Crosby - an 83% kicker.

[Bretsky]

No way would I trade Crosby for 15 kickers. Perhaps he's average as a FG kicker; I'd still put him in the 8-12 range. But he's also one of the best kickoff guys in the NFL. He's the least of our ST nightmares IMO

[Tony Oday]

we need a kicker that can hit the game winner and that is not Crosby, he is the weakest link on the team.

[Brandon494]

Hes an average kicker was a great leg. There are 15-20 other kickers in the league I would rather have then Crosby.

[mmmdk]

No way would I trade Crosby for 15 kickers. Perhaps he's average as a FG kicker; I'd still put him in the 8-12 range. But he's also one of the best kickoff guys in the NFL. He's the least of our ST nightmares IMO

...as in 1 TB and 3 OOB kickoffs through 9 games in 2010? The 3 out-of-bounds kickoffs leads the league.

The more one checks Crosbys stats...the notion that "Crosby is an average kicker" label would kinda put him in the overrated category. To his defense, Mason has squib kicked it a lot. Slocum?

[CaptainKickass]

.

Is there any other kicker in the NFL besides Mason Dixon-Bing Crosby that "could" make a 69 yard FG?

Is the NFL record still a 63 yd FG?

The problem I felt with Ryan Longwell was that he never really lived up to his last name - "Longwell". Sure he kicked it "well", but not so much "long". There was even some knock on his notably short kickoffs.
I'll take Mason over Ryan last season and going forward. Youth, bigger leg, ascending player (or at least certainly not becoming worse)

[ThunderDan]

Packer kickers? I've always been a fan Longwell as a kicker - even higher than Jacke & Crosby. I spoke a few words with Jan Stenerud in 2008 (Falcon game) at the Packer pro shop. He spoke norwegian & I danish, I could tell he was proud of his short Packer tenure & he emphasized the special thing GB had in Packers and the their world wide fans.

My grandfather, on my mother's side who was Norweign, use to be friends with Jan. They would write letters back and forth in Norweign. Jan and I have the same birthday, November 26th. He use to send me birthday cards. My grandfather presided over a worship service when the King of Norway came and visited the USA. We head over to Decorah, IA each summer for Nordicfest.

[pbmax]

How do I make this thing quote more than just one comment???
(The above was mmmdk's reply to my post about multiple holders)

The Raiders have had Janikowski and Lechler together forever. Janikowski has worked mostly with one holder his whole career. That's true of a lot of kickers, like Gould for example, though not all by any means. I have to think that has affected Crosby somewhat, especially since it is early in his career.

I don't think I can find 15-20 I would take over Crosby, because I would also look at kickoffs. Crosby seems to have a good feel for onside kicks, has good strength when allowed to kick away, and is one of the better tackling kickers in the league from what limited exposure I have to them. He does tend to try to hug the sideline too much when they ask him to do that, and kicks too many out of bounds as a result, but overall I think is very solid on kickoffs.

Plus, I love his attitude of never blaming anyone. A refreshing change from Longwell in that regard!

I agree with all the above.

I ran Longwell's numbers for under 50 during his tenure in Green Bay. 226/277 overall, 226/255 from inside 50 for 83.5%

Crosby is 98/127 overall, 88/106 inside 50 for 83%

However, both numbers put their respective kicker in the bottom half of the league today. And that comparison is their less than 50 yard FGs versus the rest of the league's total FGs. Kicking has gotten increasingly accurate since Longwell's career started. Some of this could be dome teams and kickers. But of the 13 teams ahead, the Titans, Cardinals (retractable), Dolphins, Jaguars, Texans, Panthers, Browns, Broncos and 49ers do not play indoors.

There may be a Southern bias. I am open to someone breaking out the league averages by facility and weather. But the only splits I can find for those are for individuals.

[SlimPickens]

Heck, Longwell used to decline 45-50 yard attempts, too. I remember back on the old JSO site when people tore into him for refusing a game winning attempt at just over 40 late one season, because Sherman gave him the option and he said the wind was too strong. Maybe it was, but the whole idea of leaving it up to Longwell as much as Sherman did was a little unsettling, especially since Longwell was very %-conscious.

Were you a Packer follower in the early Longwell years? I remember year after year the articles about needing to replace him because he had made no game winners and had no range. His leg got stronger, and gradually he tried more long kicks, at least early in the seasons.

Did you see the 69 yarder that Crosby missed? Great accuracy, but just short. Heck of a kick, really. It was a smart attempt, even if a long shot at success. Last play of the 1st half and a free kick following a fair catch on a punt. The Packers did that once years and years ago, too, in the '60s or '70s as I recall.

Yes, Vince pulled that out of his hat. it was so obscure they had to pull out the rule book. I believe it was Hornung who kicked it but not sure, I was pretty young then but do remember it.

[Bretsky]

...as in 1 TB and 3 OOB kickoffs through 9 games in 2010? The 3 out-of-bounds kickoffs leads the league.

The more one checks Crosbys stats...the notion that "Crosby is an average kicker" label would kinda put him in the overrated category. To his defense, Mason has squib kicked it a lot. Slocum?

Who are your 15 then ??

[get louder at lambeau]

But of the 13 teams ahead, the Titans, Cardinals (retractable), Dolphins, Jaguars, Texans, Panthers, Browns, Broncos and 49ers do not play indoors.

Warm, warm, warm, warm, warm, warm, cold, altitude, warm. Every one but Cleveland has a clear advantage in kicking atmosphere over GB.

[swede]

It is a good day when Mason has four extra points for every field goal.

[pbmax]

Warm, warm, warm, warm, warm, warm, cold, altitude, warm. Every one but Cleveland has a clear advantage in kicking atmosphere over GB.

The 49ers might be warmer than Lambeau but if you include wind, its not exactly kicker friendly.

[mmmdk]

Who are your 15 then ??

Pretty much all kickers in front of Crosby - stat wise - and when you add clutchness then add a few more. When you add KO stats there are even more kickers that are better or on par with Crosby.

Lastly, I don't get your ire as I've pointed out that Crosby is getting better and he's worth keeping and working with; there are 32 NFL teams and I rank Crosby # 15-20 best kicker in NFL. That's not too shabby but your weird man love on Crosby is based on his potential alone and not his actual production. There's NOTHING easier than rating kickers; go have fun on nfl.com with the stats - those stats can't rescue Mason Crosby.

Ever so lastly, Crosby is getting slightly better - I'll give him a few season before making my final call on the dude.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Personally, I think anybody who thinks there are 15-20 kickers in the NFL that are better than Crosby is nuts.

Not really nuts, but nuts in the football intelligence sense.

[Tony Oday]

Can we fire him NOW?