Kickers making field goals at NFL’s worst rate since 2003

[CGI_Ram]

Kickers making field goals at NFL’s worst rate since 2003

The Tennessee Titans have a very proud tradition of successful kickers over the past couple of decades ranging from Al Del Greco, Joe Nedney, the late Rob Bironas to now Ryan Succop.

www.foxnews.com

Kickers making field goals at NFL’s worst rate since 2003

The Tennessee Titans have a very proud tradition of successful kickers over the past couple of decades ranging from Al Del Greco, Joe Nedney, the late Rob Bironas to now Ryan Succop.

That’s what makes this season so very surprising.

The Titans are on their third different kicker and already have missed eight field goals through 10 games to match the team’s most misses since 2004 when they missed eight, a dubious mark they also had in 2001. They currently rank dead last in the NFL, converting just 46.7 percent (7 of 15).

They’re not alone.

Kickers across the NFL are struggling to put the ball between the uprights this season. The 79.7 percent conversion rate through Week 11 is the league’s lowest number since 2003 when kickers hit 79.2 percent, missing 198 field goals, according to SportRadar.

“It’s probably just one of those years,” Titans special teams coach Craig Aukerman said. “Obviously, we’re not up to what we expect, but I just think it’s one of those years that it’s just been down. I mean it’s hard kicking (field goals) in the NFL. ... Now are they all professional athletes and they should make them? Yes, no doubt. But next year it’ll probably go back up.”

Kickers converted just 77.7 percent of field goals in 1999 — the season the NFL introduced the “K” ball to be used fresh out of the box to keep kickers and punters from softening them up. By 2004, kickers had gotten so used to the “K” ball, the conversion rate started climbing and reached 86.5 percent in 2013.

Even the sweet spot between 40 to 49 yards hasn’t been a guarantee this season with kickers converting only 136 of 196 for a 69.4 percent rate that kickers also matched in 2003.

Sometimes what went wrong is simple. Brandon McManus had a chance to pad Denver’s lead in the fourth quarter Sunday only to send a 43-yarder wide right in a 27-23 loss to Minnesota.

“All I know is I kicked the ground, and it wasn't even close,” McManus said.

Adam Vinatieri, the NFL's career scoring leader and all-time field goal leader at age 46, has struggled with his worst season since 2003. He's missed five field goals and six extra points this season, which had the Colts trying out kickers last week.

Injuries also have been an issue.

Succop made a franchise-record 86.6 percent of kicks through his first five seasons with Tennessee and set an NFL record making 56 consecutive field goals inside 50 yards between 2014 and 2017. Offseason surgery on his right, kicking leg put him on injured reserve to start this season. The Titans tried out Cairo Santos and Cody Parkey, signing Santos with five years’ experience kicking and with Tennessee his fifth team.

Santos wound up costing Tennessee two games.

He missed a 45-yard field goal wide left in the fourth quarter of a 19-17 loss to Indianapolis in Week 2 and missed three field goals with a fourth blocked in 14-7 loss to Buffalo on Oct. 6. The Titans cut Santos a day later and brought in Parkey, who had been Chicago’s kicker last season until he missed the potential winning field goal off the upright and crossbar in a wild-card loss to Philadelphia at Soldier Field.

Succop returned Nov. 2 and missed his first three field-goal attempts in a 30-20 loss at Carolina a day later.

“Obviously, I have to do a better job, so that’s what I’m doing,” Succop said.

The Jets are on their fourth kicker. Chandler Catanzaro retired abruptly after missing two of three extra points in New York's preseason opener. Taylor Bertolet missed three field goals and two extra points before being cut. Kaare Vedvik was claimed off waivers from Minnesota only to miss a 45-yard field goal and extra point in the Jets' season-opening 17-16 loss to Buffalo.

Sam Ficken, a late cut by Green Bay, is 7 for 11 on field goals for the Jets. He missed from 49 yards in a win Sunday in Washington along with a missed extra point.

Spending lots of money hasn’t guaranteed success either.

The 49ers didn’t expect any problems after placing the franchise tag on Robbie Gould last offseason before signing him in July to a four-year, $19 million contract with $10.5 million guaranteed. Gould had made 72 of 75 field-goal attempts in his first two seasons with San Francisco for the NFL’s best mark in that span. Only Baltimore’s Justin Tucker has been more accurate than Gould in NFL history.

