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

[Artifactual]

Posted On 12/11/23

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.

Posted On 11/25/24

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

To be fair to @Outbackjack, @DSnfla, his post you are replying to is from last year.

At the time Blake Grupe was 24 out of 31 on FGs (77.4%) and 27 out of 27 (100%) on PATs. Grupe didn't miss again in the 2023 season and finished the season setting or tying numerous Saints Rookie and/or Franchise Records while finishing the season 30 out of 37 (81.1%) on FGs and 40 out of 40 (100%) on PATs.

Cowboys Kicker Brandon Aubrey finished the 2023 season 36 of 38 on FGs (94.7%) and 49 out of 52 (94.2%) on PATs. He was named to the Pro Bowl and All-Pro.

Fast forward to the 2024 season through Week 12.

Brandon Aubrey is currently 25 out of 30 (83.3%) on FGs and 18 out of 18 (100%) on PATs. He's currently having a bit of the yips missing 3 of his last 6 FG attempts.

Blake Grupe is currently 18 out of 19 (94.7%) and 26 out of 28 (92.9%) on PATs.

Grupe (94.7%) trails only Jake Bates (100%) out of all kickers that have attempted at least 10 FGs in 2024. He's quietly having an excellent season so far.

 

[JRead2]

I've watched the son of a close friend kick 2 - 55 yard field goals in college, and he is only a Sophomore. It comes as no surprise, as I watched the same kid kick a 55-yarder when he was in 8th grade.

I was at a college game this past weekend and watched a different kicker nail a 59 yarder, and it had plenty more on it. Kicking is definitely getting better.

 

[AARPSaint]

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.

Groza was a guard IIRC and a good one. Blanda was a decent QB. I suspect that they were inducted into the HoF largely because of their versatility, But it is interesting and evident that kicking has gotten significantly better.

 

[faceman]

Groza was a guard IIRC and a good one. Blanda was a decent QB. I suspect that they were inducted into the HoF largely because of their versatility, But it is interesting and evident that kicking has gotten significantly better.

Yes, Groza is in the HOF due to his play at guard. Blanda was a starting Qb for the Oilers and the backup for
Lamonica in Oakland until Stabler arrived.

Stenerud and Andersen are the only 2 pure kickers in the HOF. They will be joined by Adam Viniaterri
shortly and Justin Tucker later.

 

[faceman]

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.

It saddens me to say this,but I think Morten would have difficulty making a current NFL roster. I don't
believe Stenerud would. Andersen isn't even in the top 50 when it comes to % anymore. I've watched
the game for 50+ years. Place kicking has improved far more than any other position.

https://www.footballdb.com/leaders/career-fieldgoals-pct

 

[AARPSaint]

Yes, Groza is in the HOF due to his play at guard. Blanda was a starting Qb for the Oilers and the backup for
Lamonica in Oakland until Stabler arrived.

Stenerud and Andersen are the only 2 pure kickers in the HOF. They will be joined by Adam Viniaterri
shortly and Justin Tucker later.

In the OLD days, there were a few kickers who played other positions. Yale Lary, Danny White, even Pat Summerall. No doubt there are others. Nowadays, it seems that the kickers practice separately, which means that the holder is the punter rather than the backup QB. It’s harder to do a fake FG without a viable offensive threat back there. What about using Taysom Hill as the holder and watching opposing ST coordinators heads explode? Hayball’s fake punt was great!

 

[Doug B]

Groza is in the HOF due to his play at guard. Blanda was a starting Qb for the Oilers

George Blanda was also the unanimous AFL MVP in 1961. He led the AFL in passing yardage twice, passing attempts three times and completions three times. Blanda was the Oilers' starting QB and full-time placekicker the first six and a half years of their existence.

All that after a ten-year career in Chicago as the Bears' (mostly) backup QB and kicker. After Houston, Blanda's time in Oakland was almost exclusively as a kicker (one QB starts in nine seasons).

 

[Artifactual]

Excerpts from a 11/18/24 article by Chris Trapasso with CBSSports.Com:

NFL kickers missing more field goals than normal in 2024?​

Comparing current numbers to previous seasons​

Diving deep to decide whether or not the NFL has a field-goal kicking problem in 2024​

What is up with NFL kickers?

We know they're booming field goals through the uprights from 50- and 60-plus yards like never before, but it feels like they haven't been nearly as accurate as in years past.

Based on the most recent five-year sample, including 2024, overall field-goal make percentage is essentially unchanged, right around 85%. I even went back a few years before that, and the overall make percentage has typically been right in that range.

