N/S NFL Kickers better than ever (1 Viewer)

[Winter]

This is purely speculation but it seems like 40-55 yard field goals are more automatic than inside the 35. I've noticed more missed short kicks and extra points than the longer ones whereas it used to be even a 45 yarder wasn't a sure thing.

 

[Saintman2884]

Everything from technique to shoe design has made the advent of 60+ yard field goals possible.
For decades every kicker approached the ball with a straight on leg swing. It wasn't until Jan Stenerud began using the soccer style kick that players began to see how much extra foot speed could be attained with that motion. I suppose that the reasoning for the old style, straight on kicks was that it would make a kick more accurate... which was obviously much more important than having more distance.One of the reasons that Tom Dempsey's 63 yard field goal (in November of 1970) was considered to be so amazing is that the previous record at the time was 'only' 56 yards! That's why some folks (particularly Tex Schramm of the Cowboys) wanted to have his kicking shoe banned from the league, considering it to be an unfair advantage due to the flat metal plate in the front of the custom made shoe.Now that all NFL kickers today use the soccer style leg swing for their kicks, they have all been able to hone that technique to get the most power & speed out of their physique. Sebastian Janikowski had attempted field goals at up to 76 yards long. Though he never connected from that range, it's clear that he would never have been given the chance if the coach hadn't seen him hit from about that range in practice.It lends credence to the idea that the current NFL record 66 yarder by by Justin Tucker is likely to be eclipsed before too long. If I had to guess, I'd think that at some point Brandon Aubrey with the Cowboys will be given a shot at a 67 yarder... and he certainly has both the leg and the accuracy to get the job done.

Bill, along with making a then-NFL record 63-yard FG, Tom Dempsey regularly tried and made FG's from 70 yards in practice whenever the Saints had some training camps in Denver. That's why J.D. Roberts had the courage and confidence to allow Dempsey to try that attempt in the first place (although originally Roberts wanted to try a Hail Mary pass) and former Saints QB Billy Kilmer agreed with the decision because he'd witnessed Dempsey making those 70-yarders in practice. Also, the season before (1969), in a game at L.A. Rams, Dempsey nearly tied the then-NFL record 56 yards with a 55-yarder.It's a true testament to Dempsey's uniqueness and singularity that his record wasn't tied for 28 more years when Jason Elam did it in high-altitude Denver in 1998 and it wasnt outright broken until 2013 again in Denver. 43 years that record stood out for its excellence.I believe he might still be playing, but during his prime with St. Louis/L.A. Rams, I always thought Greg Zuerlein would be the GUY to kick a 65/66-yarder, or come close to making a 70 yarder. IMHO, he had one of the strongest, most accurate legs amongst NFL PK's that I hadn't seen since Morten Anderson. He and Sebastian Janikowski.

 

[Saintman2884]

Also, wasn't Pete Gogolak the first AFL/NFL PK to kick soccer-styled instead of straight-on when he first signed with the AFL's Buffalo Bills?

 

[Cincy Saint]

If this trend continues I can see talk of narrowing the goal posts start.

I've been talking about this idea and one other idea - no FG attempts unless the line of scrimmage is beyond the 50 yard line. I HATE when a team can kick a FG (now with 75% accuracy) when they can't even move the ball into opponents' territory. Why should teams be rewarded with points just from a long kick?

Let's have more TDs and fewer FGs.

 

[Saintman2884]

This is purely speculation but it seems like 40-55 yard field goals are more automatic than inside the 35. I've noticed more missed short kicks and extra points than the longer ones whereas it used to be even a 45 yarder wasn't a sure thing.

Although I'm sure many NCAAF/NFL PK might deny it, usually the reasons why most of them miss the short 30-45 yarders or XP's is their very nervous in those moments and they over-think it or they kick it way too hard on their initial approach and the ball's torque flies further then it should and they miss. Which in retrospect, #1 and #2 are sort of interconnected.

Conversely, when it comes to making 50+ yarders and this factor maybe applies more in college but while accuracy is an important feature, at that distance you're more worried about whether you'll have enough strength and power to kick it with enough force that it comes close, IMHO, it's more of a natural, determinative factor that allows PK's to concentrate then worrying they will "over-kick" it from 39 yards out or do what Austin Seibert did yesterday: allow the tension and anxiety of the moment to overwhelm him that it "gets into his own head", it massively screws with his concentration and he misses maybe one of the most important XP's of his career after his team had busted their arses so hard to get back into the game.

 

[SweetT]

Didn’t seem like anyone missed a FG no matter how far it was for the first month of the season. Feels like I’ve seen maybe 4 made this past 3-4 weeks lol. I think they got the magnets reversed in the ball and goalposts or something

No one will convince me that there are no magnets in the balls. I’ve been convinced long time ago

 

[St.Dan]

Also, wasn't Pete Gogolak the first AFL/NFL PK to kick soccer-styled instead of straight-on when he first signed with the AFL's Buffalo Bills?

He's widely credited with it, yes, as he started playing a few years before Stenerud. Both are still living, btw. Stenerud's 82nd birthday is tomorrow, actually.

But as a lover of watching old games, I can certainly say some of the best teams of yesteryear had super-subpar kicking games back then compared to today. Anything beyond 50 yards back in the day was considered difficult, unless it was Stenerud, Morten Andersen, Gary Anderson, Nick Lowery, Eddie Murray, maybe a few others and that's it?

