After several years and much hard work, the Green Bay Packers and Mason Crosby today found the answer to his kicking problems – no defense. Yes, it seems that with no rush, Crosby is just fine, thank you.
Without a rush, Crosby was able to go five for five in field goals attempts at Tuesday night’s practice. When the Packers went to their full-team two minute drills, Crosby was given the opportunity to “win the game” with a last second 39 yard field goal. Of course, he missed.
Sadly, that wasn’t the shocking part. What ensued is fairly incredible. The Packers allowed Crosby to line up and take the kick again, but this time with NO DEFENSE. And of course, Crosby makes it.
Believe it or not, I’m not here to kill Mason Crosby. He’s certainly trying his best (we hope). No, I’m here to kill the Packers’ coaching staff and how they have handled Crosby. They have pandered to Crosby like he’s their supermodel girlfriend. Anything he wants. Anyway he wants it. No competition. Nobody to push his sorry ass and make him fight for his job.
It’s too late to call for anything to be done now. For better or worse, Mason Crosby will be the Packers’ kicker in 2010. What I’m upset about is the Packers’ blind faith in a guy who has so obviously underachieved for several years. And to think he “earned” a 100% raise this season. Wouldn’t we all like a job like that?
It’s almost a certainty that several games this season will be won or lost on the leg of Mason Crosby. Think about that for a moment.
This isn’t a new complaint from me. I’ve written about this the last TWO offseasons.
2010: Mediocrity Rewarded
2009: Kicking Game
But alas, here we are on the cusp of a season with with so much promise, and several times this year, the Packers will hand their fate over to Mason Crosby. The visual on that does not make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside…
The Packers organization has done an awful job with special teams the last few years and the kickers, in particular. Ted Thompson, Mike McCarthy and Shawn Slocum, this is on you.
This just in… I hear the Packers will ask opposing teams to not rush Mason Crosby in return for doing the same for their kicker. If they agree, then we’re good. Super Bowl or Die.
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Jersey Al Bracco is the founder and editor of AllGreenBayPackers.com, and the co-founder of Packers Talk Radio Network. He can be heard as one of the Co-Hosts on Cheesehead Radio and is the Green Bay Packers Draft Analyst for Drafttek.com.
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I just can’t believe this guy has no competition this year.
It also goes to show that TT’s absolute biggest mistake with a lasting effect was letting Longwell slip away from Green Bay.
Well, Ted doesn’t like to spend much on kickers. I realize he’s saving the money for other guys, but it has not been a policy that has worked out.
To be fair, he hasn’t Kapinos’d yet.
A new word!
I don’t agree that it’s too late to do something.
Do you trust Crosby to make a 42-yard, game-winning FG?
If you don’t, what’s the point in keeping him? With him, you KNOW you’ll fail. With another guy, there’s the possibility you might succeed.
It just that any kicker worth anything is signed by now…
Just like any QB worth anything was already signed when the Rams took a shot at some Warner guy.
Just saying. Don’t they kick the ball in Canada?
Hey, we already have a guy from Australia. We may have met our quota of foreign players…
you are not proposing that we move on from crosby, are you RS?
how many kicks has crosby had blocked in his time in GB? in his career? i think that it is fairly clear that our STs coaching staff is holding the units back. it isn’t just crosby who has struggled. it is every aspect of special teams. coverage, return, punting, and kicking.
our entire defensive staff got canned, but we kept the main cogs of our STs staff. it just doesn’t make sense.
something isn’t clicking between crosby and the coaching staff, so either he needs to go , or they need to go……i lean towards they.
I don’t disagree with you. perhaps with better coaching Crosby would be a fine kicker. I mean, Slocum tells him NOT to go work with any kicking coaches. Why not?
I completely agree that it’s also the ST coaches’ fault.
However, if you take a look at Al’s previous articles, specially this one (https://allgbp.com/2010/03/13/green-bay-packers-mason-crosby-mediocrity-rewarded/), read the comments, pretty much every argument in Crosby’s favor is countered in there.
Crosby is, when at his best, mediocre.
Kicking without a rush in scrimage? I just heard Lombardi yelling, “What the hell is going on out there?” They should be ruching him from the minute he steps into the locker room. This guy needs to learn how to handle stress. To use an old sports term, he’s a choaker.
Slocum you idiot do your damn job.
Amen
I have stood by Crosby but, maybe we need to hold a picture of church bells for him to aim at.Isn’t that when he seemed to lose it,after making that commercial?
you’ll have to refresh my memory…
They’re just going to ignore all the warning signs until he finally costs us a game or two or more.
They have and he will…
Kickers are like QBs in one respect. It’s a skill position that requires a lot of confidence.
The reason he doesn’t have competition is because there IS NO COMPETITION.
People keep talking about this “competition” like there’s this magical experienced free agent kicker out there that we should have hired.
There aren’t any. All of the good ones with expiring contracts were resigned. Even the mediocre ones (Gostkowski, anyone?) have been resigned.
So if you’re sitting here in a FA market with absolutely no decent competition for Crosby anyway, of course, publicly, you’re going to say that you have “absolute faith” in Mason Crosby. When their confidence is shaken, they over-think their procedures and they start missing even more.
If a Vinatieri pops up in free agency for less than a trillion dollars, bet your ass Thompson would grab him up.
Sorry, but you’re wrong, there. Jay Feeley was available this off-season. Arizona signed him. Jay Feeley has had 5 straight years of over 83%, including 2 at 87% and 1 at 91%.
Would you rather have that or give Mason Crosby, who has never hit 80%, a 100% raise?
Lol. Sorry, you’re wrong.
Calling Feely an improvement is a huge stretch. First of all, his 91% season came when he attempted only 23 field goals in the season.
