Tag: brandon aubrey

Can Bryan Anger replace Brandon Aubrey on Cowboys kickoffs?

Why the Cowboys may want to swap Bryan Anger with Brandon Aubrey on kickoffs in 2024. | From @ReidDHanson

The Cowboys struck gold when they inked USFL star Brandon Aubrey to be their new placekicker in 2023. In one of the biggest gambles of the season they turned up their noses at the many veteran kickers on the market and bet the farm on the 28-year-old rookie. It’s safe to say that paid off immensely.

Going 36-for-38, Aubrey stamped his ticket to the Pro Bowl, winning first team All-Pro in his first year. He booted over 90 percent of his kicks for touchback and went 10-for-10 from 50+ yards. He’s the perfect combination of power and accuracy. Unfortunately, the new NFL kicking format may send him, and a few other top field goal kickers, to the bench for kickoffs.

In a quest to make the game of football a safer place, the NFL is once again implementing new rules for kickoffs. These rules fundamentally change the way teams return kicks, cover kicks and even how they populate their rosters. It may also displace some placekickers in the process.

Under the new format, placekickers tee off from their own 35-yard-line. The coverage unit lines up with one foot on the return team’s 40 while the opposing team situates between the 35 and 30, with up to two return men inside the 20. The kicking team can’t move until the ball has been kicked, reducing the speed of collisions and presumably the frequency of injuries as well.

The consequence of this is a kick return takes on the appearance of a regular football play with kickers serving a real role as a tackler. Teams who don’t want to expose their kicker to injury are likely to shy away from such situations. Kansas City has already announced they may not be risking their kicker Harrison Butker to kickoffs in 2024, and other teams are expected to follow.

Proven kickers are extremely valuable for playoff hopeful football teams. Games are often determined by razor thin margins and replacing an All-Pro placekicker midseason could be disastrous for a team like the Cowboys. No one wants to devote an entire roster spot to a kickoff specialist but if someone like the punter could handle kickoffs, field goal kickers could be spared from such injury risks.

Bryan Anger, the Cowboys punter, is himself a valuable special teams player. At age 35, he’s one of the NFL’s most trusted and highest paid players at his respective position. The 2x Pro Bowler has been a fixture in Dallas over the past three seasons and while he’s important for their success, he’s not as important as Aubrey is as a field goal kicker.

Kicking and punting are obviously very different motions and by no means mutually inclusive skills, but many kickers and punters possess a certain level of kicking prowess that overlaps. A full offseason and training camp seem like plenty of time to get a punter up-to-speed on what it takes to be a decent kickoff specialist, especially for someone as athletic as Anger.

While Anger hasn’t attempted kicks since coming to Dallas, he does have eight kickoffs on his resume, the last two of which came with Houston in 2020. His 63.1-yard average would put his average inside the five-yard line, executing the play exactly how the NFL designed it.

Aubrey didn’t show durability concerns in his only NFL season, but he wasn’t forced into many tackling situations either. It’s possible the Cowboys could ask him to kickoff and backoff, staying out of the play as a much as humanly possible in order to preserve his health and safety. But that would give the returning team a decided advantage. It’s also possible the Cowboys would ask him to kick touchbacks all day. But under the new format, kicks sent into the end zone for touchbacks will be placed at the 30-yard line to dissuade this brand of avoidance. The NFL wants returns.

No one wants to see the Cowboys Pro Bowl punter getting hurt trying to tackle a ball carrier on a kickoff but he may ultimately be more replaceable than the Cowboys All-Pro field goal kicker. It’s just one more thing to monitor in training camp as the Cowboys prepare for the new kickoff format in 2024.

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Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey reveals he had appendix surgery day after Pro Bowl

From @ToddBrock24f7: Aubrey took 6 weeks off but says getting back to kicking has been like “riding a bike.” Now he’s also got a new kickoff rule to work on.

Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey has revealed that he underwent surgery to remove his appendix the day after the Pro Bowl, but he feels on track for the team’s offseason work, saying his return to kicking action has been like “riding a bike.”