 

[DaveXA]

I agree the last few weeks have been wacky for special teams
However I really wish we had more statistical literacy in our sports
A career 80% free throw shooter is 10/10 during a game and fans act super surprised he misses a shot with :04 left

Now we have a bunch of kickers regressing to the mean around the same time
It might be anecdotally interesting (I think it is) but it’s not really statistically relevant
Commentators just carve out the sample size that supports a narrative
It’s good fiction but lazy analysis

I mean, I can get that, but a guy making 26 PATs in a row, then missing 2 in the same game is really unusual. And this is a guy who's been around a while. It's like watching Steph Curry missing 3 or 4 free throws in a row.

 

[Derek_B]

And our has missed a lot.
Very interesting article.

And the craziest thing is Cowboys K Aubrey, 26-26 in Fgs….never even played football in college.

Add that to the list of things you don't need to go to college for.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

I mean, I can get that, but a guy making 26 PATs in a row, then missing 2 in the same game is really unusual. And this is a guy who's been around a while. It's like watching. It's like watching Steph Curry missing 3 or 4 free throws in a row.

but that's what I mean - if he's made 13 missed one then made another 13 and missed another one, no one bats an eye- but it's the same thing really

 

[DaveXA]

but that's what I mean - if he's made 13 missed one then made another 13 and missed another one, no one bats an eye- but it's the same thing really

Not really. Usually when a player misses, they immediately know why they missed and make a correction. So missing back to back is extremely rare for elite players.

 

[guidomerkinsrules]

No one will convince me that there are no magnets in the balls. I’ve been convinced long time ago

 

[Saintman2884]

He's widely credited with it, yes, as he started playing a few years before Stenerud. Both are still living, btw. Stenerud's 82nd birthday is tomorrow, actually.

But as a lover of watching old games, I can certainly say some of the best teams of yesteryear had super-subpar kicking games back then compared to today. Anything beyond 50 yards back in the day was considered difficult, unless it was Stenerud, Morten Andersen, Gary Anderson, Nick Lowery, Eddie Murray, maybe a few others and that's it?

Some may dispute this argument (and that’s okay, accuracy is what I’m looking for) but most NFL PK’s 40-45 years ago didn’t possess the same comparative leg strength, power, accuracy rates, or even durability like the current generation. Except for perhaps Morten Andersen, Gary Anderson, or even Chicago’s Kevin Butler, most NFL PK’s didn’t have that strong leg strength to make it regularly from 50+ yards, much less try anything close to 60 yards. Gary Anderson, even earlier on in his career in Pittsburgh, never had the powerful leg strength, IMHO, to kick it 60-65 yards. He was known for being very accurate, that’s what made him so great for so long.


Eddie Murray was great, too but he had a penchant for for missing important GW, postseason kicks like the one he missed @ Niners in a close 1983 Divisional Playoff game where he missed a potential game-winning FG IIRC, from 42 yards out. That miss devastated Detroit and kind of short-circuited a possible HOF career by Billy Sims and after that miss, Lions didn’t return to the playoffs until 1991. Murray wasn’t always clutch when the Lions and later the Vikings needed him to be.


Now, guys like Nick Lowery and Norm Johnson of Seattle Seahawks were just as good making 46-yarders in preseason games as they were nailing GW FG’s in the playoffs for their teams to advance. They didn’t have these ultra-powerful howitzer for legs, but they were completely reliable when you needed them to be and both PK’s, like Morten and Gary Anderson, played for close to 20 years. Before Butker arrived on the scene, some Chiefs fans viewed Lowery as the franchise’s best-ever kicker, better than Stenerud.

I realize that sounds almost heretical considering Stenerud is a HOF kicker, but Lowery was and still is beloved for his career longevity, being a top-notched PK for so long but also he wasn’t this naturally, almost-superhuman talent that Stenerud and others had, he was a huge over-achiever and in very large, community-conscious Midwest cities like Kansas City, they really gravitate and deeply appreciate that extreme amount of effort given by guys like Lowery who bust their arses to make a difference.

 

[Artifactual]

The Bar (no pun intended) has been raised for todays NFL Kickers compared to Kickers of the past.

Kickers of yesteryear did not have the computer, internet, smart phone, 4-D imaging, slow motion film, advanced shoe wear, training, professional coaching, technique, nutrition, strength, historical data, analytics, playing surfaces, enclosed stadiums, or even consistently inflated footballs, that current Kickers have today.

There are 4 Kickers in the NFL Hall of Fame.

1. Lou Groza - (1946-1967) Nicknamed "The Toe". Multi-Positional Player, Offensive Tackle, Center, Defensive Tackle, Kicker. 1974 HOF Inductee - Played 21 seasons in a totally different era. Career 54.9% FG, Long make of 51 yards. Would not make an NFL teams as a Kicker much less sniff the HOF with those stats today.

2. George Blanda - (1949-1975) QB-K, HOF Inductee 1981 - Played 26 seasons. Career 52.3% FG, Long make of 55 yards. Would not make a team today as a kicker.

3. Jan Stenerud - (1967-1985) - Kicker (Specialist), HOF Inductee 1991. Played 19 seasons. Career 66.8% FG, Long make of 55 yards. Below avg. by today's standards.

4. Morten Anderson - (1982-2007) - Kicker (Specialist), HOF Inductee 2017. Played 25 seasons. Career 79.7% FG, Long make of 60. yards. Avg. by today's standards.


Bonus: Gary Anderson (1982-2004) - Kicker (Specialist), Not Yet Inducted into HOF. Played 23 seasons. Career 80.1% FG, Long of 55 yards. Avg. by today's standards.

 

[DSnfla]

And our has missed a lot.
Very interesting article.

And the craziest thing is Cowboys K Aubrey, 26-26 in Fgs….never even played football in college.

Grupe has missed ONE FG this yr. 2 XPs how is that missing a lot?