David Akers: Redeemed or not?

by JasonB on Dec 4, 2008 5:13 PM EST in News Comment 21 comments

Back on September 30th, after David Akers missed 2 kicks against the Bears, I wrote a piece about how much he had been struggling over the past few years. That Bears game was the start of a tough three game stretch where Akers missed 4 kicks, three of which were from 50+ yards.

Then came the bye week. Since then Akers hasn't missed a kick. Six of the eleven kicks he's made since then have been over 40 yards, however none have been over 42 yards.

Is there still an issue with Akers? In that previous article our conclusion was that Akers had a confidence problem. His leg strength wasn't an issue as his kicks had plenty of distance, he was just sailing them wide. So if indeed confidence was the issue, has six straight games without a miss helped bring the confidence back?

What is your level of confindence in Akers these days?

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In my opinion...

…if he trotted out on the field for a potentially game-winning 49 yarder versus the Giants, I’d have to say my confidence would be pretty low. A game winning 39 yarder…it’d be higher.

In short, I still need to see him make the really tough ones before I’d say he’s back.

by ajay on Dec 4, 2008 5:31 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I would also like to see him make a tough kick.

Bleeding Green Nation - Philadelphia Eagles Blog

by JasonB on Dec 4, 2008 5:33 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ditto

His kicks look MUCH nicer as of recent though. Even his short kicks he barely made. These ones are splitting the upright with much room to spare.

by Joe_D on Dec 4, 2008 6:38 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

+1. i noticed the same thing

http://www.libertyballers.com/

by Remis on Dec 4, 2008 6:39 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I’m not terrified every time he lines up, but I’d like to see him hit a longer one.

I wonder if I can bill Jeff Lurie and Peter Angelos for the years of therapy their teams are going to put me through.

by BrianS on Dec 5, 2008 9:27 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

ive always liked david akers because hes one of the few kickers who isnt afraid to stick his nose in and make a tough tackle on kickoffs, and up until a couple years ago he was automatic. that being said the eagles may need to take a long had look at the kicker position in the off-season. he is no longer a weapon who is automatic within 50 yards. I love akers, but when youve struggled for 2-3 years its more then just confidence.

by njh3293 on Dec 4, 2008 6:13 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

you're all spoiled

Akers has been lights out on clutch and non-clutch situations except for a couple situations this year. And the 3 misses were over 50. Please. He did miss a couple which would have won at least 1 game this year however he’s the last piece on this team responsible for their failures. For that, start and end with with the coach/GM.

You guys forget how good this guy has been for almost 10 years.

by philcali on Dec 4, 2008 7:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

we havent forgotten

we just know that a good kicker can make little mistakes like we have had this year disappear and we just cant count on akers doing that for us right now

by NickPampani on Dec 4, 2008 8:14 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

We all remember that we considered Akers a weapon. However we also remember how he injured his ham in 2005 and hasnt been the same since.

by Joe_D on Dec 4, 2008 8:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Injury

This really has nothing to do with his injury in 2005. The problem with 45+ yard kicks, if it exists, started around the time of the Redskins game in 2007, where he had a 53 yarder fall short. He’s missed 9 long kicks in a row since then (I’m going to ignore the 59 yarder they made him try against the Vikings in 07 which also fell short). Prior to those kicks against the Vikings and Redskins, he was 9 of 14 kicking over 45 yards from 2005 to 2007 since returning from his hamstring injury, and 5 of 6 over 50 yards (his only miss over 50 was a 60 yarder!).

Either something happened to him midseason in 2007, or this is just a really long and strange unlucky streak to even out his better than average success in 2005-early 2007.

Akers made post injury:
50 yards against the Giants late in 05
49 yards against the Redskins in the last game of 05
55 yards against the Raiders in the 06 Hall of Fame game
52 yards against the Steelers in the 06 preseason
47 yards @ the Saints in 06
48 yards against the Giants in the playoffs in 06
52 yards against the Panthers in the 07 pre-season
47 yards @ Green Bay in 07
53 yards @ the Giants in 07 for the only score in the Winston Justice Turnstile Game

His missed long kicks were:
60 yards falling short against Cowboys in 05
49 yards bouncing backward off the crossbar against the Giants in 05
49 yards doinked off the right upright againt the Giants in 06
48 yards wide left @ the Giants in 06
46 yards wide right against the Jets in 07 preseason
59 yards falling short @ the Vikings at the end of the half in 07
53 yards falling short @ the Redskins at the end of the half in 07
48 yards wide right against the Seahawks in 07
57 yards doinked off the right upright going for a tie at the end of regulation @ the Giants in 07
47 yards wide left @ Cowboys in 07
45 yards wide right against Panthers in 08 preseason
50 yards wide right @ the Bears in 08
47 yards doinked off right upright @ Bears in 08
50 yarder wide right against the Redskins in 08
54 yards blocked and returned for a TD @ 49ers in 08

by Andrew B on Dec 4, 2008 10:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

nah

Prior to 2005 he had consistently made 82-88% of his FGs each year.. since then he’s been hitting about 72-75%…. It was definitely his ham injury because he just wasnt the same afterwards.

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/players/4587/career;_ylt=AtIYQYOoP5KWhKQpqhuTma3.uLYF

by Joe_D on Dec 4, 2008 10:28 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Injury, again.

He made 83% POST-injury in 2005 (14 of 17) – he was just 2 of 5 PRE-injury.
He made 82% in 2006 (22 of 27 – you forgot the playoffs, where he was perfect)
He made 75% in 2007 (24 of 32)
He’s making 86% this year (24 of 28)

Again, this really has nothing to do with the 2005 injury, and he showed no sign of that injury affecting him once he returned or in 2006.