The 29-year-old former soccer star had a fairytale first season in Dallas. After rolling off back-to-back USFL championships, he immediately joined the Cowboys and connected on a record 35 field goals to begin his NFL career, was the first kicker in league history to make two field goals of 59 or more yards in the same game, led the entire league in scoring, and was named a first-team All-Pro.

He was also voted to the Pro Bowl, but his visit to Las Vegas to represent the NFC was plagued by a sudden bout of abdominal pain. According to Nick Harris of the official team website, Aubrey took antibiotics to get through the week’s festivities before having an appendectomy the day after the game.

Aubrey narrowly lost the Kick-Tac-Toe competition to Baltimore’s Justin Tucker leading up to the game, and then he took a six-week break from kicking following his surgery. It was his first real time off since before the Birmingham Stallions’ 2023 season, which started last April.

“Had some forced rest,” he explained to reporters at Wednesday night’s charity Home Run Derby event in Frisco. “Went on vacation a couple times, hung out with the family, made the most of it.”

Now Aubrey is getting himself back in the swing of things as the Cowboys’ offseason program continues, but in addition to his normal field goal duties, the specialist known as “Butter” is also working on fine-tuning his booming kickoffs for the new rules that will be in effect this fall.

“We’re in the workshop right now,” he said. “Hang time is a little less important now, with [other players] not being able to move until it’s caught. So we’re in the workshop, we’re going to have a few things. Don’t want to really give too much away because [we] don’t know what’s going to stick and what’s going to be in the trash can by the time the season rolls around.”

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Aubrey believes his extensive soccer background will help him prioritize placement over power.

“You get to work with hitting the ball in different ways, putting my foot on the ball in slightly different spots with different parts of my foot, maybe wrapping my foot around it,” he acknowledged. “I think it will help. Going out on the soccer field and workshopping is a skill that I’ve taken with me to this kickoff.”

Aubrey joked that the new rules might even save a couple years’ worth of wear and tear on his leg.

Good thing, since he’ll already be down another body part this season.

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NFL star and former MLS defender Aubrey pays visit to USMNT camp

Brandon Aubrey, a former MLS draft pick who led the NFL in scoring last season, stopped by USMNT camp this week

The U.S. men’s national team had a special guest at Tuesday’s practice, a familiar face for fans in Dallas.

The USMNT invited Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey to a training session ahead of Thursday’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal showdown with Jamaica at AT&T Stadium.

Aubrey, 29, emerged as one of the best kickers in the NFL last season, but his professional sports career actually started in soccer.

Aubrey was a defender at Notre Dame from 2013-2016, scoring 15 goals and earning first-team All-ACC recognition with the Fighting Irish. He was drafted by Toronto FC in the first round of the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.

The defender spent his first season on loan to Toronto’s second team (a USL squad at the time), then he spent one year with Bethlehem Steel FC (another USL team that formerly served as a Philadelphia Union affiliate). After 47 appearances in the USL, Aubrey was out of soccer by 2019.

Aubrey started working as a software engineer. While watching an NFL game in 2019, Aubrey and his wife looked on as a kicker missed an attempt.

“You could do that,” she told him.

So he did.

Aubrey hired a kicking coach and he worked in his garage during the pandemic. After three years of training, he finally got an opportunity with the Birmingham Stallions (then of the USFL, a league that has since merged with the XFL to form the UFL).

In his first season as a professional kicker, Aubrey made the All-USFL first-team and he won back-to-back championships with the Stallions. After going 32-of-37 on field goal attempts in the spring league, Aubrey was invited to Cowboys training camp last summer.

Aubrey ended up winning Dallas’ starting kicker job and he went on to go 36-of-38 on field goal attempts in 2023, leading the NFL with 157 points. He quickly established himself as one of the best kickers in the NFL and made the Pro Bowl in his first season.

Aubrey is following in the footsteps of Josh Lambo, who switched from soccer to American football and went on to have a seven-year career as a kicker in the NFL. If his first season is any indication of what’s to come, Aubrey is well on his way to surpassing Lambo’s feats.