Gould missed kicks in his first two games and three field-goal attempts against Cleveland on Oct. 7. His seven misses in the first six games were the most in that span for San Francisco since 2000 when the 49ers shuffled through four different long snappers.

A quadriceps injury kept Gould out against Seattle, and rookie fill-in Chase McLaughlin yanked a 47-yard attempt way left against the Seahawks in overtime in a 27-24 loss.

"Just rushed it a little bit, hit it a little high and unfortunately missed it," said McLaughlin, who had been 6 of 9 in four games for the Chargers earlier this season.

Buffalo gave a two-year extension to Stephen Hauschka in August, and now the kicker who had the NFL's longest active streak with 17 straight field goals made last season is 11 of 16 this season with the Bills converting only 68.8 percent. He missed from 34 yards in a loss to Cleveland, his first miss inside 39 yards since 2016, and pulled a 53-yarder that would’ve forced overtime wide left.

Hauschka doesn’t have any answers on what’s causing all the misses across the league.

“I have noticed that there's been a lot,” Hauschka said.

 

[Selassie I]

I've been trying to tell you guys this. Stay the fuck away from these impostors!

My enjoyment level watching the game increased by at least 20% when I stopped watching field goal & extra point attempts. It's fucking torture watching that bullshit.

I propose that kickers receive a taze to the nuts by a cheerleader immediately following every missed attempt. Watch the ratings and made kick percentages increase like crazy.

 

[fearsomefour]

Somehow this will lead to the NFL calling more “defenseless receiver” penalties and a review system put in place for extra points.

 

[snackdaddy]

All I know is, GZ's miss has totally changed the perception of our Rams and the Seahawks season. A make there and we're each 7-3 while we would own the tiebreaker. Now we're two games behind then while they own the tiebreaker. That miss could be the reason we didn't make the playoffs. Although lately we haven't exactly played like we deserve it.

 

[LesBaker]

If this article broke down the misses by distance I'd be more inclined to say "good read" but it doesn't.

Just a thought from me is that there are a lot of kickers with strong legs who are trying longer FG's than in the past. Just a hunch is all.

 

[coconut]

Perhaps there has been a subtle change in the "K" ball? MLB has experienced similar in the past.

 

[XXXIVwin]

If this article broke down the misses by distance I'd be more inclined to say "good read" but it doesn't.

Just a thought from me is that there are a lot of kickers with strong legs who are trying longer FG's than in the past. Just a hunch is all.

This.

Without a discussion of FG attempts of 50 yards or more, the article is kinda pointless.

 

[XXXIVwin]

I've been trying to tell you guys this. Stay the fuck away from these impostors!

My enjoyment level watching the game increased by at least 20% when I stopped watching field goal & extra point attempts. It's fucking torture watching that bullshit.

I propose that kickers receive a taze to the nuts by a cheerleader immediately following every missed attempt. Watch the ratings and made kick percentages increase like crazy.

View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JK81Ej5hm8s

 

[CGI_Ram]

What’s Behind the NFL’s Kicking Regression?

Nearly every year, the league’s kickers get better—but in 2019, field goal accuracy is down 5 percentage points. What happened?

www.theringer.com

What’s Behind the NFL’s Kicking Regression?

Every football fan is the boy who cried “our kicker sucks.” It’s just so easy to blame kickers. A team will fight and battle to put this tiny guy with one job in optimal position to succeed, and then sometimes he fails. When the quarterback fails, fans can blame the offensive coordinator or the head coach or the receivers or the offensive line to avoid admitting the $70 we spent on our quarterback’s jersey was a waste of money. But with the kicker, there is nobody else to blame—and none of us have bought his jersey. Fans know a kicker canhit a 43-yard field goal, so every time a kicker misses a 43-yard field goal, we feel like the kicker messed up.

