswell both hit three field goals from 50 yards or longer, marking the first time in NFL history that multiple kickers accomplished that feat in the same week.
When it comes to long range field goals, the game has changed. Kickers are now more accurate and because of that, coaches are now more trusting.
Through the first two weeks, there have been more field goals (141) than touchdowns, which marks the first time that's ever happened in the opening two weeks.
A big reason why the field goal number is so high is because kickers combined to hit 73 of them in Week 2, which is an NFL record for a single week.
That broke the old record of 69, which was set during the 2016 season.
There have been 136 touchdowns this year with 128 of those coming on the offensive side of the ball and eight coming on defense or special teams.
If the field goal number stays ahead of the touchdown number, we'll see another NFL first because there has NEVER been a season in league history where there have been more field goals than touchdowns.
Full Article In Link Below:
https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/...ague-upside-down-through-the-first-two-weeks/
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These are some pretty impressive stats regarding kickers and the confidence coaches now have in them to make kicks beyond 50 yards.
Consider DAL kicker Brandon Aubrey lined up and made a 66-yard FG in week 1 that would have tied the all-time distance record, only to be nullified due to a penalty.
Saints kicker Blake Grupe is 2 out of 2 from 50+ yards out. In week 1 he tied his career long with a 57 yarder, which is tied for the 2nd longest in the NFL this year.
When a coach considers sending out his kicker for a 50 yard FG attempt or longer, there's a risk/reward to that decision. At 50 the ball is kicked from the opponents 40 yard line which means you are facing a fourth down with the ball at their 33 yard line. A miss would give your opponent the ball at their own 40 and set them up within a short distance to score themselves should your kicker miss. A kick from 60 yards out is a ten yard further risk for all things considered.
Also, you would have to consider going for it unless the down and distance for a first down is beyond reason. Going for it and gaining a 1st down would put your team in position to continue the drive, possibly scoring a TD, or at least attempting a shorter FG, all while continuing to possess the ball. A failed 4th down try instead of a 50-yard FG attempt would only spot the ball at the 33-yard line for the other team to start their drive. This would seem to be the safer decision.
For NFL coaches it comes down to the trust they have at the moment in their kicker.
It would be interesting to see what analytics say about attempting a FG from 50 or beyond versus going for it on 4th down instead of attempting the FG.