Crosby and his issues

One thing that hasn't help Crosby's psyche or public image is the fact that the Packers felt he was a solid kicker from 50 + yards. He has now proven that he isn't. He has attempted 8 this year from 50+ and made 1. That doesn't help with his confidence. But wipe those out and he is still only 16 of 21, not that great from inside the 50. McCarthy showed his lack of confidence in Crosby the last two weeks on the field. THIS lack of confidence on the field by the coach, puts just that much pressure on Rodgers and Company to perform once they cross the opponents 40. Not the pressure you want entering the playoffs. I'm putting the blame on McCarthy and TT for mishandling this one. Sadly, they should have made the change weeks ago, while they had time and a few other kickers out there. Maybe too late now? I don't know. But 2 kickers is still my vote, they have enough healthy players to send someone to the IR to make room for a second kicker

At worse they could have bought in sombody else and made it an open competition. We need points when there are points to be had...can't always go for it on 4th down. Say we are in a scenario and we are on the opponents 40 yard line, down by 2? it's 4th down with 5 seconds left in the Super Bowl and we have no time outs. Then What? we NEED A RELIABLE kicker who's not a head case.

Crosby numbers in 2012:
30-39 yds: 71% (88% from 2007-2011)
40-49 yds: 70%(71% " )
50+ yds: 12.5% (61% " )

If you're going by numbers, he should be kicking the 40-49 yd attempts, since he's as good as he has been in years past, except that at this point only 7 kickers have a percentage less than 75% from 40-49 yds, so he's at the bottom 1/4 of the league's kickers from that distance. He's got a huge drop off from 50+, and a significant drop off from 30-39. The league average for all attempts is 80-85% from year to year. Crosby was over 80% 1 time, in 2011. At best, he's a below average field goal kicker, except for this year when he's the worst kicker in the league. We could definitely do better.

I think I've got a solution everyone can live with. McCarthy (and Slocum?) still believes in Crosby so how 'bout this: Put him on IR and list the injury as "severely sprained confidence", then sign the best PK on the open market. McCarthy can tell Mason that he'll get a chance next TC to win his job back. He can use the off-time to get a confidence transplant, seek the counsel of mystic, golf pro, exorcist, or guru. Or undergo shock treatment or explore the non-football job market, whatever!

Cap wise it would be better for the Packers than waiving him and I think Crosby would get paid for the last couple of games even if he were waived. It's a win, win, win: McCarthy can say Crosby is still the Packers kicker, Crosby has a chance to get his sh!t together, and in the meantime the Packers have a reasonable chance of making a gimme FG in the post season.

From the sounds of it, it sounds like they are going to stick with him.

I'm very afraid for how this is going to turn out. I can't bear the thought of a playoff game coming down to a FG attempt. And that's where we are right now -- we can't feel good about even a 35 yard attempt.

At this point, I would sign either Ryan Longwell or John Kasay. Neither is going to have a strong leg, but both should be just about automatic inside of 40. We should be able to bring in either one for any attempts of 45 and under.

I wouldn't cut Crosby. I would still give him a shot next year, and I would use him on kickoffs this year. Go ahead and either IR Driver who has been struggling with injuries, or cut Ross. There is no reason for us to carry 7 receivers. I would also be okay with IR'ing Starks if you think he's not going to be able to come back and contribute much in the playoffs. We could also cut Zombo now that Matthews is back, we still have So'Oto on the practice squad if we end up needing another LB. Miller could be cut too with Wilson returning. There's a few players we could dump without any real harm to the team.

In the short term, it sucks to have to carry two kickers, but I'd much rather worry about having to be down one roster spot out of 53 than worry about a real chance that a playoff game and therefore our entire season will come down to a field goal.

I'd be far more depressed watching Crosby shank a potential game winning 40 yard field goal as time expired in the NFC Championship Game.

I've been patiently backing Crosby thus far, but Sunday was enough for me. Even his good kicks and PATs look strange-- every kick looks like a knuckle-baller zig zagging left and right. It just doesn't look good.

I don't understand McCarthy staying with Crosby at this point. When the HC feels more confident in going for it on 4th and 7 rather than kick a 42 yarder... I don't know... that's not normal.

That's why I said team, not FG kicker. I wasn't concerned about the chemistry of the FG, but the team.