But for most of football history, kickers have steadily become less sucky. In 1950, kickers hit 44.2 percent of their field goals. In 1960, kickers hit 56.0 percent of their field goals. In 1970, it was 59.4 percent; in 1980, it was 63.6 percent; in 1990, it was 74.4 percent; in 2000, it was 79.7 percent. Last year, it was 84.7 percent. It was the second-most-accurate year in league history (2013, when kickers made 86.5 percent of their kicks, holds the record). In the early days of the NFL, kicking was an afterthought, a job for quarterbacks to try in their spare time, or for random European guys who weren’t athletic enough to play soccer. Now, it’s a science, performed by focused specialists who chose to kick from a young age and were trained by more focused specialists. Twelve of the top 17 kickers all time in field goal accuracy have kicked in the NFL this season; 25 of the top 30 have kicked in the NFL at some point in the past five seasons. Of course, the complaints never stopped—even as kickers hit record-setting numbers, we blamed them for not hitting 100 percent.

But something weird has happened this year. After years of steady gains, the leaguewide field goal accuracy rate has stunningly dropped 5 percentage points. Kickers are now hitting on 79.7 percent of field goals; if that holds, 2019 would be the first time the league has dipped under 80 percent since 2003. Leaguewide field goal accuracy is a stat that’s had a steady upward trend for decades—since 2000, leaguewide field goal accuracy has seen year-over-year improvement 14 times, and a year-over-year decline just four times, generally due to an unsustainably good year the year before. A 5 percentage point drop is unfathomable.

The good kickers are struggling. Both of last year’s Pro Bowl kickers, Aldrick Rosas and Jason Myers, have experienced severe drop-offs, with Rosas missing more field goals despite 23 fewer attempts and Myers a dismal 14-for-19. Stephen Gostkowski, third all time in field goal accuracy, missed four extra points before the Patriots placed him on the injured reserve with a hip injury. Robbie Gould and Wil Lutz, seventh and fifth all time in field goal accuracy, are both having the worst seasons of their careers. And then there’s the GOAT, Adam Vinatieri, who is struggling massively, connecting on just 75 percent of field goals and 75 percent of extra points. Vinatieri, who holds the NFL records for career points and field goals made, is the main culprit in two of Indianapolis’s four losses this year—he missed two field goals and an extra point in a season-opening, six-point loss to the Chargers and a would-be game-winning 43-yarder against the Steelers. Despite his spectacular and historic career, it seems like it’s time for the Colts to move on from their 46-year-old kicker if they want to win.

That said, it seems like moving on from Vinatieri could be disastrous, because the bad kickers have been especially bad. Four teams that needed to turn to a free-agent kicker have been so underwhelmed by the performance of that free-agent kicker that they’ve had to cut that guy and bring in somebody new. Then they learned the hard way that their free-agent kicker was not good enough: The Jets had Taylor Bertolet in training camp, but cut him and brought in Kaare Vedvik to start the season … and then Vedvik cost the team their season-opener against the Bills by missing both kicks he attempted. The Falcons had Giorgio Tavecchio, but turned to longtime Falcon Matt Bryant after Tavecchio underwhelmed in preseason—then had to cut Bryant after he made just nine of 14 kicks; the Patriots brought in Mike Nugent after Gostkowski’s injury, but cut him after a 5-for-8 start.

And then there’s the Titans. After an injury to Ryan Succop in preseason, the Titans brought in Cairo Santos, but cut him after he went 0-for-4 in a game. Then the team brought in Double Doinker Cody Parkey, who promptly doinked an extra point. Succop eventually healed from his injury, but is 0-for-3 for the Titans through his past two games. Tennessee is just 7-for-15 on field goals this year, putting them in line to be the first team to make less than 50 percent of its field goals since 1987.

It’s strange. Kicker has generally seemed like the most replaceable position in football, since kickers don’t really have to learn the playbook or adjust to a new team’s strategies—they can just step in off the street and kick. But this year, the performance of off-the-street kickers has been so dismal that even teams with struggling kickers must feel they can’t make a change.

What’s causing the drop-off? After years of improvement, have kickers actually gotten dramatically worse overnight? Right now, it seems like kickers have simply lost the range. They’re fine on chip shots: Kickers hit on 93.4 percent of field goals from 18 to 39 yards from 2010 to 2018; kickers are actually outperforming that number this year, hitting at 94.2 percent. They’re also doing fine on extra points, hitting at 93.7 percent, the second-worst number since the extra point was moved back in 2015, but not significantly worse than usual.