Secondly, he’s in his 10th season (and 34 years old) and even though kickers have some greater longevity than other positions, they would be handing over 30% more pay to someone whose statistics have been declining for the past 2 seasons.
Next, assuming Mason Crosby doesn’t get better at all and Feely does exactly as well this year as he did last, we’re talking the difference of 2-3 more field goals made. Not exactly earth-shattering. And these aren’t even necessarily going to be game winners or clutch kicks. If we didn’t have such a ridiculously powerful offense, or if we were a hard-nosed, on-the-ground possession team, you might have an argument.
Also, for all of Crosby’s shortcomings in the goal-kicking area, he’s a boon to the kick off game. Though coverage has been weak, he’s a fantastic onside kicker and has the leg strength to handle kickoffs in Lambeau weather. The statistics don’t bear this out, as special teams kick coverage the last few seasons has been abysmal. But anyone that has actually been following the Packers will not deny his leg strength.
Lastly, if you want to do any comparisons between Feely and Crosby directly, look at their stats through their first three years.
And then drink a big glass of LOLWHOOPSIWASWRONG(tm)
I’m not a fan of Mason Crosby, not one iota. It’s just that this is a popular, and stupid, point of consternation among Packer fans. Why don’t you all commiserate about something that actually warrants some complaining? Like our pass rush and thin secondary?
Really? The kicking game? Hire Feely? You’re telling me this article is essentially chastising Thompson for not hiring Jay Feely?
Christ on a cracker.
“Also, for all of Crosby’s shortcomings in the goal-kicking area, he’s a boon to the kick off game. Though coverage has been weak, he’s a fantastic onside kicker and has the leg strength to handle kickoffs in Lambeau weather. The statistics don’t bear this out, as special teams kick coverage the last few seasons has been abysmal. But anyone that has actually been following the Packers will not deny his leg strength.”
Crosby: 94 KO. 12 TB. 7.83 TB/KO
Feely: 82 KO. 10 TB. 8.2 TB/KO
Where the hell is the boon to the kickoff game? Feely did better than him. And Feely isn’t known for a great leg.
And don’t give me no weather crap. Winds in the Meadowlands are as bad as in GB, if not worse.
Crosby sucks at all levels.
Oh yeah, 66.2 avg for Feely, and 62.8 for Crosby. But don’t let facts ruin your theory.
Wow, you have every excuse in the book for Crosby.
“they would be handing over 30% more pay to someone whose statistics have been declining for the past 2 seasons.” –
So instead, let’s double the salary of a guy who’s stats have also declined, and has never approached Feely’s numbers.
And I’m not saying Feely is Jan Stenerud, but he’s my answer to everyone who says, who could we get that is better. And that’s just one guy. there were others…
Then you blame Crosby’s drop-off on kickoffs on coverage. I guess you didn’t notice his kicks falling much shorter last season than previous years.
Calling Feely an improvement is reality. Right now, this year, as the Packers make their Super Bowl run – who do you want? If you still say Crosby then you’re just not being honest.
Every year, several games will come down to one swing of the kicker’s leg. So you don’t think that’s important?
Last season, there were 10 other cold-weather kickers to compare Crosby to. All 10 were better between 40-49 yards and 7 out of ten were better from 50 or over.
Try to be objective.
McCarthy got a new D-Coordinator…and it helped our team. He needs to get a new O-Line coach because it has been a mess with Campen. James Campen was lucky to beat out Blair Bush in the 90’s and was quickly cut when bag of donuts took over. Campen is either a terrible coach, or his head coach isn’t letting him get the O-line organized…then it falls back on MM. We also have had special teams problems for years now. Slocum stuck his neck out for an old punter and requested him on final cuts…and that’s why we lost Jon Ryan, (Who could be running the wildcat for us…I loved his run with the ball in 2008.) Now we have had nothing but projects and bums at the position. Our offense and defense was very high in rankings this year…meaning we have some talented athletes on the roster….BUT WE WERE LAST IN SPECIAL TEAMS!! Come on MM and TT. We need to fire the special teams coach and start new. If the O-line is a mess again, we will need to do the same with Campen. We can see with Capers how much a new coordinator and scheme can impact a team.
Some good points there. I have always felt MM is a bit slow to react when things are going poorly. That goes for during a game and just managing the team in general.
I loved it last year when Crosby was struggling during the middle/second half of the season. Instead of just trying to adjust some small things…the Packers Special Teams Coaches just changed the holder. TALK ABOUT A LACK OF CONSISTENCY THEN!!! It just made everything worse. A terrible adjustment at a terrible time of the season. Consistency is the key to kicking…and the holder can’t be changed during the final stretch of the season. COME ON!!!
And it kills me that Slocum wouldn’t allow Crosby to work with some kicking experts over the off-season. Kills me…
The one valid complaint on this whole page. Bravissimo.
Although Thompson admitted in a recent press conference that he should have paid better attention to holder continuity, so he’s basically admitted as much.
On a sidenote/request for Jersey Al, would it be possible to do an article on the return specialists on the current roster? The KOR position is easy, and many people can do it…however the Punt return duties take special attributes. I know that we all are hoping for Blackman to return to form after an ACL, but realistically that could be a long shot. Could you go over your thoughts on who could make it and who has shown talent in those areas during minicamp??
My last request would be an article that touches on possible trades. Guys that are actually potential players to be traded. That usually means a guy on the roster with one year left on his contract or that wouldn’t have a HUGE salary that the Packers would have to take on after a trade. Players like James Jones, Desmond Bishop, Donald Lee, Jason Spitz, etc. These are all players wanting a larger role that could also be expendable to the Packers and bring greater value….for a CB or OLB!!!
Bishop, Lee and Colledge are possibilities, if they’re desperate for a safety, but Jones and Spitz aren’t going anywhere.