He was asked to make 3 really long kicks in 2007 at the end of a half that brought down his average – 59 yards, 53 yards, and 57 yards. But for those three kicks, he would have been 24 of 29 (83%) in 2007.

Here’s his previous longs by season:
1999 – 53 yards
2000 – 51 yards
2001 – 50 yards
2002 – 51 yards
2003 – 57 yards (also made 52 yards)
2004 – 51 yards (also made 50 yards)
2005 – 50 yards
2006 – 48 yards (no kicks over 50 attempted)
2007 – 53 yards
2008 – 44 yards

So, looking through all of that, should we have expected him to make those three long kicks in 2007, or the two 50 yarders he missed this year and the 54 yarder that got blocked? I would say he certainly had a chance, especially seeing as the 57 yarder hit the upright and bounced back instead of bouncing in. But there are certainly no guarantees. And its not like he hasn’t missed really long kicks before.

He missed a 50 (wide right) in 2001, 50 (wide right) and 51 (wide left) in 2002, 55 (short) in 2003, 53 (wide left) in 2004, and a 60 (short) in 2005.

So do I entirely trust him over 45 yards? No. My mistrust is psychological more than physical though – its in his head. But is missing kicks that long, expecially kicks over 50 unprecendented in his careeer? No. Is he making his normal percentage of kicks? Yes. Was he asked to try too many long kicks in 2007? Yes. Was there a better alternative at the end of the half to a long kick that dragged down his stats? No.

Career, Akers is 3 of 10 from 53 yards or more, with 5 attempts in the past 2 years. He made one in 1999, one in 2003, and one in 2007. Do you see a pattern? I don’t. He’s also 8 of 15 from 50 to 52 yards, including going 1 of 3 since 2005 and 0 for 3 since 2006. Is that bothersome? I don’t know. He was only 3 of 6 from 50 to 52 yards in 2001 and 2002 and just 4 of 9 from 1999 to 2002. But he was 4-4 in 2003 to 2006 in the 50-52 yard range. I think these are just really small numbers, and his career of 11 of 25 from 50 yards out is a lot more indicative of the chances than anything else.

by Andrew B on Dec 5, 2008 10:16 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Kicks

Hadn’t we already concluded that he’s no longer to be trusted over 45 yards?

Recent figgie attempts:
Cardinals – 42, 41
Bengals – 42, 27
Giants – 29
Seahawks – 40, 24, 42, 39
Falcons – 36, 18
49ers – 19, 54 (blocked for TD), 38, 25, 28

Following the 49ers 54 yard distaster, there was the following situation in the Falcons game. Possible 56 yard attempt from 38 yard line (3rd and 13 pass instead of short run attempt, followed by punt), Philadelphia leading 17 to 7 near end of 3rd quarter. Philadelphia elects to punt instead of kick. That is the only potential field goal situation the Eagles have passed up since the 49ers game.

On the other hand, look at his kickoffs, because this is the really key indicator of where kickers are and is far more consistent year to year. Field Goal percentage and length will fluctuate, but kickoff ability will not.

Through 12 games, Akers is averaging 65.9 yards per kickoff (best in his career and 7th in the NFL). He has 11 touchbacks (his record is 12 in 2004 – he ought to break it – tied for 8th in the NFL). The best statistic is that he is on track for 92 kickoffs, by far the highest number in his career, which tells you how good our scoring offense is this year.

by Andrew B on Dec 4, 2008 9:17 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

track for 92 kickoffs, by far the highest number in his career, which tells you how good our scoring offense is this year.

We have scored A LOT against bad teams.. Other than that, our offense has been our achilies heal every game we lost.

by Joe_D on Dec 4, 2008 10:30 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

EVERY game we lost? I think you overstate it. I seem to recall losing to DAL 41-37 and to NYG 36-31.

by kuff6 on Dec 5, 2008 9:22 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

I will give you the DAL game

but the score did not reflect how well they did against the giants. it was the turnovers (pattersons INT, etc) that gave us much of those points. They still had tons of 3 and outs that game

by Joe_D on Dec 5, 2008 1:17 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

david akers improved his leg strength this year and was hooking all of his kicks. Now he has adjusted to his stronger leg and is spot on once again

by bula412 on Dec 5, 2008 1:02 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I always liked Akers but since his hamstring injury, the retirement/injury to long snapper Mike Bartrum and getting rid of favorite holder Koy Detmer, he hasn’t quite been the same. Sav has turned out to be a better holder than Dirk Johnson and Akers has plenty of leg strength but I still worry about any kick over 40 yards. It wouldn’t hurt to draft a kicker in the late rounds and have some competition in training camp.

by JJinPA on Dec 5, 2008 7:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Akers is fine. A kick over 40 yds is no easy task. I think JJ is on to something. As Dorenbos and Sav get better, so will Akers.
Was I the only Eagle fan secretly hoping that they would bring Koy back (Primarily as the holder) after they had let him go in the middle of the season?
Dirk had taken over and it seemed like a comlete disaster.

by amishoverlord on Dec 5, 2008 10:15 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

I think it is probably a combination of Akers improving (physically, mentally, whatever) as the year has progressed and Andy Reid gaining a better understanding of his limitations and putting him in better situations to succeed – imagine that! I think he is probably still a 47 yard kicker maximum these days…but its not like guys who are consistent in that range just grow on trees either.

by FuquaManuel on Dec 5, 2008 11:58 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

As I noted, there has only been one chance since the 49ers game for a kick over 42 yards. It was a 56 yard possibility, Eagles up 17-7 vs. the Falcons. Reid elected to punt.

There haven’t been any long opportunities since then.

by Andrew B on Dec 5, 2008 9:23 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs