If they had kept Crosby they would have had the actual worst, and one of the highest paid kickers in the league.

I was ready to replace Crosby.
Then he roomed with #12.
MM stayed with him.
Point- Next year is make it- or your gone.

I just mentioned this--after listening to another respected podcaster, I learned (allegedly) that Bisaccia lobbied hard for Carlson and is a friend of the Carlson family. If that is true, it is troubling.

I sense that he forms attachments to players who may not be producing enough. Gute did it too.

The kid is a rookie. The kid is a rookie. Take a breath. I've seen veterans whiff as much. Give him some competition in training camp. Best man wins. Packers have an issue bigger than a rookie kicker.

Not sure why, but it seems like the Packers are snake but in the playoffs. Whether it's injured or some failure at a key point in the game. Mental breakdowns in key parts of the game lead to losing the game. Carlson has been a bit inconsistent this year, will be get better? I hope so!!!! Like with ALL positions, bring in competition. Bring in more than one kicker. This applies to everyone.

First I've said this often, it human nature, Matt knows who signs his paychecks. Most people don't take on the boss for fear of losing their jobs. You cant tell me or any packer fan on this board that we didn't see this guy screwing a kick in an important game and costing us and if we got it, Matt got it but did nothing because he was a Gutt pick.
Funny didnt here about Barry firing this am did you? Know because he is Gutts guy and to replace him cost money.
Your stuck with this F for next year and another year of struggling to win games the d gives up easy points to.

Bitt, I agree with you that Crosby's time with GB was over. Especially with his high salary, but more so because of leg strength. He couldn't kick a ball into the end zone on kickoffs. I would never want to give someone like Nixon a chance to change a game with a big return. Injuries can happen on any play, but the % has to go way down if there is no kick return.

I don't even have an issue with using a late round pick to get the guy you want if he was a consensus can't miss guy. I really liked the kicker Moody from Michigan, and hoped he would be around in rounds 6 & 7. I surely wouldn't have spent a 3rd round pick on him but SF didn't have the holes we had going into the season, so I can see their reasoning. I liked him because he was a complete kicker, coming off a great season, and he played in the cold at Michigan. So playing in GB wouldn't be an issue.

All kickers miss some FGs. Some cost games and some don't. If Carlson was better on kickoffs and didn't miss gimme extra points, I would feel better about him. A summer competition is in order in GB for kicker. If Harty-Stanford or Mevis-Missouri look like they will be UFDAs, we should be on them before the draft ends. Both very successful college kickers with very strong legs. Mevis holds the SEC record with a 63 yard FG.

Even having a potentially great offense next year should not make throwing away points by missing kicks be acceptable. Also the whole special teams unit and coaching needs upgrading in a big way. Any team not stressing good special teams play is shooting themselves in the foot. I am from Iowa and somehow the Hawkeyes won 10 games this year with no offense. Our defense was great as usual, but our coach always stresses strong special teams play in kicking, coverage, and field position. GB is dropping the ball literally.

They knew part way through the season that the kicker was unreiliable. They lost at least two games because of missed extra points and FG. Robbie Gould was sitting home, Crosby was home. Surely one of those guys could at least make the extra points. The loss to th4e 49ers is on La Fluer. even with the missed the FG, La Fluer should never use Love inthe Tushpush. He is not a good QB for those situations. He is not a good runner. Yet we have great backs and great Tight Ends. La Fluer blew the game . Also Love did make it on 4 and 1 but sadly the NFL has a ref problem. In multiple games across the league, the refs have failed or have been bribed ., All the gambling involved today allows for a ref to be bribed and give someone a winning bet. If I was the NFL, I would be auditing every refs accounts and their family members. If the refs refused, fire them. There are many people who would love the paychecks they make.,

Go check Crosby's stats for 2022 vs Carlson's for 2023. Real management might have ascertained this as they were gearing up for the Playoff run before the hapless Giants picked him up. I think he would've been capable of making the kicks required to win the San Fran game and would've been a bargain vs the lost revenue of no NFC Championship game. How many successful Playoff teams exist with lousy kickers ? A ton of effort and overachieving burned by a kid who probably didn't have the skillset to be in that type of situation in the first place.

The STs did make a couple of important contributions with the Wooden block and the Nixon return (and Wilson recovery) in the game, so that kind of neutralized the Carlson miss.

Special team and defensive woes have plagued the Packers for over a decade; "proactivity" does not appear in the Green Bay dictionary, but "stubbornness" certainly does. Any attempts at rectification come after it's too late.

Gute give up this early on a draft pick? You know better. Besides, like most of us, he probably never thought we'd be making noise in the postseason and figured there was no harm in letting Carlson work through his struggles.

So how exactly do you fix special teams? This has been the subject of many an article throughout the years. It's obviously more than the coach, because every one of them can't suck. My best guesses are that you draft better players, do your best to find a top gunner, and don't tolerate mental mistakes (even if they're coming from an All-Pro returner), and just keep working at it. That's all I got.

There will be competition for Carlson as next season approaches. How serious it is or how much Packers will make it is still anyone's guess.

Gosh....maybe we should consider doing what we can to minimize the amount of damage the bottom of the roster can do.

""So how exactly do you fix special teams? "

As I've said plenty of times before, if every coach in the history of football has tried to fix special teams, and stuff like this keeps happening, even on the professional level, even in big moments, then maybe it's not the players or the coaches, it's the nature of the beast.

I would do every thing I could to minimize the damage my special teams would do. Nixon fumbled a kickoff (yeah, a nice return, but still a fumble). By luck, we recovered. We blocked a FG. We missed a FG. (Actually, our special teams outplayed the 49ers special teams).

Don't return kicks or punts. Don't give your opponent a chance to return kicks or punts. Go for it on 4th more and punt less. Go for 2 instead of kicking the extra point. Reduce the opportunities for your special teams to hurt you.

NO ONE on this Packer site—or any other, has criticized ST’s more than I; for 10 years I’ve been saying you have to get ST’s right to make it to the big dance.
Frankly, I felt Carlson would find it, but by midway thru the season, all the red flags had appeared.
I do believe we have an excellent punter and Nixon is dynamic, but he may be gone next season.
We all know what we need: 1) a safety; 2) O-Tackle; 3) kicker.
Oh yeah—-and a DCoord.
Keep Jones and draft another RB—dump Dillon.
Go Packers!!!

Jimmy Johnson, the former Cowboys head coach who is now an NFL commentator had little patience with kickers. After Lin Elliot missed a 30 yard field goal, Johnson essentially fired him during the interview after the game. This is what he had to say regarding kickers:

"“I always had a philosophy on kickers,” said Johnson, a Fox studio analyst. “Not punters. Kickers. They are a lot like golfers. Once they get the yips, they lose their confidence, it’s time to find you a new kicker because he may not get it back for a year or so.”

Based upon that philosophy, I would think Johnson would have replace Carlson well before the playoff miss. That critical miss hurt the team and Carlson provided plenty of justification for a release before this missed kick.

Just because Carlson is a rookie does not give him a free pass
much less a chance to come back next season.

It seems a lot of people do not remember Brett Conway a
kicker out of Penn State drafted by the Packers in 1997
IN THE THIRD ROUND ! to replace a reliable long time
kicker in Chris Jacke . Only to have to go with Ryan Longwell
an undrafted Free Agent Kicker after Chris Berman of ESPN
famously said after watching Conway kick in the Pre-Season
that he kicked more like Tim Conway. Carlson looked just as
unreliable kicking in the Pre Season as Conway did in 1997.

But then again look at who made the decision to keep him,
Matt Lafleur , The same Lafleur who refuses to replace his Buddy
Joe Barry.

