Goodbye Crosby?!

[Deleted member 6794]

When you dig into the stats more, you see that after all of the dust settled Crosby went from Week 12 to Week 17 without missing a FG or PAT. He missed a PAT against the Lions which was his fault. The miss in the playoffs was a complete blocking breakdown.

When you dig into the stats even more you see that Crosby didn't attempt a single field goal from at least 40 yards after the Rams game in week 12 anymore.

He was a glorified extra point kicker after that, time to move on.

 

[Heyjoe4]

When you dig into the stats even more you see that Crosby didn't attempt a single field goal from at least 40 yards after the Rams game in week 12 anymore.

He was a glorified extra point kicker after that, time to move on.

That's a good catch. I'm totally messed up on whether to keep Crosby or not. I don't know anything about who they might have in reserve, or who they might grab in, say round 5 or 6 of the draft.

During the last season, Crosby went from a sure thing in a 50 yarder to beat SF in week 3 to a total crap shoot in the second half. I guess keep him if he's the best option. But an NFL kicker, even an average one, should be able to routinely hit from 50 yards in decent conditions without giving teammates and fans heart attacks. If there's a promising young talent who routinely nails kicks from 40 to 45 yards, sign him and hope he develops. The team wouldn't be any worse for it given Crosby's apparent decline.

 

[sschind]

The team wouldn't be any worse for it given Crosby's apparent decline.

The Packers will look like fools if they cut Crosby and he catches on with another team and sets several single season records (positive records I mean) over the next few years. Then again they will look like geniuses if they cut him and he catches on with another team and they cut him by week 8 because he has missed half his kicks.

Look what has happened with another player who was in an apparent decline You can take from that whatever you like.

 

[Heyjoe4]

The Packers will look like fools if they cut Crosby and he catches on with another team and sets several single season records (positive records I mean) over the next few years. Then again they will look like geniuses if they cut him and he catches on with another team and they cut him by week 8 because he has missed half his kicks.

Look what has happened with another player who was in an apparent decline You can take from that whatever you like.

The team wouldn't be any worse for it given Crosby's apparent decline. Hey sschind all I meant by that comment was that I found myself holding my breath every time Crosby attempted a FG or PAT after about week 6, from any distance and under ideal conditions.

It's not an easy decision to keep him or cut him. And my definition of "catching on fire" is Crosby hitting 85% plus of his kicks between 40 and 50 yards and 95% plus for all other kicks - and as always, conditions being decent. Another part of the uncertainty is created by the snap and hold guys, and that has nothing to do with Crosby. Hopefully the new STs coach will be able to sort this out - assess the current talent and make changes where he sees it's necessary. Because if the Packers are gonna contend for a SB in 2022, they need a more reliable kicking game, meaning FGs and PATs.

 

[sschind]

The team wouldn't be any worse for it given Crosby's apparent decline. Hey sschind all I meant by that comment was that I found myself holding my breath every time Crosby attempted a FG or PAT after about week 6, from any distance and under ideal conditions.

It's not an easy decision to keep him or cut him. And my definition of "catching on fire" is Crosby hitting 85% plus of his kicks between 40 and 50 yards and 95% plus for all other kicks - and as always, conditions being decent. Another part of the uncertainty is created by the snap and hold guys, and that has nothing to do with Crosby. Hopefully the new STs coach will be able to sort this out - assess the current talent and make changes where he sees it's necessary. Because if the Packers are gonna contend for a SB in 2022, they need a more reliable kicking game, meaning FGs and PATs.

I agree 100%. I was a staunch MC supporter up until last year and like you I found myself seriously wondering if he could make any kick. This was the first time I ever felt that way about him. If you simply look at his stats and his salary it seems like a no brainer to cut him but up until this past season he has seemed to be clutch when it counted even if his overall stats were not really what we believe them to be. Then there was all the outside influences this season with long snapper change and different holder and ST woes that may have had more to do with the misses than Crosby himself. That said he is scheduled to make a bunch of money that might be better spent elsewhere.