However, kickers are attempting more kicks, proportionally, from 40 yards and over than usual—from 2010 to 2018, 44.9 percent of kicks were from 40 yards or longer, while this year, 47.4 percent of kicks are from 40 yards or longer—and performing significantly worse on them. From 2010 to 2018, kickers hit 72.8 percent of these kicks; this year it’s 63.7 percent.

We don’t know why kickers have suddenly forgotten how to hit field goals from longer than 40 yards. Are holders forgetting to spin the laces out? (Maybe.) If we were baseball fans, we would start investigating the ball. I suspect the drop-off is a blip, not a trend. The decadeslong upward trajectory of kickers is too strong to suddenly be derailed this violently.

When it ends, I hope the Great Kicker Drought of 2019 teaches us to respect our tiniest football heroes. For too long, we have criticized them regardless of whether it is deserved. You never know what you’ve got until the new guy starts shanking every 43-yarder.

 

[CGI_Ram]

What’s Behind the NFL’s Kicking Regression?

Nearly every year, the league’s kickers get better—but in 2019, field goal accuracy is down 5 percentage points. What happened?

www.theringer.com

What’s Behind the NFL’s Kicking Regression?

Every football fan is the boy who cried “our kicker sucks.” It’s just so easy to blame kickers. A team will fight and battle to put this tiny guy with one job in optimal position to succeed, and then sometimes he fails. When the quarterback fails, fans can blame the offensive coordinator or the head coach or the receivers or the offensive line to avoid admitting the $70 we spent on our quarterback’s jersey was a waste of money. But with the kicker, there is nobody else to blame—and none of us have bought his jersey. Fans know a kicker canhit a 43-yard field goal, so every time a kicker misses a 43-yard field goal, we feel like the kicker messed up.

But for most of football history, kickers have steadily become less sucky. In 1950, kickers hit 44.2 percent of their field goals. In 1960, kickers hit 56.0 percent of their field goals. In 1970, it was 59.4 percent; in 1980, it was 63.6 percent; in 1990, it was 74.4 percent; in 2000, it was 79.7 percent. Last year, it was 84.7 percent. It was the second-most-accurate year in league history (2013, when kickers made 86.5 percent of their kicks, holds the record). In the early days of the NFL, kicking was an afterthought, a job for quarterbacks to try in their spare time, or for random European guys who weren’t athletic enough to play soccer. Now, it’s a science, performed by focused specialists who chose to kick from a young age and were trained by more focused specialists. Twelve of the top 17 kickers all time in field goal accuracy have kicked in the NFL this season; 25 of the top 30 have kicked in the NFL at some point in the past five seasons. Of course, the complaints never stopped—even as kickers hit record-setting numbers, we blamed them for not hitting 100 percent.

But something weird has happened this year. After years of steady gains, the leaguewide field goal accuracy rate has stunningly dropped 5 percentage points. Kickers are now hitting on 79.7 percent of field goals; if that holds, 2019 would be the first time the league has dipped under 80 percent since 2003. Leaguewide field goal accuracy is a stat that’s had a steady upward trend for decades—since 2000, leaguewide field goal accuracy has seen year-over-year improvement 14 times, and a year-over-year decline just four times, generally due to an unsustainably good year the year before. A 5 percentage point drop is unfathomable.

The good kickers are struggling. Both of last year’s Pro Bowl kickers, Aldrick Rosas and Jason Myers, have experienced severe drop-offs, with Rosas missing more field goals despite 23 fewer attempts and Myers a dismal 14-for-19. Stephen Gostkowski, third all time in field goal accuracy, missed four extra points before the Patriots placed him on the injured reserve with a hip injury. Robbie Gould and Wil Lutz, seventh and fifth all time in field goal accuracy, are both having the worst seasons of their careers. And then there’s the GOAT, Adam Vinatieri, who is struggling massively, connecting on just 75 percent of field goals and 75 percent of extra points. Vinatieri, who holds the NFL records for career points and field goals made, is the main culprit in two of Indianapolis’s four losses this year—he missed two field goals and an extra point in a season-opening, six-point loss to the Chargers and a would-be game-winning 43-yarder against the Steelers. Despite his spectacular and historic career, it seems like it’s time for the Colts to move on from their 46-year-old kicker if they want to win.