For me, the most surprising stat is the drop in efficiency in the 30-39 yard range. I thought he was doing worse than usual in the 40s, apparently I had it backwards

Honestly, you aren't going to screw up a whole team's chemistry by having other kickers try out. It's a freaking kicker! They have one job and I'm not willing to sacrifice a close playoff game because our kicker can't kick a 35 yard field goal. It's absolutely stupid to go into the playoffs with no kicker. This is not something you can correct over night. It's quiet obvious as he's made no improvements and has actually become worse.

But the team....relies on their FG kicker to produce. If they don't have faith in their kicker and I really can't imagine many of them do at this point, how is that good for the chemistry of the team...."Hey let's all get behind the guy who can't hit the broadside of a barn!". No, if anything keeping Crosby around sends the message of "we will settle for subpar performances if you are a nice guy and a teammate". The win-win situation is keep him for kickoffs and bring in a veteran who can be relied on. If nothing else, it sends the message to the team, that we are in it to win it. I'm predicting we will see Ryan Longwell in Green and Gold, kicking 3 field goals against.....The Vikings ..none of which will be game winners since we will blow the Vikings out this time around.

Never mind, I was thinking of his 8-15 playoff history.

Assuming Crosby doesn't turn this thing around going into the playoffs, will his inability to make anything longer than a point after force MM to be more aggressive in playcalling? If so, it could work for us. Pretty ironic and not the way we'd like it to be, but that's what we might be looking at. On a side note, continuing to win in spite of not having the luxury of counting on FG's only adds to ARod's greatness.

MM is way to stubborn to change his approach, especially at this point in the season. If anything he will go for it on fourth down if it's within range but he's not going to change his playcalling.

I was thinking the same thing... Crosby's missed helped us get a touchdown since we went for it on that 4th and 7.

That's what I meant. Sorry-should have been more clear about that. Agreed-MM is too stubborn, but the guy does have a ring, so while it's fun to dream about what this offense COULD be with a peyton style offensive scheme, it's clear MM knows what he's doing.

I disagree - especially going into the playoffs, having more tools in our toolbox is better than having less tools in our toolbox. With more tools, you can fully evaluate your situation and apply the appropriate force.

I speak from management experience, this applies in business too - It's great when your top few achievers pull off some heroics and cover up the flaws in the rest of the group. Short-term, it can even boost morale. But it's not something you want to happen on a regular basis, and it's certainly not something that you want to become a habit. Statistically, your top performers will eventually make a mistake, and even if not, the only thing you'll get with this strategy long term is burnout and attrition.

Crosby is getting ridiculous. I wish I could consistantly perform horribly at my job and still keep it. What if some playoff game comes down to a game winning field goal and this guy can't handle it? I'd rather Rodgers tries for a hail mary at this point. "We are at that time of year" McCarthy says. Yes it is that time of year. The time of year where it is unacceptable to have a guy missing at least one field goal a game let alone 2. Sign some other kicker now!

Well, Crosby certainly looks like a tool lately........but I do agree that having more options at your disposal makes sense, at least on paper.

Going into this game I think the stat was we were 2/9 in 4th down tries. Yesterday was an anomaly in my opinion and I would not expect us to be as efficient on 3rd and 4th down in the future.
That being said I think it is very important to have a reliable guy that can hit from 45 and in at least 80% of the time. Crosby clearly isn't that guy right now but, I don't see how going for it on 4th down more is going to be positive in the long run when would could count on 3 points instead of risking having to play in a situation where we are around 45% success rate especially when failure equals no points.

Side note.....but Alex posted the vid which reminded me.......did anyone else REALLY not like Clays new sack dance?

He's made 71% of his attempts between 40-49 yds for his career, and 70% this season--good for 27th in the league. It isn't suddenly going to get better. If you want an 80% kicker it will have to be someone else. I hate kickers in general, but especially when they miss. I understand the relationships teammates have for each other, but nothing is more important to a team than winning.

And he's no sure bet from 30-39 yds. He averaged 88% from that distance his first 5 years, but is only 70% (5 of 7) this year. From all reports, he makes them in practice. He's got the yips, and he may never get rid of them.

I think the fail mary might have been a bigger blessing in disguise ...
That allows seattle to clinch the wildcard spot over the giants ....(i think)