Mason Crosby: Keep or Good Bye?

[Deleted member 6794]

Who can make them when it matters most? How does Mason Crosby do in that category? That should tell us all we need to know, imo.

Well, for me to answer that question you first have to define what you mean by "when it matters most".

 

[Sky King]

Heart: keep
Head: possible future Viking

 

[Packerlover]

I think Crosby is a good kicker. Keep

 

[adambr2]

Crosby is ranked 22nd in field goal percentage since the start of the 2013 season with several kickers playing in cold weather as well having a higher success rate than him. I'm not convinced it's that difficult to find another one capable of making 85% of the FG attempts.

Yeah, I've always found the Crosby love kind of curious. I think the eye test tells everyone he's a great kicker, but the stats show an average to slightly below average kicker.

Even if you're willing to give him a cold weather adjustment and say he's average, I wouldn't give an average kicker $4M.

I do get the point about not wanting to end up with a dud costing you a game, but people just don't really realize how good NFL kickers have become. 85% isn't a gold standard anymore. It's a mark you better hit if you want to guarantee yourself a job next year.

 

[sschind]

That's a perfectly fine solution - until the new kid misses his first important kick.

You act as if Crosby has never missed an important kick. Or is it just the first one that is important because i'll go on record as saying he will miss another one at some point in his career. I'm on the keep him side but I also know that he is not automatic. For 3 million and change I'd prefer the security of keeping him.

 

[adambr2]

You act as if Crosby has never missed an important kick. Or is it just the first one that is important because i'll go on record as saying he will miss another one at some point in his career. I'm on the keep him side but I also know that he is not automatic. For 3 million and change I'd prefer the security of keeping him.

I'm trying to remember game winning /tying FG that Crosby has attempted over the years and it seems to be not very many for how long he has been in the league.

The Detroit game this year was a bad miss. I recall one against Minnesota a number of years ago for the win that he missed. Might have been another some year against maybe Indy? He's hit some clutch ones too. The NFC Championship game last year in Seattle to send it to OT and I think he hit a winner in his first ever game against I want to say Philly.

I'd say over the small sample size he's neither Vinatieri clutch nor a choker such as Walsh.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

I'm trying to remember game winning /tying FG that Crosby has attempted over the years and it seems to be not very many for how long he has been in the league.

The Detroit game this year was a bad miss. I recall one against Minnesota a number of years ago for the win that he missed. Might have been another some year against maybe Indy? He's hit some clutch ones too. The NFC Championship game last year in Seattle to send it to OT and I think he hit a winner in his first ever game against I want to say Philly.

I'd say over the small sample size he's neither Vinatieri clutch nor a choker such as Walsh.

Crosby has made only 5-of-10 (50%) field goals within the last two minutes of a game with the chance to either tie the game or give the Packers the lead over his career. In addition he's 1-for-1 in overtime.

That percentage ranks near the bottom of the league.

 

[adambr2]

Crosby has made only 5-of-10 (50%) field goals within the last two minutes of a game with the chance to either tie the game or give the Packers the lead over his career. In addition he's 1-for-1 in overtime.

That percentage ranks near the bottom of the league.

Really to be fair, we have to consider the distance on these. IIRC at least half of these were high 40s or 50s in range. A 5 out of 10 might be more impressive than a 5 out of 7 where all the kicks were from under 40.

Not saying he's clutch, just saying 5 for 10 doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. I can't recall him missing any clutch 'gimmees'.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Really to be fair, we have to consider the distance on these. IIRC at least half of these were high 40s or 50s in range. A 5 out of 10 might be more impressive than a 5 out of 7 where all the kicks were from under 40.

Not saying he's clutch, just saying 5 for 10 doesn't necessarily tell the whole story. I can't recall him missing any clutch 'gimmees'.

True. Taking a closer look at it Crosby has made FGs in those situations from 19, 27, 31, 42 and 48 while missing from 38, 51, 52, 52 and 53.

His only FG attempt in OT has been good from 20.

So while he hasn't missed any gimmees he hasn't hit the tough ones either.

 

[adambr2]

True. Taking a closer look at it Crosby has made FGs in those situations from 19, 27, 31, 42 and 48 while missing from 38, 51, 52, 52 and 53.

His only FG attempt in OT has been good from 20.

So while he hasn't missed any gimmees he hasn't hit the tough ones either.

The 38 yarder I remember from 2008 against the Bears, that one was blocked. Of course no idea if it had anything to do it with the kick trajectory or just the blocking.

Really though looking at it, he only really has 2 what I would call 'signature' clutch FGs. His first game ever to win vs. Philly in '07 and the NFC Championship to send it to OT vs Seattle. Everything else made was a chip shot.