I'm up in the air about it as well though I am leaning towards letting him go. If the cap situation were not as critical as it is I might have a different view although the 2.3 million in savings is a drop in the bucket if he is not on the decline as was the case of the other guy I mentioned.

I only made my post to stir the pot a bit since so many people, myself included, pointed to Aarons apparent decline as a legit reason to draft Love.

 

[Heyjoe4]

I agree 100%. I was a staunch MC supporter up until last year and like you I found myself seriously wondering if he could make any kick. This was the first time I ever felt that way about him. If you simply look at his stats and his salary it seems like a no brainer to cut him but up until this past season he has seemed to be clutch when it counted even if his overall stats were not really what we believe them to be. Then there was all the outside influences this season with long snapper change and different holder and ST woes that may have had more to do with the misses than Crosby himself. That said he is scheduled to make a bunch of money that might be better spent elsewhere.

I'm up in the air about it as well though I am leaning towards letting him go. If the cap situation were not as critical as it is I might have a different view although the 2.3 million in savings is a drop in the bucket if he is not on the decline as was the case of the other guy I mentioned.

I only made my post to stir the pot a bit since so many people, myself included, pointed to Aarons apparent decline as a legit reason to draft Love.

Got it! Yeah that was a bad call considering how AR has played since. And I think most fans knew that any "decline" in Rodgers' performance in those years had a lot more to do with MM and affected the whole team.

Well, I've always liked MC and if we are gonna get another SB, I hope he's part of that. I know they're paying Basaccia a lot to be a STC but he's gonna earn every penny!

 

[Packerbacker1996]

I've been a Crosby supporter until about the middle of last season. I remember him kicking the walk off winner against the Niners in week 3, and I remember how confident Rodgers was when he moved the offense into position for a 50 yard kick. Crosby made it.

I don't know when, maybe it was after the terrible game he had in Cincinnati, I lost confidence any time he kicked, even on PATs. Maybe it's in his head, maybe it's age, maybe it's both. It's just time to move on and find a new kicker. I hate to say it cause I like Crosby. But eventually we all have to move on.

Maybe it's vaccine side effects

 

[Heyjoe4]

Maybe it's vaccine side effects

Oh no. Please don't go there! Then again, what else explains that rotten game against the Niners? Something in the water maybe?

 

[Packerbacker1996]

Hey weren't there an unusual number of kickers this year with bunch of missed Field goals?
Would be nice to see thd stats and if there ware then who knows ya.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

That's a good catch. I'm totally messed up on whether to keep Crosby or not. I don't know anything about who they might have in reserve, or who they might grab in, say round 5 or 6 of the draft.

The Packers currently have two other kickers on the roster in Eberle and Molson. It seems they will at least compete with Crosby for the job.

The Packers will look like fools if they cut Crosby and he catches on with another team and sets several single season records (positive records I mean) over the next few years. Then again they will look like geniuses if they cut him and he catches on with another team and they cut him by week 8 because he has missed half his kicks.

Look what has happened with another player who was in an apparent decline You can take from that whatever you like.

It's a huge stretch comparing a future HOF quarterback to a kicker who was average at best for most of his career.

Hey weren't there an unusual number of kickers this year with bunch of missed Field goals?
Would be nice to see thd stats and if there ware then who knows ya.

Actually last season kickers combined to make 85.1% of all field goal attempts, the second highest number in league history.

 

[gopkrs]

I found myself holding my breath every time Crosby attempted a FG or PAT after about week 6, from any distance and under ideal conditions.

Yeah, me too. But mainly from the OL? and blocking schemes? they were using.

 

[Voyageur]

It appears the Packers plan on keeping Crosby around for 2022. I think some of us said that would happen. I do believe they'll try to squeeze the cap hit down a little bit, by giving him a contract extension to lower his cap hit.

Regardless of what some people think, this is a smart move. We know where the real problems have been on special teams for a long time.

 

[tynimiller]

It appears the Packers plan on keeping Crosby around for 2022. I think some of us said that would happen. I do believe they'll try to squeeze the cap hit down a little bit, by giving him a contract extension to lower his cap hit.

