Lutz is now the second most accurate kicker of all time (1 Viewer)

[Outbackjack]

Interesting that 1-2-3-4-5-6 are all currently rly active.

NFL Field Goal % Career Leaders (since 1938) | Pro-Football-Reference.com

1. Eddy Piñeiro (89.744%), 2. Justin Tucker (89.371%), 3. Harrison Butker (89.212%), 4. Chris Boswell (87.919%), 5. Daniel Carlson (87.273%),

www.pro-football-reference.com

 

[Outbackjack]

The names from the 1980’s kickers are still the greatest ever.....

Uwe Von Schaman
Garo Yapremium
Efren Herrera
Rolf Benersha
Ali Haji-Sheik
Rafael Septian

 

[superchuck500]

Interesting that 1-2-3-4-5-6 are all currently rly active.

NFL Field Goal % Career Leaders (since 1938) | Pro-Football-Reference.com

1. Eddy Piñeiro (89.744%), 2. Justin Tucker (89.371%), 3. Harrison Butker (89.212%), 4. Chris Boswell (87.919%), 5. Daniel Carlson (87.273%),

www.pro-football-reference.com

Yeah I was thinking a lot about that yesterday.

My theory is that modern training supported by AI and computer analytics have helped kickers become more consistent in their technique. Sort of like how golfers similarly work their swing, it seems kicking can be honed in that same way with modern training and technology. Plus I think kickers are much more athletic than they used to be - all the players are.

Also I wonder if full-time long snappers, holders, and dedicated regular practice time might help with the repetition that helps produce consistent accuracy. Not sure how much that has changed.

But it certainly suggests that something about the modern, active kicker yields more consistent, accurate kicking than it used to. I'd like to see the make percentages for FGs from 50+ and 40+ compared by decade. That would be interesting - based on what we're seeing, I imagine that the numbers have improved if, say, you compared 2010s to 1990s.

 

[Dart]

Yeah I was thinking a lot about that yesterday.

My theory is that modern training supported by AI and computer analytics have helped kickers become more consistent in their technique. Sort of like how golfers similarly work their swing, it seems kicking can be honed in that same way with modern training and technology. Plus I think kickers are much more athletic than they used to be - all the players are.

Also I wonder if full-time long snappers, holders, and dedicated regular practice time might help with the repetition that helps produce consistent accuracy. Not sure how much that has changed.

But it certainly suggests that something about the modern, active kicker yields more consistent, accurate kicking than it used to. I'd like to see the make percentages for FGs from 50+ and 40+ compared by decade. That would be interesting - based on what we're seeing, I imagine that the numbers have improved if, say, you compared 2010s to 1990s.

I wa reading something about this last night actually. Apparently kickers now are as accurate from 50 as they were from 30 in the 1970s. And you're right about technology. We know now, for instance, that the optimal trajectory for a football to leave a kickers foot and clear the Line but not get hit by too much drag is about 43.5°. We know that a foot speed of 43-49mph is required for most kicks between 30-55 yards and that the ideal place to strike the ball is about 1 quarter of the way up, high on the instep of your foot. And most importantly, we can now measure all of those variables real time to improve consistency. It'll be interesting to see how much more accurate they can become.

 

[bobad]

Second best kicker maybe, but definitely the most savage kicker.

 

[RaisingTheBar]

I get you. Kamara is a more accurate passer than Brees. Stats prove it.

So were you too lazy to look it up? Or did you and realized it still didn't help your point so then just went completely off topic with something that no one would even consider; since with every major statistic there is always a qualifying minimum. Again, as someone pointed out already the title said accurate, not best career.

 

[JustaSharkie]

We just need to give big-nutz Lutz more opportunities to kick extra points instead of field goals.

 

[jbourque]

Garrett Hartley is a legend

Without a doubt. Hartley kicked the most important FG in franchise history. But he is not and was not a better kicker than Lutz.

 

[ShortFuzed9]

Without a doubt. Hartley kicked the most important FG in franchise history. But he is not and was not a better kicker than Lutz.

To be clear I didnt say he was better than Wil Lutz. Garrett is a legend He was perfect that 09-10 year

 

[Bill]

I get you. Kamara is a more accurate passer than Brees. Stats prove it.

Well, he'd have a pretty good case if he has the same completion percentage after throwing 100 or more passes.

 

[Saint Kamara]

Interesting that 1-2-3-4-5-6 are all currently rly active.

NFL Field Goal % Career Leaders (since 1938) | Pro-Football-Reference.com

1. Eddy Piñeiro (89.744%), 2. Justin Tucker (89.371%), 3. Harrison Butker (89.212%), 4. Chris Boswell (87.919%), 5. Daniel Carlson (87.273%),

www.pro-football-reference.com

Yeah kickers have gotten so much better than yesteryear.

 

[David Robbins]

Let's see where he's at after 10 seasons. It's too soon to tell about him. Remember, Hartley didn't look that bad early on.

 

[literature]

I appreciate the contributions but I think we’re missing two big reasons:

1. Rule changes make it much harder to block and pressure kickers nowadays

and the biggest reason:


2. Way, way, way more kids are playing soccer nowadays. You would struggle to find a kid in the 70s who played soccer and also football, now almost every kid in the suburbs plays it.