 

[Packerlifer]

http://espn.go.com/blog/green-bay-p...o-get-deal-done-with-mason-crosby-without-tag

 

[Half Empty]

You act as if Crosby has never missed an important kick. Or is it just the first one that is important because i'll go on record as saying he will miss another one at some point in his career. I'm on the keep him side but I also know that he is not automatic. For 3 million and change I'd prefer the security of keeping him.

Good grief, people - smiley! If the Pack replaced anyone, anyone, and the new guy messes up, can anybody here tell me with a straight face that there wouldn't be immediate finger-pointing? And, of course, not just the first screw-up, but my post mentioned that one as the end of the honeymoon. Also, never said anything about Crosby, good or bad. Please advise which smiley I should use when trying to note that this forum, as all sports boards, can be pretty fickle.

 

[TJV]

I would not be upset if they don’t keep Crosby. But from Thompson’s point of view I wonder if the names Derrick Frost and Jeremy Kapinos pop up in his nightmares. Remember them? Frost replaced punter Jon Ryan and then Kapinos replaced Frost. So it’s easy for me to think the Packers could do as well or better than Crosby at a cheaper price, but I won’t have to deal with the consequences of another Frost-like replacement for him. So I get the “security blanket” aspect to keeping Crosby, but if they keep him, I hope Thompson and Ball are more frugal than they’ve been in re-signing some of their own players.

 

[sschind]

Good grief, people - smiley! If the Pack replaced anyone, anyone, and the new guy messes up, can anybody here tell me with a straight face that there wouldn't be immediate finger-pointing? And, of course, not just the first screw-up, but my post mentioned that one as the end of the honeymoon. Also, never said anything about Crosby, good or bad. Please advise which smiley I should use when trying to note that this forum, as all sports boards, can be pretty fickle.

Sorry, I did miss the smiley. The one you used was fine perhaps just make it bigger or use lots of them so blind guys like me can see them.

 

[Vrill]

Keep. Having a season of inconsistent FG kicking is a major headache we don't need.

 

[Curly Calhoun]

Crosby is ranked 22nd in field goal percentage since the start of the 2013 season with several kickers playing in cold weather as well having a higher success rate than him. I'm not convinced it's that difficult to find another one capable of making 85% of the FG attempts.

How'd he do last season? A lot of teams struggled with extra points, but not Green Bay.

 

[TJV]

According to the link below 16 teams missed none or one extra points, 24 missed fewer than 3. You're right, Crosby didn't miss one, but I don't think "a lot" of teams struggled.
http://www.sportingcharts.com/nfl/stats/team-extra-point-statistics/2015/

 

[adambr2]

Keep. Having a season of inconsistent FG kicking is a major headache we don't need.

Paying Crosby isn't guaranteed to prevent that major headache.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap10...en-bay-packers-wont-kick-mason-crosby-to-curb

 

[tynimiller]

The fan in me of Crosby wants him kept...the non-bias man in me says let walk and save the decent amount of cap on a draft pick.

 

[jrock645]

I'd love to keep Crosby but not at top 5 kicker money. Crosby isn't the best but the devil you know is better than the devil you don't. If he's right at top 10 money I'd be all for it. He hasn't had to make a lot of high profile kicks... This is a team that wins big and loses the close ones, but overall I'd say he's one of the better kickers. The question is does he want a fair deal to remain a Packer or does he just want to make as much as possible on his last big deal?

 

[weeds]

Yeah.... well ... just pay the man. "...and with the 90th pick of the 1997 draft, the Green Bay Packers pick Brett Conway. Kicker... Penn State". The east corner of the north end zone at Lambeau still has problems growing grass in the 10'x10' spot where Conway liked dropping his misses.

 

[yooperpackfan]

Pay the man!

 

[CashInFist]

You all remember what having a bad kicker was? It's ZERO FUN. I promise that. LOL

 

[Deleted member 6794]

How'd he do last season? A lot of teams struggled with extra points, but not Green Bay.

He was ranked 15th in field goal percentage last season at 85.7%. Three rookies had a better percentage than him in 2015 with two of them playing in cold weather.

 

[adambr2]

Yeah.... well ... just pay the man. "...and with the 90th pick of the 1997 draft, the Green Bay Packers pick Brett Conway. Kicker... Penn State". The east corner of the north end zone at Lambeau still has problems growing grass in the 10'x10' spot where Conway liked dropping his misses.

Conway was a waste of a 3rd rounder but he never even attempted a kick as a Packer. He was outplayed by Longwell in his first camp and Longwell ended up winning the job and performing well.