That said, it seems like moving on from Vinatieri could be disastrous, because the bad kickers have been especially bad. Four teams that needed to turn to a free-agent kicker have been so underwhelmed by the performance of that free-agent kicker that they’ve had to cut that guy and bring in somebody new. Then they learned the hard way that their free-agent kicker was not good enough: The Jets had Taylor Bertolet in training camp, but cut him and brought in Kaare Vedvik to start the season … and then Vedvik cost the team their season-opener against the Bills by missing both kicks he attempted. The Falcons had Giorgio Tavecchio, but turned to longtime Falcon Matt Bryant after Tavecchio underwhelmed in preseason—then had to cut Bryant after he made just nine of 14 kicks; the Patriots brought in Mike Nugent after Gostkowski’s injury, but cut him after a 5-for-8 start.

And then there’s the Titans. After an injury to Ryan Succop in preseason, the Titans brought in Cairo Santos, but cut him after he went 0-for-4 in a game. Then the team brought in Double Doinker Cody Parkey, who promptly doinked an extra point. Succop eventually healed from his injury, but is 0-for-3 for the Titans through his past two games. Tennessee is just 7-for-15 on field goals this year, putting them in line to be the first team to make less than 50 percent of its field goals since 1987.

It’s strange. Kicker has generally seemed like the most replaceable position in football, since kickers don’t really have to learn the playbook or adjust to a new team’s strategies—they can just step in off the street and kick. But this year, the performance of off-the-street kickers has been so dismal that even teams with struggling kickers must feel they can’t make a change.

What’s causing the drop-off? After years of improvement, have kickers actually gotten dramatically worse overnight? Right now, it seems like kickers have simply lost the range. They’re fine on chip shots: Kickers hit on 93.4 percent of field goals from 18 to 39 yards from 2010 to 2018; kickers are actually outperforming that number this year, hitting at 94.2 percent. They’re also doing fine on extra points, hitting at 93.7 percent, the second-worst number since the extra point was moved back in 2015, but not significantly worse than usual.

However, kickers are attempting more kicks, proportionally, from 40 yards and over than usual—from 2010 to 2018, 44.9 percent of kicks were from 40 yards or longer, while this year, 47.4 percent of kicks are from 40 yards or longer—and performing significantly worse on them. From 2010 to 2018, kickers hit 72.8 percent of these kicks; this year it’s 63.7 percent.

We don’t know why kickers have suddenly forgotten how to hit field goals from longer than 40 yards. Are holders forgetting to spin the laces out? (Maybe.) If we were baseball fans, we would start investigating the ball. I suspect the drop-off is a blip, not a trend. The decadeslong upward trajectory of kickers is too strong to suddenly be derailed this violently.

When it ends, I hope the Great Kicker Drought of 2019 teaches us to respect our tiniest football heroes. For too long, we have criticized them regardless of whether it is deserved. You never know what you’ve got until the new guy starts shanking every 43-yarder.

I had a theory on this, but this article blows a bit of a hole in it...

My theory was all about confidence. By moving the extra point back, kickers don’t have the same “gimme kick” to hone technique in game situations... building their confidence for other kicks.

But, this article gives data that the XP’s are “in line” with recent averages.

 

[Mojo Ram]

Somehow this will lead to the NFL calling more “defenseless receiver” penalties and a review system put in place for extra points.

I was going to post "In before the NFL responds with another knee jerk rule to compensate"....but you beat me to it.

 

[fearsomefour]

I was going to post "In before the NFL responds with another knee jerk rule to compensate"....but you beat me to it.

Crazy number of missed kicks yesterday.
6 or 7 I think.

 

[coconut]

Crazy number of missed kicks yesterday.
6 or 7 I think.

It"s the ball.

 

[fearsomefour]

It"s the ball.

Meaning what?

 

[XXXIVwin]

Two long winded articles about “the decline of kicking in 2019”and STILL not a single stat about attempts/ conversions from 50 yards or more?

