One of the biggest mistakes the Cowboys couldn’t admit to was their game plan on special teams. In 2017, long-time kicker Dan Bailey began to falter thanks to leg injuries. A big-leg camp body named Brett Maher ended up getting the job in training camp, shocking Cowboys Nation. The team decided that they made their bed and were going to lie in it, sticking with Maher despite horrid performances simply because he was setting records for longest kicks in team history.
Finally, after Maher had sunk the momentum and hope out of one too many 2019 contests, the team moved on. In his place, they brought in Kai Forbath, a journeyman kicker who was once the camp leg competition for Bailey with Dallas. He just proceeded to go 10 for 10 in field goals and 10 for 10 in extra points, pouring salt on the wounds of games Dallas remained just out of reach in after Maher misses. Not willing to make the mistake of kicker purgatory again, Dallas has inked Forbath to a new deal on the first day of the 2020 league year.
Cowboys to re-sign K Kai Forbath to a 1-year deal, source confirms to @usatodaysports.
His career Dallas line: 10 of 10 FGs. 10 of 10 XPs.
— Jori Epstein (@JoriEpstein) March 18, 2020
Early in the offseason, the club brought in ST coach John Fassel, who comes with an exciting reputation for being a risk taker with kick and punt fakes and all-around quality teams units from his days with the Los Angeles Rams. So it’s interesting the club decided to return to Forbath instead of Fassel’s longtime kicker Greg “The Leg” Zeurlein, who is also a free agent this offseason.
Bailey is also a free agent this year after returning to form in Minnesota in 2019, but the team still chose Forbath.
There’s reason to believe Forbath will continue to be a solid kicker. Since a really bad 2015 when he made just 67% of his kicks for New Orleans and Washington, he’s nailed over 89% of his field goals since.
The downside is he has just an 86% extra point conversion rate over that time. He also doesn’t have a high percentage of touchbacks on kickoffs and ranked 43rd with a 3.91 average hangtime.
That means Fassel’s group will have to consist of quick pursuits and solid tackling to keep Dallas from being on the bad end of field-position battles.
Regardless though, if he brings a similar level of consistency as he did for the final stretch of the season, a team that is less inclined to rely on kicking field goals (head coach McCarthy is on the opposite end of the spectrum from Jason Garrett when it comes to fourth-down chutzpah) should have plenty of confidence whenever the situation calls for one to be made.
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