But take a look at the shorter, 40-49 yard attempts this season compared to the other years.

Season	40-49 Yards	50+ Yards	Overall FG Make %
2024	76.9%	71.7%	84.9%
2023	79.6%	68.6%	85.9%
2022	80.4%	68.7%	85%
2021	77.6%	65.9%	85.1%
2020	80.5%	63%	84.5%

As expected, the 50-plus yarders have become more routine. That 71.7% was the highest in at least the last 10 years, and I assume the highest make rate in NFL history.

But on those 40-49 yarders, there's been a clear dip this year from the past few seasons.

Another, even more strikingly noticeable difference in 2024. Whether it be a cumulative feeling of pressure on these kickers, or something completely unrelated, these stronger-legged field goal kickers have not been as reliable in the final quarter of games through Week 11 (before "Monday Night Football").
How about in the final five minutes of the game? How have kickers performed in what truly is crunch time?

Season	Fourth-Quarter FG Makes With 5:00 Or Less Left In Game
2024	80%
2023	83.8%
2022	80.1%
2021	87.5%
2020	81.3%

This season is almost identical to 2022 and not distantly far from 2020. But nonetheless, the 2024 campaign to date represents the lowest field-goal make rate in that crunch-time scenario over the past five years.

And this season -- in the second half, with a chance to tie or take the lead -- kickers have made just 79% of their kicks, which is the lowest rate since 2020, when they collectively converted on 76.4% of such kicks.

Why's this happening? Hard to pinpoint why shorter kicks would be missed at a higher rate. Kind of defies logic, frankly. My guess stems from the game of golf. The faster you swing your driver, the further you're attempting to hit it, the less likely you are to hit the fairway.

Kickers are "hitting fairways" more than ever before on longer kicks, but it's not as though they're kicking with less boom on, say, a 47-yarder than a 52-yarder.

Whatever the reason, the fact is, NFL kickers haven't been as reliable in critical situations -- and even on shorter boots -- this season, and it's become one of the largest storylines in football that has had a drastic impact on the standings for a handful of teams.

Full Article in Link Below:

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/nfl-kickers-missing-more-field-goals-than-normal-in-2024-comparing-current-numbers-to-previous-seasons/#:~:text=Based%20on%20the%20most%20recent,been%20right%20in%20that%20range.

 

[HattiesburgWhoDat]

It saddens me to say this,but I think Morten would have difficulty making a current NFL roster. I don't
believe Stenerud would. Andersen isn't even in the top 50 when it comes to % anymore. I've watched
the game for 50+ years. Place kicking has improved far more than any other position.

https://www.footballdb.com/leaders/career-fieldgoals-pct

That's hard to say. If they kicked today MA and Stenerud would have the same access to the new techniques and coaches that current kickers have so they would be even better now than they were in their hay days. As good as they were back then they would be that much better today.

 

[faceman]

In the OLD days, there were a few kickers who played other positions. Yale Lary, Danny White, even Pat Summerall. No doubt there are others. Nowadays, it seems that the kickers practice separately, which means that the holder is the punter rather than the backup QB. It’s harder to do a fake FG without a viable offensive threat back there. What about using Taysom Hill as the holder and watching opposing ST coordinators heads explode? Hayball’s fake punt was great!

That was mostly due to roster sizes. It was 33 in the 50's and 40 from 1964- 74. Teams really couldn't afford to
save a roster spot for a specialist. Starters in that era also played on special teams.

A brief history of roster sizes in the NFL

A look at NFL roster sizes and associated rules from 1920 to 2020

www.hogshaven.com

 

[AARPSaint]

That was mostly due to roster sizes. It was 33 in the 50's and 40 from 1964- 74. Teams really couldn't afford to
save a roster spot for a specialist. Starters in that era also played on special teams.

A brief history of roster sizes in the NFL

A look at NFL roster sizes and associated rules from 1920 to 2020

www.hogshaven.com

That article is fascinating. Had no idea of the myriad of changes to the roster rules over the years.

I think I started getting interested in the NFL in the late 50s and remember Chuck Bednarik playing C and MLB at a high level, but not so much lots of players playing both offense and defense. So, no wonder more past kickers played other positions than is the case today.

 

[RJS]

That was mostly due to roster sizes. It was 33 in the 50's and 40 from 1964- 74. Teams really couldn't afford to
save a roster spot for a specialist. Starters in that era also played on special teams.