Yes, conversion rate from 40+ has gone down, but how much of this can be attributed to an increase in LONG attempts?

A 43-yarder and a 57-yarder shouldn’t be lumped together.

Not sure who is dumber, the authors who wrote these poorly researched pieces of crap, or me for reading them.

 

[coconut]

Meaning what?

Meaning-
Professionals at the NFL level, across the NFL, collectively don't forget how to do their job. Whether it's the kicker, holder or long snapper. Distances kicked and success rate hasn't changed for XPs and FGs up to 40 yards. However from Post #9 in this thread-

"However, kickers are attempting more kicks, proportionally, from 40 yards and over than usual—from 2010 to 2018, 44.9 percent of kicks were from 40 yards or longer, while this year, 47.4 percent of kicks are from 40 yards or longer—and performing significantly worse on them. From 2010 to 2018, kickers hit 72.8 percent of these kicks; this year it’s 63.7 percent."

Therefore IMO it's the ball. Something different with the ball that when held and kicked for 40 yards or more makes a subtle difference in accuracy. Don't know what specific thing changed with the ball from materials used or process in manufacturing from different machines used or who knows? A 12% decline is quite substantial.

 

[coconut]

Two long winded articles about “the decline of kicking in 2019”and STILL not a single stat about attempts/ conversions from 50 yards or more?

Yes, conversion rate from 40+ has gone down, but how much of this can be attributed to an increase in LONG attempts?

A 43-yarder and a 57-yarder shouldn’t be lumped together.

Not sure who is dumber, the authors who wrote these poorly researched pieces of crap, or me for reading them.

The number of 50+ yards attempts in 2019 has already surpassed that of 2018 with 25% of the season left to play.

Thus far in 2019 NFL out of 171 attempts of 50+ yards, 54 have been made through nearly 75% of the season.

In 2018, 162 attempts and 100 were made.

One thing to take into account is the large number of non place-kickers (68 thus far) making attempts in 2019.

In 2018 only one attempt by a non placekicker (Hekker).

So for placekickers in 2018, 62% of the attempts were made. In 2019, 52% of the attempts were made. If this holds for the remainder of the season it is still significant.

If this data is accurate it is something that a journalist should have discovered and addressed.

NFL Football Player Stats & Stats Leaders - Field Goals Made, 50+ Yards

Free NFL football player stats and stats leaders in simple, easy to read tables. This page tracks field goals made, 50+ yards statistics.

www.teamrankings.com

 

[gabriel18]

The GZ miss doesn't look like it will matter now . After the clutch 48 and 57 yard ones to put us in the super bowl he gets a pass or two .

 

[XXXIVwin]

The number of 50+ yards attempts in 2019 has already surpassed that of 2018 with 25% of the season left to play.

Thus far in 2019 NFL out of 171 attempts of 50+ yards, 54 have been made through nearly 75% of the season.

In 2018, 162 attempts and 100 were made.

One thing to take into account is the large number of non place-kickers (68 thus far) making attempts in 2019.

In 2018 only one attempt by a non placekicker (Hekker).

So for placekickers in 2018, 62% of the attempts were made. In 2019, 52% of the attempts were made. If this holds for the remainder of the season it is still significant.

If this data is accurate it is something that a journalist should have discovered and addressed.

NFL Football Player Stats & Stats Leaders - Field Goals Made, 50+ Yards

Free NFL football player stats and stats leaders in simple, easy to read tables. This page tracks field goals made, 50+ yards statistics.

www.teamrankings.com

Cool, thanks for posting this. As I suspected, FG attempts from 50+ yards is the key stat.

Kinda curious where you got yer data from, exactly? I guess I could find the sortable stats myself, but I don’t feel like devoting the time.

Especially not sure about that “non-place-kicker” stat.

To REALLY have a full picture of things, I wish there were a stat of FGs attempted and made from 50-54 and anything 54+. My gut tells me that more and more coaches are trying long bomb attempts from 54+ more often this year but I’d be curious if the stats would support that.

Regardless— I think coconut should receive a share of the profits from the articles since the other writers didn’t bother to look up the key stats...

 

[dieterbrock]

Not good for the Rams that several teams will be looking for FG kicker. Z is gonna get paid