Mason Crosby may be looking over his shoulder during training camp this summer.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Will the real Mason Crosby please stand up? Because the Green Bay Packers really need to know who you are – like, soon.

With the confirmation from CBSSports.com that the Packers have signed University of California kicker Giorgio Tavecchio as camp competition for the 2013 season, all Packers fans have to wonder if Crosby will be kicking in gold pants when the regular season rolls around.

Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby (2) reacts after kicking a field goal during the game against the Minnesota Vikings in the 4th quarter at Lambeau Field. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Why?

Because last season, Crosby hit just 63.6 percent of his field goal attempts. Yuck. That was the worst in the NFL last year and by far the worst season-long mark of his career (though, to be fair, 7 of his 12 misses in 2012 were from 50 yards or more.)

I’ve never been completely sold on Crosby, mostly because he was prone to missing kicks in critical situations early in his career. It makes me nervous to watch him attempt field goals – kind of like watching Shaquille O’Neal shoot free throws.

Particularly in 2008 Crosby struggled in tight situations, missing important kicks against Atlanta and Minnesota which led directly to losses. And I recall throwing a shoe at the TV in 2010 when he missed two kicks in a loss to the Redskins, which included clanking a 53-yard, would-be game-winner off the left upright seconds before the final gun.

But Packers Nation (myself included) began really warming up to Crosby after his stellar 2011 in which he connected on 85.7 percent of his field goal attempts. He’s also at 76.8 percent for his career, even including last season’s head-scratcher of a performance, which is below standard (only five kickers in the NFL were under 80 percent last season) but isn’t terrible.

And as for extra points, well, the guy is a machine. That should not be overlooked, either; the Green Bay Packers offense supplies no shortage of point-after attempts, and he’s 118 for 119 in the last two seasons alone. (For comparison’s sake, Tavecchio made 48 of 64 field goals for 75 percent, and 112 of 120 extra points, or 93.3 percent, in four years at Cal).

But 2012 was not kind to Crosby, which is why Ted Thompson decided to bring in competition. Crosby was – pardon the pun – very hit or miss, and streaks were the norm.

Mason Crosby
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

The good: Mason Crosby finished the 2013 regular season on a 8-for-8 streak, including the playoffs.

The bad: Crosby had been a pathetic 7-for-15 prior to that streak, after starting the season hitting 9 of his first 13 kicks.

What to do, what to do?

Honestly, the Packers’ brass has been supportive of Crosby, and in 2011 rewarded him with a five-year, $14.75 million contract extension that included a $3 million signing bonus. My guess is Crosby wins the camp battle and has another serviceable year, probably hitting around the 75 percent mark on his field goals. Let’s all cross our fingers he doesn’t miss any potential game-winners – because  I’m running out of shoes.

Do you think Tavecchio will beat out Crosby in training camp? Leave your comments below.

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Jan 5, 2013; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby (2) kicks a field goal in the second quarter of the NFC Wild Card playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field. Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Green Bay Packers’ place kicker Mason Crosby had a rough time with his accuracy last season, converting 21 of 33 percent of his field goal attempts.

However, McCoy Elementary School, his alma mater elementary school, was right on in its tribute to their NFL alumnus. The school recently outfitted its lunch area to honor Crosby and he was so proud of the school’s efforts that he tweeted a picture of the room.

Click here to see the lunch room.

Crosby, who converted four straight field goal attempts at the end of the 2012 season, seemed to have regained his mojo after a season when his accuracy and abilities were severely questioned by all who follow the team.

Though his overall percentage suffered, in his defense it was the nine attempts from 50-plus yards of just 2-of-9 was the reason why. That’s a lot of attempts from that distance. He was 5-of-5 from 20-29 yards; 5-of-7 from 30-39 yards; and 9-of-12 from 40-49 yards. Those are certainly respectable numbers.

Mason Crosby was signed to a new contract a year ago and seem entrenched into the Packers’ kicking position.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Head coach Mike McCarthy never lost confidence (at least publicly) in Crosby, but there were several instances during the season when the coach decided to leave the offense on the field for fourth down tries instead of attempting long-distance field goals.

But whenever he was asked about Crosby, McCarthy was adamant in his support of his kicker. He also never brought in any kickers for tryouts or to provide mid-season competition.

