Mason Crosby is no stranger to adversity. He fought through it many times, and the Green Bay Packers showed patience to allow him to overcome each obstacle.
The current Packers regime is attempting to take a similar approach with rookie kicker Trey Smack, who has endured a turbulent start to life in Green Bay. Crosswinds have helped destroy his consistency, something that will become unavoidable later in the season.
It has caught Crosby's attention. He highlighted some red flags about Smack on his show for the Wisconsin Sports Radio Network, one of which stems from special teams coordinator Cam Achord.
Achord went viral on social media this week after he took two minutes out of a press conference to give reporters a demonstration of all the different ways Smack likes the holder to set up his kicks. Depending on the wind and weather conditions, the holder will position the ball slightly differently.
Crosby doesn't believe that technique will work in Green Bay.
"I've seen that in Green Bay, and it doesn't usually go well," Crosby said. "When it's 20 degrees out and the wind's howling and there's snow and all that, and you're asking the holder, 'I need it leaned a quarter-inch this way forward because the wind's off the right,' that stuff becomes really tricky in those elements."
Crosby believes the Packers need to simplify the kicking process. During his time in Green Bay, he wanted his holder to position the ball the same way each time, allowing Crosby to change his approach depending on the conditions, not the other way around.
Matt LaFleur is finding new ways to take pressure off his kicker, but Mason Crosby isn't convinced
Matt LaFleur has taken one unusual step to take pressure off his rookie kicker, instructing refs to stop signaling whether a kick goes through the uprights. The idea is to prevent reporters from seeing how well Smack is doing.
"Matt LaFleur told the refs to stop calling makes or misses, which is fascinating. I don't understand what is going on," said Crosby. "You step into that role, you're a professional. You know if you made it or missed it. Who cares if everyone else knows? It is practice. We deal with it."
LaFleur is shielding his player from additional pressure, which is respectable. Maybe it prevents Smack's practice numbers from being blasted on social media. But it can only work to a point. The rookie won't have anywhere to hide once the bright regular-season lights turn on and those challenging Wisconsin conditions close in.
I mean, it doesn't solve anything, does it? OK, reporters might not see if a kick goes through the uprights. But if Smack missed it, he missed it. He knows he missed it, and that's what matters the most.
The Packers have also removed the kicking competition by releasing Lucas Havrisik and Lenny Krieg. Time will tell if they change their mind and add a veteran at some point.
For now, though, they're relying on patience paying off, just as it did for Crosby during his career. If that means telling officials to stop signaling the result of kicks, so be it. Whatever works.
But as Crosby highlights, the red flags go far deeper than that.
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