Tag: extra points

Saints release backup kicker Austin Seibert, giving Blake Grupe the green light

Saints release backup kicker Austin Seibert, giving Blake Grupe the green light to continue kicking in black and gold:

Here’s a good sign for Blake Grupe moving forward. The New Orleans Saints released backup kicker Austin Seibert from the practice squad this week, giving Grupe the green light to continue kicking in black and gold.

Seibert was signed after a group tryout last week in the wake of Grupe’s groin injury. He’s been limited in practice but made all of his kicks (four extra point attempts and five kickoffs, two of which were touchbacks) last Sunday against the Detroit Lions. He’ll be up again for this week’s game with the Carolina Panthers.

Hopefully Grupe’s injury issues are behind him. The rookie has had an up-and-down NFL debut — he’s connected on 24 of 30 field goal tries for a success rate of 80%, which ranks 23rd among 34 qualifying kickers. On the upside, he’s hit all 23 point-after attempts. Grupe is one of 10 kickers who have scored 100% of their extra points this season. And 53 of his 62 kickoffs have been touchbacks (85.5%, which ranks 9th-best).

He just needs to be show more consistency on field goals. Some of Grupe’s misses have been due to a poor setup by his holder, rookie punter Lou Hedley, but he’s missed from a variety of distances. If he can bounce back from this injury and nail that down, the Saints decision-makers who have stuck by him — Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis — will be feeling vindicated.

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After solid 2019, Seahawks kicker Jason Myers still has room to grow

Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers had a relatively solid season for the team in 2019, but there is still room for improvement in 2020.

Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers had a rough start to the 2019 season. However, he rebounded in a big way and became reliable in the second half of the year, helping the team make it to the divisional round of the postseason where they lost to the Green Bay Packers.

Myers made 23 of his 28 field goals in the 2019 regular season, good for 82.1 percent. He also made 40 of his 44 extra points (90.9 percent) on the year. After a particularly shaky performance in Week 9 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, in which he made but also missed two field goals – including the game-winner that forced overtime – Seahawks fans were calling for Myers to be released.

He answered the outcry by making all 12 of his field-goal attempts through the next six games, which is how he finished the regular season. However, Myers has to clean up his misses to fulfill the four-year, $15.5 million contract the Seahawks signed him to in the 2019 offseason. He made only two of his four field goals in the postseason, which will not cut it in the playoffs.

Myers had a good year in 2019, but he must be more consistent with his kicks in the future to live up to his lucrative contract.

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After poor outing in Week 9, kicker Jason Myers rebounds against 49ers

After missing three kicks against Tampa Bay, Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers more than redeemed himself vs. the 49ers in Week 10.

Seattle Seahawks kicker Jason Myers couldn’t have asked for a better ending Monday night against the San Francisco 49ers. Just one week removed from missing three kicks, Myers found redemption in Santa Clara.

Myers nailed two critical field goals in Week 10 — including the 42-yard winner in overtime — to ensure the victory for the Seahawks.

Coach Pete Carroll never doubted his kicker and his faith in Myers paid off in dividends.

“Yeah, man I’m so fired up for him,” Carroll said after the game. “We’ve got a long season. We’ve got so many kicks in so many games. We’re going to be like this all year and he’s going to have to keep making those kicks for us, and he will. Fortunately, it didn’t lose a game for us and here we go, we win a game with him. I hope you can see why it’s so important to support your people, and to stay with them, and hang with them and all that.”

Despite the misses against Tampa Bay, Myers was able to stay focused on the job ahead, kicking clean on Monday night. Myers was good on all three extra points and both field goal attempts.

“It’s just, to hang him out there, and leave him out there, and ostracize him and whatever, I don’t even know how to think that way, ” Carroll continued. “We love him … and he came through and had a big night, and shoot, they’re carrying him around in the locker room in there.”

The Seahawks will need more performances like that from Myers as they continue their quest for the playoffs.

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