Whether the Packers go out and sign a kicker or two during the offseason remains to be seen, but I wouldn’t expect that to occur.

In the meantime, there are many who also have confidence and appreciate Crosby’s skills and efforts – including his elementary school alma mater.

Mason Crosby has had better days.
Raymond T. Rivard photograph

We’ve all closed our eyes this entire season every time Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy looks down the bench and gives the nod to place kicker Mason Crosby. When Crosby touches the playing surface, it seems everything goes awry.

It hasn’t seemed to matter whether he’s been playing indoors in September or outdoors in December – he has been nothing short of awful. Every time he puts his foot to the ball it seems he’s pitching a knuckleball that floats, flutters, drifts and never finds the strike zone.

It’s disheartening. Personally, I’ve always really like Mason Crosby. He’s a straight shooter, a community-minded guy who has been a valuable and important member of the Green Bay Packers Football Club. But something has gone very wrong this season. It started, for me, when the Packers held that field goal kicking contest during Family Night Back in August. On that night, Crosby was put on display and attempted several 50-yard and beyond field goals that showed the same kind of misdirection we’ve been seeing from him all year. I think he connected on a couple out of at least a half dozen – it didn’t look good.

When the season started, the flags began to rise to full staff when he badly missed a couple of important kicks indoors at Indianapolis – the second being a potential game-typing field goal that didn’t even come close. That’s when his confidence took a nosedive.

Since then, he has been very, very inconsistent. In Chicago Sunday he again missed two very makeable kicks which would have easily put the game way out of reach for the Bears. Instead, the Bears were in the game right down to near the end of the game.

So, what’s happened? I wish I knew … and I’m sure Mike McCarthy and special teams coach Shawn Slocum wished they knew. In public, McCarthy continues to stand by Crosby. He says he’s the kicker for the remainder of the season. I question how a coach can have as much patience in this situation. If McCarthy continues to call on Crosby, there is going to come a time – probably in the playoffs – when Crosby misses a game-winning kick. Should that occur, McCarthy will be pilloried and Crosby will be gone.

Do the Packers stiffen up and pull the plug on Crosby before that happens? We’ll see … if they don’t, it could end up being a very long off-season for both the team and its fans.

But if Crosby is the man for the remainder of the season, here’s something you might remember … it was a time when Crosby’s accuracy was spot-on.

Watch and enjoy.

Any Green Bay Packers fan knows that Mason Crosby has struggled mightily this season. Since coming on the scene for the Packers in 2007, he has been a pretty good kicker. He made nearly 80 percent of his kicks and even did pretty well from over 50 yards. He was a key part of the Packers last Super Bowl run as he tacked on points even when Rodgers and company couldn’t manage to find the end zone, he made the team better. In 2012, that hasn’t been the case. He has struggled to find confidence even though he still shows that he has a great leg. That was further evidenced in Sunday’s game vs. the Bears where he missed badly on 2 FGs and the Packers opted to go for it on fourth down rather than bring Crosby on for a chance, even from inside 50 yard. How long can that last in the NFL playoffs?

Mike McCarthy wants to just ignore the fact that Crosby has the ‘yips’ and he hopes they will go away, but time is short as the postseason approaches. The question is: Should the Packers stick with Crosby, who has been fairly solid in years past but currently can’t hit it reliably between the uprights from over 40 yds or dive into the unknown with someone (anyone) else? There are kickers out there just waiting for a shot and I’d like to see the Packers bring someone in for a workout, but whom should it be?

The Packers might find the answer in a kid who many teams have as their top-rated Free Agent kicker. His name is Michael Barnard. Barnard played his college ball at a private university, Fairleigh-Dickinson. He has been on the short list for numerous NFL teams over the past few years. He isn’t some fly-by-night, wannabe either; in fact, he might have made the Eagles squad this year if Alex Henery hadn’t had such an amazing rookie season in 2011.

The Philadelphia Eagles invited Barnard to their Rookie Mini Camp last spring. Barnard showed his poise and leg strength while making 30/32 kicks, including 4/4 from 50+, but the Eagles declined to mount a challenge to Henery and opted not to sign Barnard for a training camp competition. Henery had made 89% of his kicks for the Eagles as a rookie in 2011. The Eagles personnel department even shopped Barnard’s credentials around to other teams because they believed so much in his ability. He showed them that he has the leg and the moxie to be an NFL kicker.