The winner of the USA-Jamacia match on Thursday will advance to face the winner of the Mexico-Panama clash in the Concacaf Nations League final at the Cowboys’ stadium on Sunday night.

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The 4 most important 2nd-year players for the Cowboys in 2024

The Cowboys didn’t get a ton out of their draft class, but these players will need to play big in their second seasons. | From @TimLettiero

After a strong 2022 class that saw multiple draftees take starting roles, the Dallas Cowboys’ 2023 class left a lot to be desired. Injuries, questionable development strategies and a flurry of other miscellaneous setbacks have lined this crop of players as ones to forget, but thankfully, time is on their side.

Dallas is facing an offseason filled with tough decisions, and because defections are inevitable, success will require younger players to step up. The pressure is on the 2023 class. Here are the four most important second-year names to watch in the 2024 season.

ESPN+: Prescott is 2023 MVP, 7 Cowboys make Walder’s top-100 ballot

The Cowboys have a ton of talent, and while it clearly doesn’t guarantee results when it matters, it is better than not having any. | From @KDDrummondNFL

ESPN’s Seth Walder is one of the finest analytical minds the football world has to offer. Walder is the face of metrics that help explain the why of what happens, such as pass-block win rates, double-team rates, motion-at-the-snap rates and others. He doesn’t do it by himself, of course, ESPN has a vast network of analytical guys and girls that pour hours into quantifying things beyond the eye test. Hopefully one day their work will be the driving force behind all of the talking-head opinions.

Haha. Still, in looking back on the 2023 regular season — it’s a shame the playoffs were totally cancelled this year and the NFL won’t return until September, right? Right?? — Walder has once again objected to the AP only going five deep when it comes to the MVP award. Instead, he rolls out his ballot that goes all the way to 100. Sitting atop the perch? Dallas Cowboys QB Dak Prescott.

Prescott was one of three Cowboys to land in Walder’s top-eight, and one of seven to make the rankings overall. Not a lot of solace with such a disappointing end to the season, but Dallas does have a ton of talent on their roster. While it clearly doesn’t guarantee results, it’s certainly better to have than not.

NFL Playoffs: Packers Blow Out Cowboys

The D stands for Done.

The NFL season came to an end for the Dallas Cowboys as “America’s Team” was embarrassed on their home field by the Green Bay Packers, 48-32.

Green Bay jumped out to a 27-0 lead before the Cowboys got on the scoreboard to end the first half.  It was on cruise control the rest of the way for the Packers.

The loss sends Dallas home after the Cowboys after they were fantastic in the regular season, winning the NFC East and securing the second seed in the NFC playoffs.

The loss also eliminates a pair of former Notre Dame players from postseason play.  Offensive guard Zack Martin and kicker Brandon Aubrey were both eliminated with the loss while Green Bay moved on without a former Golden Domer on the roster.

The Packers will play at San Francisco against the top-seeded 49ers next weekend with a spot in the NFC championship on the line.

9 Cowboys named to AP All-Pro teams, led by WR CeeDee Lamb

The Cowboys two best players didn’t make First-Team All-Pro, but the club leads the NFL in players on the 2023 roster. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys apparently have the most great players in the NFL in 2023. A league-high nine members of the club’s 53-man roster were named to the Associated Press’ All-Pro team following the conclusion of the regular season. The leading vote getter for the club was wideout CeeDee Lamb, who fell just one vote shy of being a unanimous selection.

The AP All-Pro team is comprised of the best players at their positions, regardless of conference. Much like the NFLPA All-Pro list revealed earlier in the week, the best Cowboys player on each side of the ball was not named to the First Team. Both quarterback Dak Prescott and edge rusher Micah Parsons have been named to the Second-Team.

Dallas finished with a 12-5 record, tied for the best in their conference while winning the NFC East for the second time in three years. Dallas finished with the same final record as the San Francisco 49ers, but due to a head-to-head loss in Week 5, are the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoff bracket as the tournament is set to kick off. In a likely preview of the MVP voting to be announced in February, Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson took 45 of the 50 first-place votes for quarterback, with Prescott and San Francisco’s Brock Purdy getting two first-place votes each. Prescott had more overall votes than Purdy, earning the Second-Team honor.

