*1/2 year. Apart from family night I don't believe he's struggled this year. And he started last year out fine and finished it fine too. HE ONLY STRUGGLED FROM WEEK 5-13 LAST YEAR.
Yeah, he's got a coach with loyalty. He's the second, at the very least third best kicker the Packers have ever had who went through a half year slump, why wouldn't you wait that out?
Let me remind you this
· He's 10/12 in the playoffs, including seven straight made. Someone on here I know (but to lazy to find) likes to point out that he's not clutch. Those are good postseason numbers. Heck, that streak is the best in Packers history for the postseason by two kicks.
·Has the top three longest kicks in Packers history. Monster leg.
·Franchise record 23 consecutive field goals made
Listen, I could go on and on with reasons why he's only in a one half year slump and you take that away he's a Packers hall of famer. I'm hoping he'll show it this year. I don't think I have anymore to say on this kicking topic. I'll be looking forward to finding this thread in a few months from now and seeing who turned out right. Even if I'm wrong.
1) Every kicker in the NFL has good stretches and bad, even when they're going bad. To say he "only" struggled in Weeks 5-13 last year is, IMO, a little silly. Also, to say he is among the top 2-3 kickers is misleading and not a justification for keeping him. The kicking game in the NFL has evolved over the years, the top 30 NFL kickers in NFL history in accuracy contains almost all active kickers. 80% is not a benchmark anymore, it's an expectation.
2) The 10/12 playoff record is also a little misleading. Besides being a small sample, 7 of those 10 makes were from 31 yards or less. He's 2 of 4 from 40+.
3) Leg difference is also not markedly different from today's average NFL kicker. And with kickoffs now from the 35, it's much less of a factor for kickoffs. It does no good to have a monster leg when you're hitting 42% for your career from 50+.
4) I feel like you're comparing Crosby to NFL kickers on a historic level, which again I feel is misleading. I don't care about how Crosby kicks compared to kickers in the 60's and 70's when they were all kicking much more poorly. I care about how he kicks compared to the current field and kicker expectations.
And on that playing field, he profiles as a very below average kicker. There are 26 active QUALIFIED kickers (throwing out guys like Walsh and Tucker) with higher CAREER FG percentages than Crosby. It's not about one slump. Look at his career numbers and see he is one of the worst in the NFL compared to the average NFL kicker. Yet he is a top 5 paid kicker. That is not efficient and would not be acceptable at any other position. It's that simple and has nothing to do with a bad stretch from Week 5 to 13 last year.