Barnard’s strong leg and confidence have attracted attention around the NFL. The kid is GOOD! He works hard and has dedicated himself to making the grade in the NFL, working out 6 days a week kicking and conditioning while he waits for his shot in the NFL.

Arizona has recently brought him in for a workout and they, along with Philadelphia head a growing list of NFL teams that have targeted Barnard as their next potential kicker, so why shouldn’t the Packers?

If anyone out there can explain to me how the Packers are better off heading to the postseason with Crosby than with an up and coming (potential stud) kicker, I’m listening. It’s hard enough to win close games, but in the playoffs the Packers need a better kicker than the one they have.

Check out Barnard on one of his YouTube videos below by going to MoneyKicker34.

December 2, 2012; Green Bay, WI, USA; Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby (2) reacts after kicking a field goal during the game against the Minnesota Vikings in the 4th quarterat Lambeau Field. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports

Mason Crosby had an interesting game Sunday that has to make Green Bay Packers fans wonder if Crosby is out of his rut that he has had. Crosby’s game Sunday was a tale of two halves and his second half performance has taken a lot of pressure off of him.

Mason Crosby attempts a 53-yard field goal at the end of the first half of Sunday’s game against the Vikings. The kick was wide right. Raymond T. Rivard

Crosby did not have the best first half as his first field goal was from only 30 yards yet Crosby still nary missed as it creased the left upright and in. Then Crosby had a huge miss at the end of the first half from 53 yards. It was wide right,  understating how awful of a kick it was. The camera zoomed in on Crosby and you saw the face of a kicker who had no confidence whatsoever, which was a scary thing for the Packers going into halftime.

Packers fans were nervous to see what Crosby would do in the second half.

Sometimes a kicker can get out of a rut when you least expect it and the second half of the Vikings game may have been just that for Crosby.  He came out for a 47-yard field goal attempt in the third quarter with the chance to get the Packers within one point of the Vikings. Most fans, including myself, were nervous but Crosby put the ball right down the middle and all of a sudden, it seemed he had regained his confidence.

Crosby then made a 31-yard field goal in the fourth quarter and when the camera zoomed in on him, you could see that Crosby had a big smile on his face. Crosby has his confidence back and I think everybody will now see the he is one of the NFL’s most consistent kickers, which will make Packer fans really happy.

Mason Crosby’s kicking woes have been a hot topic recently and I have been as concerned as anyone. The FG is supposed to be the LEAST exciting, most predictable part of the game… kicker runs on, kicker kicks ball through uprights, kicker runs off. It seems almost automatic that a kicker makes every kick less than 50 yds! But let’s be real:

The Packers haven’t needed Crosby to “make” many kicks in the past 3 years. In fact his missed kicks never changed the outcome of any game until this season, and barely so.

Crosby’s mistakes this year are not new, but his lack of confidence is new. He has a great leg for distance. When it doesn’t matter he can nail it, but right now he has the ‘yips’. You can’t cure the yips by going for it on 4^th and 4 from the 35 and you can’t cure it by faking field goals. Crosby needs to kick it out… in a game, when it matters.

Mason Crosby needs to work through his case of the “yips.” Raymond T. Rivard photograph

In Crosby’s defense he has never been particularly accurate from 40+ yards, so his failure to convert this year is merely a symptom of the Packers offense stalling a bit further from the goalpost than they have in past 2 years. Crosby has a career kicking percentage of 60.5% for kicks over 40 yards (46/76). This year he is just 50%, but he already has 10 attempts from over 40 yards this year compared to just 8 attempts all of last season and 14 in all of 2010.

What it all boils down to is that the Packers need to do a better job moving the ball from the 40 to the 30 and beyond. Granted, Crosby needs to do better, but relying on a kicker to be the difference by making 40+ yard field goals at Lambeau in December and January is a recipe for failure.

When the offense is “whole” again with Jennings back, Jordy 100%, Starks and Benson as a 1-2 punch, and all of the receivers avoid dropping catchable passes, I think this problem will be an afterthought. In the meantime, I hope MM will let Crosby kick away to get through his ‘yips’.

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