The Green Bay Packers have gone young this season and that includes at the kicker position. Gone is the long-time staple of the position Mason Crosby and rookie Anders Carlson has taken the reigns. It has been a mixed bag and after last week’s rocky performance, many wondered if the team was looking to move on. Special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia doubled down on his confidence in the rookie.
#Packers ST coordinator Rich Bisaccia on rookie kicker Anders Carlson: "He's our kicker. We talked a lot about it in the beginning. We have a lot of confidence he can keep improving."
— Ryan Wood (@ByRyanWood) November 30, 2023
Green Bay Packers Rich Bisaccia Supports Anders Carlson
Bisaccia was asked whether the team was thinking of moving on. Bisaccia shut down any of that kind of talk. “He’s our kicker. We talked a lot about it in the beginning. We have a lot of confidence he can keep improving,” Bisaccia told reporters. It hasn’t been completely awful for Carlson. He is 15/19 on field goals with a long of 52. Extra points are a little bit of a concern as he has missed three of them this season but that seems correctable. Bisaccia wants him to get as many reps as possible this season and the Packers are hoping that they have their kicker for the next couple of decades.
Patience Pays Off
In 2021, Crosby had an awful season. He went 25/34 on field goals and missed two extra points. He had similar struggles in 2012 and 2017. Yet the Packers stuck with him and he proved that each of those years were the outlier and not the norm. The Packers are being patient with their young players. Carlson has the freedom to work out some of the kinks. Too many teams scramble midseason to try and fix their kicking woes. If the Packers can be patient now, it might pay huge dividends down the road.
Carlson has the last third of the season to show what he can do. If he can finish the year with an 80% field goal percentage, that would be huge.
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