A brief history of roster sizes in the NFL

A look at NFL roster sizes and associated rules from 1920 to 2020

www.hogshaven.com

I happened to hear Steve Tasker (Bills special teams ace from their SB teams) just today talking about how he feels that he played in the golden age of special teams. The rosters went to 53 and there wasn't a salary cap. Teams could pay up for "specialists". He talked about playing along with some of the same core guys for a decade. The salary cap certainly changed that.

 

[faceman]

That article is fascinating. Had no idea of the myriad of changes to the roster rules over the years.

I think I started getting interested in the NFL in the late 50s and remember Chuck Bednarik playing C and MLB at a high level, but not so much lots of players playing both offense and defense. So, no wonder more past kickers played other positions than is the case today.

I started watching in the late 60's. The two I remember were Dick Butkus and Bobby Bell. Butkus was arguably the goat Mlb and also returned kickoffs. Bell played Olb and was also the Chiefs long snapper.

 

[Artifactual]

I found the article below to be a fantastic read. It was written on 10/30/24 by Brooke Pryor, ESPN Staff Writer, as viewed at www.espn.com

Excerpts:

Why NFL kickers are more accurate than ever​

"It's the evolution of the craft," said Brian Egan, Aubrey's private kicking coach. "There's more skill-specific coaches. The trainers are getting better, the workouts are getting better. Everything that's going into it now, kids are starting to train younger. I just think you're seeing the evolution on full display right now, where it's come in the last 10, 15 years to where it is now."

KICKERS ARE MORE accurate than they've been in decades -- and with historic ranges -- but it's not because they weren't previously able to hit long-range field goals. Rather, Boswell said, coaches are finally trusting them in moments where analytics might've told them to punt the ball and play field position.

"It goes back to coaches watching us in practice -- that we attempt them in practice," Boswell said. "We warm up from 60 in practice, we hit with a team from 60 in practice. So the more he sees that, the more confident he's willing to go out.

THE EXPLANATION FOR the NFL's kicking renaissance isn't a mystery to longtime special teams guru Danny Smith.

"The length hasn't changed," said Smith, who's spent the past 13 seasons coaching the Steelers' special teams unit. "The field hasn't changed. So what has changed? The quality of the kicker. The quality of the operation. They spend a lot of time together. They take very much pride in their craft and they work their butts off on it.

"All these snappers', all these holders', all these kickers' numbers are up, to their credit, and it's not a puzzling question to me. ... These guys are special, man, and they deserve a lot of credit throughout this league as specialists."

Once an afterthought for backup quarterbacks, holder duties started to be reassigned to punters early in the 2010s as an emphasis on special teams grew and specialists started to practice together. Replacing the backup quarterback with the punter kept the team from having to pull the quarterback away from other parts of practice.

The extra practice reps between the punter, kicker and long-snapper also reduced the possibility of costly in-game holding snafus -- remember Tony Romo and the 2006 NFC wild-card round?

"The specialization of the holding has really helped," Dicker said. "It just makes life easier for kickers. You don't have to think. The punter has more time to practice the hold than a backup quarterback all day long. They've got other things to worry about, more important things than making sure that, 'Hey, is this the right distance for me to catch it?'"

ANOTHER ELEMENT CONTRIBUTING to increases in accuracy and range, Seibert said, is the longer extra points. Moved from 20 to 33 yards in 2015, extra point makes are no longer forgone conclusions.

The longer extra points are something like quality control checks for kickers during the game, Seibert said.

Other kickers and coaches suggested the dynamic kickoff, a rule for the 2024 season, could be positively impacting field goal attempts because some teams are opting to have their kickers place the ball in the 20-yard landing zone to force a return instead of drilling the obligatory touchback.

"We don't have the same 10-yard approach and smash the ball and all that mindset anymore." Boswell said. "I mean, if you kick it three yards deep and they return it, cool. If they don't, cool. Some teams are still smashing, so they're still going to have the wear and tear. It takes a lot off your leg throughout the week, and so maybe game day you're a lot more fresh if you're one of the teams that aren't just blasting kickoffs day after day."

SINCE STARTING HIS own venture working with kickers in the Dallas area in 2016, Egan has seen his clients get younger and younger.

Now, his youngest kicker is 10 years old.

Egan supposes the youth movement is for a couple reasons: It's a safer position in a sport that's rife with concussion concerns, kickers are getting bigger contracts and, quite simply, kicking is cool.

Full Article In Link Below:

Why we are living in the golden age of NFL kicking

The average distance of field goal attempts this season (40.2 yards) is the longest average since at least 2000.

www.espn.com

 

[jasonsw]

I don't think kickers are necessarily better, I think has a lot to do with improvement in equipment, better field conditions, more domed stadiums