Regardless of what some people think, this is a smart move. We know where the real problems have been on special teams for a long time.

The kicking unit hasn’t really struggled in many years, last year they sucked and Crosby also sucked at kickoffs - unless he was told to never get touchbacks which doubtful.

I don’t dislike Crosby, but I dislike paying him like a Top 5 kicker when he cannot even kick it into the end zone on kick offs anymore.

 

[Voyageur]

The kicking unit hasn’t really struggled in many years, last year they sucked and Crosby also sucked at kickoffs - unless he was told to never get touchbacks which doubtful.

I don’t dislike Crosby, but I dislike paying him like a Top 5 kicker when he cannot even kick it into the end zone on kick offs anymore.

I think his contract will be reworked, but it's not going to regain enormous amounts of money. Just enough to help them sign a low level free agent at best. That's all the meat on that bone that there is.

 

[lambeaulambo]

Rag leg kicker restructures?

 

[realitybytez]

he's clearly on a downward path. why on earth would we keep him? and at that absurd salary?

 

[OldSchool101]

The kicking unit hasn’t really struggled in many years, last year they sucked and Crosby also sucked at kickoffs - unless he was told to never get touchbacks which doubtful.

I don’t dislike Crosby, but I dislike paying him like a Top 5 kicker when he cannot even kick it into the end zone on kick offs anymore.

I’m not saying Crosby is the best out there or even that we should’ve kept him. However, Crosby had the best KO average of his career in 2021 (64.1) His #1 best out of 15 seasons. His next best season by comparison was 2020 (63.9). I know I know it’s not what I guessed either.

In 2021 Crosby TB% was a mediocre 46.7 (ranked #7 of 15 years career wise) but his next best 2 seasons over 15 years was 2020 and 2019. So the last 3 seasons he ranked #7, #2, #3 out of his 15 years so it doesn’t appear leg strength is as much an issue as accuracy. He’s actually kicking them further on average over the last 3 seasons which is weird. Call it Roughly half of his kicks are a TB

I do agree with him needing to take a team friendly (his pay should be commensurate with his accuracy) deal for 1 season to stay on board and prove accuracy issues were an anomaly. If he wants to try his luck elsewhere at a top 5 deal $money$ wise I’ll help him clear his locker and he’s been a great teammate. He had an awful FG % and many teams would’ve moved on.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

It appears the Packers plan on keeping Crosby around for 2022. I think some of us said that would happen. I do believe they'll try to squeeze the cap hit down a little bit, by giving him a contract extension to lower his cap hit.

Regardless of what some people think, this is a smart move. We know where the real problems have been on special teams for a long time.

Do you have any source for it? I'm curious as I haven't read anything about the Packers planning on keeping Crosby.

I’m not saying Crosby is the best out there or even that we should’ve kept him. However, Crosby had the best KO average of his career in 2021 (64.1) His #1 best out of 15 seasons. His next best season by comparison was 2020 (63.9). I know I know it’s not what I guessed either.

In 2021 Crosby TB% was a mediocre 46.7 (ranked #7 of 15 years career wise) but his next best 2 seasons over 15 years was 2020 and 2019. So the last 3 seasons he ranked #7, #2, #3 out of his 15 years so it doesn’t appear leg strength is as much an issue as accuracy. He’s actually kicking them further on average over the last 3 seasons which is weird. Call it Roughly half of his kicks are a TB

I have tried to explain that several times now but it seems you don't listen A low touchback percentage actually results in a higher kickoff average as touchbacks are counted as a 65-yard kickoff no matter if kicked into the stands or just reaching the end zone. While kickoffs that get returned are actually counted as the distance they travelled.

It's not surprising that his touchback percentage increased as well over the past few years with the ball being moved out to the 25-yard line after one in 2016.

 

[Dantés]

Crosby may still be released, but the Packers aren't expected to retain Bojorquez, which at least hints towards Crosby coming back.

Essentially the way I would read into this is that the problem with FG's this year was an operational problem, and the biggest issue in that operation was Bojorquez.