The 49ers had seven players between the two teams with five First-Team players, including RB Christian McCaffrey and LB Fred Warner, who were unanimous choices.

Here’s a rundown of who made each from the Cowboys, as well as the full First and Second teams.

 

Cowboys’ Aubrey named NFC Special Teams Player of the Month

From @ToddBrock24f7: The 1st-year kicker also won the award in October. He led the NFL in several categories for 2023, including field goals and total points.

Those two misses against the Commanders in the season finale didn’t do anything to diminish the record-setting debut campaign enjoyed by Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey. They didn’t even keep him from winning a special league honor for the second time this season.

Aubrey was named the NFC Special Teams Player of the Month for December/January. He also won the award in October, making him the first Cowboys special-teamer to ever win the accolade twice.

The former collegiate soccer star went 10-of-12 field goals over the final five games of the regular schedule, kicking off that final month with two field goals of over 59 yards against Philadelphia, marking the first time that’s ever been done in a single NFL game.

He went on to nearly complete a perfect season. His first three-point try in Week 18 was blocked; his second attempt ricocheted off the goalpost upright. But he ended the 38-10 Dallas win with a successful 50-yard boot, his league-leading 36th field goal of the season.

Aubrey led the NFL in scoring, with 156 total points, and set a new league record for touchbacks, with 99.

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The 28-year-old was named to his first Pro Bowl last week.

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5 Cowboys make NFLPA All-Pro list, but 2 best players miss out

5 Cowboys players made the NFLPA list but left off quarterback Dak Prescott and Micah Parsons. | From @ArmyChiefW3

The NFLPA released its second annual All-Pro roster on Wednesday. It’s not to be confused with the AP All-Pro list that comes out later. This year’s selections included five members of the Dallas Cowboys.

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, right guard Zack Martin and left guard Tyler Smith made the team on offense while cornerback DaRon Bland and kicker Brandon Aubrey made the list on their sides of the ball. Smith ended up in a tie with Cleveland guard Joel Bitoni, even though Smith did not make the initial Pro Bowl Roster.

As those players celebrate a great achievement, Cowboys fans will find it puzzling that their two most important players did not get selected. Quarterback Dak Prescott led the league in almost every statistical passing category yet was left off the first-team in favor of Lamar Jackson who threw for 12 fewer touchdowns and 841 fewer yards.

Jackson earning the best record in the NFL is apparently more of an indication of greatness than statistics are for an individual award.

Equally as puzzling was the decision to leave pass rusher Micah Parsons off the list as well. While it would be hard to argue against the case for Clevelands’ Myles Garrett, placing the Raiders’ Maxx Crosby over Parsons seems a bit questionable.

While Crosby registered 14.5 sacks compared to Parsons’s 14, the Dallas defender led the league in pressures with 103 compared to Crosby’s 94. According to PFF, Parsons had a higher overall grade, a higher pass rush grade, more quarterback hits and more quarterback hurries.

While a better record appears enough to overtake the quarterback discussion, it does nothing for a tightly-contested comparison among defenders.

Studs and duds in Cowboys’ NFC East clinching 38-10 Week 18 win

The studs on offense led the way for the Dallas Cowboys in their 38-10 NFC East clinching win over the Washington Commanders in Week 18. | From @BenGrimaldi

The Dallas Cowboys had one mission in Week 18, to leave Washington D.C. with a win and the NFC East title. Mission accomplished as the Cowboys routed the Washington Commanders in a 38-10 win that secured the team’s second division title in the last three years.

They took a little bit of time to get going, but a barrage that started late in the second quarter saw the Cowboys assert their dominance and blow out the Commanders behind a complete team effort. In a rivalry matchup, Mike McCarthy had to know his team would get everything the Commanders had in what was likely Ron Rivera’s last game with the team, and Dallas withstood the aggressive approach to pull away for the victory.

It was another great performance for the offense, while the defense got three more turnovers to guide the Cowboys. Here are the studs and duds from an NFC East clinching win for the Cowboys in Week 18.