| Through no fault of their own, kickers get a bad
rap. The only problem with them is that there are too many of them. Last season 23
kickers averaged more than six points per game played. The sheer volume is the reason
kickers shouldn’t be selected until late in your draft, but that’s no reason to
ignore the position completely. If you have the right kicker, easy points can be had any
given week.
With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the recent goings-on in the wonderful
world of placekickers:
Ryan Longwell / Packers
After a season in which he finished second among kickers in scoring with 131 points,
Longwell is a coveted footman. In fact, according to PFW’s yardage-league scoring
system, Longwell actually edged out Matt Stover, the top-scoring kicker in the NFL last
season, 150-149.
But at the Packers’ annual intrasquad scrimmage Saturday night, Longwell missed
his first four field-goal attempts from distances of 47, 48, 48 and 49 yards. His fifth
try was good from 49 yards. Last season Longwell connected on a league-high 13 field goals
between 40 and 49 yards. What gives?
As it turns out, when the Packers traded QB Matt Hasselbeck to Seattle, they traded
away Longwell’s holder. Hence, the kicker has been searching for a comfort zone with
a new holder. On Saturday, that was backup QB Doug Pederson. P Josh Bidwell also has been
holding. But head coach Mike Sherman doesn’t believe Longwell’s struggles are
holder-related.
"I don’t think the holds had anything to do with his missed field
goals," Sherman said of Longwell’s 1-for-5 performance. "I think it was
him. I just think he misjudged some things. The first ones were far enough; he just
shanked them. And then he hit one that wasn’t quite far enough."
History tells us that Longwell should recover from his recent struggles. In each of his
last three seasons, he hasn’t missed more than two kicks between 40 and 49 yards.
Nevertheless, Longwell’s situation is one to watch. Though he has no competition in
camp, Longwell appears to have his work cut out for him.
John Carney / Saints
Carney participated in his first practice with the Saints on Monday, working on his
timing with holder Toby Gowin and long-snapper Kevin Houser. Though he wasn’t with a
team this offseason, Carney said he maintained his form by kicking off a tee. Now he joins
a team with a dynamic offense and a domed home stadium.
In terms of percentage, Carney is coming off his worst season since 1991, his first
full campaign with the Chargers. Last year he connected on 18-of-25 field-goal attempts
(72.0 percent) and scored only 81 points. But Carney defended his performance by putting
the Chargers’ 1-15 season in perspective.
"It was a frustrating year for the whole team," Carney said. "We did
have two blocked field goals due to the defense’s rush. Those were medium-range field
goals that probably would have been made. That would have put me at 80 percent. Plus, I
hit two from over 50. So, I don’t think it was an off year. The whole team struggled,
and no one looked good."
With a potentially explosive offense supporting him, Carney could look very good this
season. He’s done it before, having broken the 100-point mark five times in nine full
seasons. Obviously, the Chargers’ recent struggles put a cap on Carney’s point
totals, but not his kicking. In 1999, Carney made 31-of-36 field-goal attempts, including
9-of-12 from between 40 and 49 yards.
Can you say sleeper?
John Kasay / Panthers
After missing Carolina’s last 19 games with knee injuries, Kasay is on the
comeback trail — and looking good. He’s on schedule to kick in Friday
night’s preseason opener at Jacksonville after making all of his field-goal attempts
in last Saturday’s Fan Fest festivities.
Kasay missed the final month of the 1999 season with a torn anterior cruciate ligament
in his left knee. He then missed all of 2000 with a broken left kneecap. After the season
Joe Nedney had for Carolina last season (26-of-28 FG attempts), Kasay thought his Panthers
days were over.
But with the support of special-teams coach Scott O’Brien — he convinced head
coach George Seifert that Kasay still could kick — Kasay has a job, now that Nedney
has moved on to Tennessee via free agency.
"Scott was very strong in his opinion that John should stay here," Seifert
said, "and we’d work with him, and he would be our kicker."
Since his 145-point season of 1996, Kasay has scored 91, 92 and 99 points. Though he
hasn’t had more than 26 field-goal attempts in each of his last three seasons, he has
had a whopping 17 tries from 50 yards and beyond, of which he’s made nine. But time
will tell whether Seifert has enough confidence in Kasay — and his repaired left knee
— to keep giving him chances from long range.
This column kicks off our 2001 NFL season of "In Our Opinion" fantasy columns
on this Web site. Columns will appear daily, Tuesday through Friday, throughout the
regular season. The Fantasy Doctor will return this month with your pigskin prescriptions,
so send your fantasy questions to the Doc's attention at fantasydoctor@pfwa.com |