This would make sense, as there didn't seem to be a good explanation as to why such a good punter was available. The answer appears to be that he can't hold.

 

[OldSchool101]

I have tried to explain that several times now but it seems you don't listen A low touchback percentage actually results in a higher kickoff average as touchbacks are counted as a 65-yard kickoff no matter if kicked into the stands or just reaching the end zone. While kickoffs that get returned are actually counted as the distance they travelled.

Well either I’m not a good listener..
Or… maybe I like to test peoples theories. Kinda a myth or non fiction test (Love MythBusters!)

Justin Tucker is the best Kicker in the history of the sport.In 2021 Tucker had the 2nd lowest TB% of his career (52.2%) against career 61.9% avg.
His Kickoff average was his career low at 60.5 yards.

Let’s look further to another top 5 Kicker, Harrison Butker from KC.
In 2021 Butker TB% was 65.6% (3.2% LESS than his career average) yet his KO Average nearly tied his worst at 62.9 yards.

So I’m thinking what happened? these MUST be anomalies right?
I go to back to Justin Tucker and look for another bottom TB%. In 2019 he was 53.8% TB%. You’d naturally expect that your rule would make his yards pop to near career highs? and yet that was his 3rd worst KO average across 10 seasons.


Then let’s go out further, past to 2015 where his TB% was a career ASTOUNDING high 85.1%. If your theory holds.. his average yards should be much lower right? Nope. It was his #3 highest in 10 seasons.

And with all due respect Sir. That is why I don’t listen well

 

[lambeaulambo]

Just sign buggar bill to the practice squad..pay him 7 cases of crooked hen and call it good.

 

[Sanguine camper]

Cutting Bojorquez is a mistake. Somebody else like a backup qb can hold but he at least gave the Packers a punter who could finally kick directionally and had a big leg. He had a few poor games but was mostly very solid.

 

[OldSchool101]

---

Cutting Bojorquez is a mistake. Somebody else like a backup qb can hold but he at least gave the Packers a punter who could finally kick directionally and had a big leg. He had a few poor games but was mostly very solid.

I agree, that doesn’t make sense to me either. You finally land the best Punter we’ve had in over a decade for cheap and then cut him to get a Holder? Out of dozens of professional athletes none can spot the snap? Weird

 

[Voyageur]

Crosby may still be released, but the Packers aren't expected to retain Bojorquez, which at least hints towards Crosby coming back.

Essentially the way I would read into this is that the problem with FG's this year was an operational problem, and the biggest issue in that operation was Bojorquez.

This would make sense, as there didn't seem to be a good explanation as to why such a good punter was available. The answer appears to be that he can't hold.

That's what I've been trying to stress to people, for quite some time now. The holder can effect so much of the effort. So can the blocking. It may look like everything is just ducky to the average fan, but to those of us who have been close to that facet of the game, there were little nuances of things happening, that could dramatically effect the kicks.

Even little things, like the ball being spotted 1/4 inch off forward, back, or to each side. The pressure applied by the hand. Every so slight differences in the tilt. Inconsistency in getting the laces out front. Timing of how quickly the holder gets the ball in place, after receiving the snap. Then there's the blocking, which can have a serious effect on the trajectory the kicker needs to have on the ball. If you can't keep the rush out far enough, the kick has to be lofted, and is effected more by the wind, and the distance goes down.

I think we may see a change in long snapper as well. Just thinking that too might have contributed.

To answer the Captain's question, I haven't seen anything that specifically guarantees Crosby will be back, but I do take note of the fact he wasn't fed to the wolves like our punter. Of course, I do believe he's going to need to rework his contract with an extension, to stick around. There is a little meat on that bone to make it work.

 

[Pkrjones]

Cutting Bojorquez is a mistake. Somebody else like a backup qb can hold but he at least gave the Packers a punter who could finally kick directionally and had a big leg. He had a few poor games but was mostly very solid.

Bojorquez only had a 1 year deal, he was a free agent. GB knew his deal was low-end and he'd be getting a significant raise moving forward. Don't think Gute ever imagined that he'd be staying with us.