To me 85 percent accuracy or above is needed for any kicker to keep him job. Now obviously that number can be broken down by distance/weather/field/game situation etc , but only 16 teams hit that mark last season. Half the league. Meaning half the kickers in this league are disposable. And only 4 teams that were under that percentage (Baltimore, Carolina, Chicago, Atlanta) have what I would call dependable kickers. So even if we add those 4 to the original 16 , that still leaves 12 kickers in this league that just arent good , or atleast arent above being replaced.
yes. The kickers are great these days. I don't think the inventors of the game ever imagined kickers would get this good. 85%+ for all field goals attempted. 65+% for field goals longer than 50 yards! 100% for extra points. That's not even the best in the league, that's the standard. Imagine if they didn't move the goal posts behind the end zone. 65% of the time all you would have to do is get the ball to midfield and you get 3 points? That's like 2 first downs and you are scoring. Compare it to baseball. a .300 batting average is good now. It was considered good in 1888 as well. Not much changed there. Field goal kickers have outgrown the intentions of the game in terms of ability. In some ways we shouldn't even applaud when our team scores a FG. We should expect it.
Guys bench more now than they used to. And you bring up batting average but now mostly every pitcher throws 95+ MPH , wasnt always like that. Same with home runs. And like every other position on the football field , kickers are better athletes these days too. Also the way kickers used to kick (straight on) compared to how they kick today has also made a difference. They are better , much better , but like I said before there are still a number of them that could lose jobs to soccer players if they ever proven they could do a better job. I just dont think many would be able to.
Well your arbitrary 85% accuracy rate 'floor' in keeping an NFL job (after factoring in distance/weather/field/game situation) might hold water to you but you should also factor in long snappers and holders as well. Most of these long snappers and holders (as well as punters/kickers) played other position when the rosters were smaller. In the case of the holders, they often were WRs, DBs, or backup QBs. Two reasons: 1. they had good hands and 2., they wouldn't nervously have their head on a swivel and would keep their cool fielding a bad snap - wouldn't panic at the oncoming rush. With the expanded rosters came specialization and the WR/DB/QB "holders" no longer had to miss practice time and/or meetings because of their special teams duties. Further, specialization has spawned a slew of football-oriented placekicking camps across the country today with hundreds of talented (and not-so-talented/with $-parents) guys receiving hi-level coaching and in many cases using it as a networking springboard for catching the attention of a college's special team's coach. Now with specialization, the stats have taken off (your "12 NFL kickers that just aren't good" assertion aside). Another thing to factor in: what separates an Adam Vinetari from the guy who gets cut? There's a Swedish expression: "is i magen" that pretty much sums it up - some have it, others don't. And that includes the pro soccer star that in an NFL setting may get only ONE CHANCE in a game to save the team's bacon with a 50+ yarder on the road with the game on the line. With all that said, please feel free to go out there and find all those dime-a-dozen 85% + kickers.
Couldn't see it myself as in rugby guys kick the ball on a relatively low trajectory looking to turn the opposition back 3 around and trying to get the ball to bounce before it goes out of play. The punter is looking to do something completely different with hang time allowing people to get to the returner. I could be wrong but to me they are two completely different disciplines. Most top class rugby kickers are kicking 50 yrd fg regularly and I'd love to see a guy like Leigh Halfpenny (Wales) who has massive range and accuracy give the nfl a try
yeah i agree, kicking in rugby translates better to kicking in gridiron football. much more so than soccer imo.. punting on the other hand, seems to translate very well from Aussie rules football (AFL).. they are pretty advanced in drop punting the ball in a variety of ways, depending on the distance, position, or bounce they want the ball to take. both fun sports to watch. btw, the Green White and Gold take on the flag....does that stem from a Nationalist point of view (ignore the Orange), or just the result of better poetic use? I have heritage tracing back to Cork, and assume it's the former reason, but would love to hear a native take.
It's just poetic usage I'm afraid. Obviously the green and white are jets colours aswell as Irish and I just thought green white and gold worked better then greenwhiteandorange. I'm currently writing this in a restaurant on Patrick street which is the main street in Cork City
