Tag: kicker

Texans K Ka’imi Fairbairn has turned his season around after early kicking woes

Houston Texans placekicker Ka’imi Fairbairn struggled early in 2019. However, since then, he has turned it around, coach Bill O’Brien says.

It wasn’t long ago when Houston Texans kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn was not well-beloved within the team’s fan base.

The third-year placekicker started the season cold, missing four extra point attempts and three field goals by the mid-way point of the year. However, recently, he’s hot.

Since Week 9, Fairbairn is playing the part of one the NFL’s best kickers. Though he missed an extra point and two field goals (one being a 58-yarder in London, the other a 43-yarder), he has not missed a kick of any kind since Week 11.

“In the beginning, he had a couple of misses,” Texans coach Bill O’Brien said on Thursday. “But he’s definitely turned it over around. I think in the Tampa Bay game, I would say one of the main reasons why we won was because of how we kicked the ball.”

In the Texans latest bout — a 23-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — Fairbairn was perfect. He made all three of his extra points, both field goal kicks and even punted once, downing the Bucs at their 10-yard-line.

“Ka’imi’s kickoffs, for example, were very accurate and placed exactly where we wanted to place them,” O’Brien said. “Then obviously he made his field goals and PATs, which are points on the board, which is huge.”

Fairbairn’s early kicking woes sparked a yearn among the Texans’ fan base to release him and find a new option. However, Houston stuck with him and are now reaping the benefits of the results that they expected of him coming into the 2019 campaign.

In 2018, in his second-year in the Texans’ organization, Fairbairn led the NFL in scoring with 150 and field goals made with 37. Though he won’t boast the same achievements in 2019, it’s fair to say that O’Brien and Co. are happy to have him on the roster.

“Ka’imi’s a very good kicker,” O’Brien said. “And we are glad he’s on our team.”

WATCH: Patriots still without a kicker before Week 14 showdown with Chiefs

This is the fifth kicker that New England will sign since Stephen Gostkowski was placed on injured reserve with a left hip injury on Oct. 2.

The defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots are licking their wounds after their 28-22 loss to the Houston Texans last Sunday.

Offensively and defensively, the struggles continued plus the team released eight-year NFL veteran Kai Forbath this week and have not signed a replacement on special teams just yet.

Forbath made 1 of 2 for extra points and was successful on a 23-yard field goal in the loss.

This is the fifth kicker that New England will sign since Stephen Gostkowski was placed on injured reserve with a left hip injury on Oct. 2.

Although special teams were not the reason for taking their second loss of the season, New England felt a change was needed.

Brandon McManus, Vic Fangio weigh on on nixed 65-yard field goal attempt

“I’m mad because I didn’t get to kick,” Broncos kicker Brandon McManus said.

Just before halftime of Sunday’s game against the Chargers, the Broncos were within range of a 65-yard field goal attempt. Had the team let kicker Brandon McManus attempt it, he would have been attempting to set an NFL record for the longest field goal in league history.

Fangio changed his mind about the attempt, though, and had McManus return to the sideline. The kicker was clearly furious about the decision and slammed his helmet on the ground. McManus was asked about his outburst after the game.

“I think we’re two grown men and we understand the ebbs and flows of the game,” McManus said. “He hasn’t been here that long to see my total range in training camp over the years and stuff like that. I knew I could make it. They’ve seen me make it in practice.

“We were right at the line that they gave them. I went out there the first time, went out there a second time, I was just proud. There is one way that you can take the frustration and let it affect you later throughout the game, but I was just happy with myself to hone it in.”

McManus got some consolation later in the game when he nailed a 53-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. Fangio believes not allowing McManus to attempt a 65-yarder may have helped him convert the game-winner later in the contest.

“I didn’t want to try the 65-yarder,” Fangio said on Sunday evening. “At that point, I didn’t think it was desperation. I’ve seen many times where guys go out there and try extra-long kicks. They alter the mechanics and it affects him the rest of the game. I’m going to say that that decision not to let him go out there for the 65-yarder led him to making the 52 and the 53-yarder.”

The coach and kicker aren’t necessarily on bad terms — McManus is upset he didn’t get a chance to break the record but he understands Fangio’s viewpoint.

“At the end of the day, I’m mad because I didn’t get to kick, and in his mind, he made the right decision for the team,” McManus said following a 23-20 win. “I have no problem with that, but like I said, I would love to have my name in the history books.”

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WATCH: Justin Tucker hits game winning field goal for the Ravens

Justin Tucker hit a game-winning field goal to give the Ravens a win over the 49ers. He has made all but two kicks for Baltimore this year.

Two of the best teams in the NFL played on Sunday when the San Francisco 49ers traveled to Baltimore to face the Ravens. Tied at 17 with 0:03 left in the game, Baltimore had the opportunity to win the game with a field goal.

From 49 yards out, former Longhorn kicker Justin Tucker drilled a game-winning field goal. giving the Ravens the 20-17 win. It put the Ravens at 10-2 and with a chance to be in first place in the AFC.

Tucker also made a 30-yard field goal in the first half, while adding two extra points.

You can watch the field goal here:

Tucker has made 95% of his field-goal attempts, going 20-21. He has made all but one of his extra points, making him one of the best kickers in the NFL.

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Panthers work out four kickers after Joey Slye’s rough day vs. Saints

Carolina Panthers kicker Joey Slye had a bad day against the New Orleans Saints, causing Carolina to try out free agents like Kai Forbath.

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The New Orleans Saints defeated the Carolina Panthers after some spotty kicking from Panthers specialist Joey Slye last Sunday, and the team is taking steps to find a better answer at the position, according to a report from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle. Slye missed two extra point tries and a 28-yard field goal against the Saints in a game Carolina lost 34-31, dropping them to 5-6 on the season.

Ironically, Carolina’s free agent tryouts included former Saints kicker Kai Forbath, who appeared in 10 games for New Orleans back in 2015. Forbath went 9-for-13 on field goal tries and 33-for-34 on extra point attempts that season before stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars.

Other kickers who worked out for Carolina per Wilson’s report were Elliott Fry (66-of-88 on field goals in 51 games at South Carolina, but no extensive NFL experience), Greg Joseph (17-of-20 in 14 games with the Cleveland Browns last year), and Nick Rose (11-of-14 in 10 games for two teams from 2017 to 2018).

The Panthers haven’t made any moves yet beyond adding Joseph to their practice squad, but the Saints will see whoever gets the starting nod next when they fly out to Charlotte in the regular season finale on Dec. 29.

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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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4 Studs and 2 Duds in Seahawks’ wild overtime defeat of 49ers

Studs and duds from the Seattle Seahawks nail-biting win over the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10.

The overtime magic seems to keep flowing for the Seattle Seahawks. Only a week removed from their dramatic overtime victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Seahawks found themselves in yet another thriller when they needed an extra period to take down their rivals by the bay, the San Francisco 49ers.

Seattle vs. San Francisco on “Monday Night Football” was being billed as the game of the year, and it didn’t just live up to expectations, it exceeded them. In one of the wildest, climactic, back-and-forth wins one will ever see, the Seahawks delivered the previously unbeaten 49ers their first loss of the year in a game that came down to the final play of overtime.

The 49ers may still be in first place in the NFC West, but their margin for error was severely diminished as the Seahawks clearly demonstrated they are more than capable of taking back a division crown themselves. Here are four Studs and two Duds from Seattle’s Week 10 win.

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