I have a proposition. You know how certain mail packages have the word “FRAGILE” stamped on the outside to indicate the delicate nature of their contents? I say the NFL should institute a policy that forces every kicker to wear a jersey and helmet donning this label every Sunday.
Virtually every kicker in the league is a puddle right now.
Nearly everyone, from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 2016 second-round pick Roberto Aguayo to New England Patriots veteran mainstay Stephen Gostkowski, has had trouble splitting the uprights on both point after tries and field goal attempts. Kicks have sailed wide, doinked off of uprights and crossbars and been blocked by the opponent on a regular basis to this halfway mark of the season.
In the second year of the NFL’s new extra-point rule, which pushes attempts back from a 20-yard try to a 33 yards to increase difficulty, and the first year of the league’s new touchback rule, which brings the offensive possession’s starting point to the 25-yard line instead of the 20-yard line to avoid as much injury risk as possible, kickers have been forced to adapt their long-established habits. While many kickers seem to deny that these rules have made their job more difficult, one may surmise that the mental strain is more to blame for their lack of execution than the physical challenges they bring.
With the PAT no longer essentially automatic, kickers are even more of mental cases than they have been historically. In 2014, the final season under the old PAT rule, no kicker with double-digit extra-point tries converted at a rate of less than 96 percent, and as a group, these same 33 kickers succeeded on 1,204 out of 1,211 attempts (about 99.4 percent). Last season, 33 kickers again attempted double-digit extra-points, but 18 of those players converted at less than 96 percent, going a combined 1,099 for 1,164 on PATs (about 94.4 percent). This season, entering Week 9, 32 kickers have attempted at least nine PATs. These players account for a combined conversion rate of 527 for 553 (about 95.3 percent). In the past two seasons, even traditional field goal efficiency has dropped by about 2 percent. These are still heady numbers to be sure, but they indicate a significant and undeniable regression.
In short, the PAT in today’s NFL is a much more interesting play than it has been in decades. Failed field goal and point after tries have determined the outcomes of several recent pivotal games (such as last season’s AFC Championship). Moreover, the rule change regarding touchbacks has led to an altered, more strategic or finessed approach to kickoffs by many teams’ kickers, which seemingly has had an impact on the games.
Every point matters. From Scott Norwood to Billy Cundiff to Blair Walsh, to Adam Vinatieri to Lawrence Tynes, a multitude of kickers can attest to the fact that making or missing a field goal can alter the outcome of history. This season will feature more goats than heroes as each kicker carries the hopes of their team delicately on the swing of their leg.