Just seeing this guy (Carlson) miss extra points in the Pre Season
and Regular Season made our worst nightmare come true and
that is to rely on this guy to make a Game Deciding Kick

OK. Special teams are a problem. I was beating the drums for a top tier coordinator, because that seemed to be a guarantee the unit would be better. So, the Packers hired Bisaccia, and it seemed the team had finally solved the problem. Instead, nope. They seemed to regress. Though how much of this is due to the poor kicking wasn't mentioned in the article. Because it seemed the coverage and tackling improved over the course of the season. So, if hiring, and paying a really good coach isn't the answer, what is? Good questions are nice. Answers, or at least ideas, are better.

If anyone wants to spin it we all knew the Packers were starting over this year and they went young with the expectation they would grow and develop together over quite a few more years. The kicking in the 49's game did come back to hurt the Packers but the philosophy the Packers took this year I am and have always been 100% on board with going young. Many on here wanted Gutey to sign aging vets like Crosby, aging WR's, etc. Just wrong! How many times do we have to dilute and hold back what the organization is trying to accomplish by signing old injury-prone veterans? This was completely a rebuilding year, with a plan to see whether Love was QB1.

Several very good things did happen on ST's in the 49's game that were very promising. Lots of good things! Most everything about this team and season is looking up for the Packers next year. None of this stops the fact that the Packers do need to bring in competition for Carlson next spring/summer. My hope is with one-full season of up and down experiences coupled with several playoff games under his belt that he becomes 'our guy'!

This is a management issue. Obviously, we have a lack of accountability here. The kicker's coaches may value loyalty over production. If so, they are responsible. Whoever is responsible for his coaches then needs to make them accountable for not doing what is in the best interest of the team and the fans. Unfortunately, under the current leadership, we have a wash, rinse & repeat scenario with our special teams.

Make no mistake.. they lost to the 49ers because they choked in the red zone three times, and choked two times in the fourth quarter when they failed to get a touchdown and put the game away when leading by four.

Special teams did not lose us the game outright - as what happened to Buffalo. And there was not quick win for Buffalo had they made the FG - just a coin toss and the chance to play on. Special teams suffered an overall regression - ie not just the place kicker. That needs to be fixed by Rich ( and maybe by drafting guys at the bottom end who can play there - and in the cutdown - ie if Deguara cannot be a tight end maybe he is worthwhile being on the 53 as a ST'er. But what I would like to see out of Carlson - is both a mental and a physical improvement. Ie kickoffs through the end zone - which might also help his longer field goal accuracy. But those are offseason improvements and if he doesnt show that during the offseason program and in preseason - might have to look elsewhere - but many kickers get better. At least we did not end our season with a double doink - or like the Bills did.

OK correct me if I’m wrong but didn’t the 49ers kicker miss a field goal also.
I think Love threw 2 second half interceptions and our DB’s drop 2.
I know Carlson has issues but he is really getting beat up over his miss. He’s not the biggest reason we lost Saturday.

I know that Carlson is a rookie but what special thing does he bring to the table besides a brother who can kick and a friend in the coach? He is not good on long or short kicks, he had a terrible record in his final college year, he doesn’t kick long enough for a lot of touchbacks and doesn’t seem clutch. I wish the young man well but not as the kicker in Green Bay.

Yes his percentages are terrible on Xtra Points and FG, but one thing that no one has said is with such a strong leg why so many short kick offs??

Can't argue that Carlson missed a makable FGbut it's not the only reason for the Packers to the 49ers. Love missed on several throws that should have been completions, the two dropped picks by the defense, missed tackles and questionable decisions by the HC. A big factor was the Packers failure 3 times in the Red Zone in the first half to score a TD. Even if one of those drives ended in a TD at worst the Packers are tied and going into OT at the end of the game. A TD on one of those early drives changes the complexion of the game.

I'm not trying to give Carlson a pass because he needs to make that kick but maybe the game should not have even come down to that kick by that point in the game. After Jones started that drive with a great run to get the Packers down into 49er territory the 49er defense stiffened, made a stop and forced the FG. Unlike the Packers defense which then took the field and allowed the 49ers to march down the field for the winning TD. The Packers had the 49ers in a few 3rd and longs during that drive but they failed, yet again, to make the stop when it counted.

Another playoff loss, for the same reasons. Poor execution at crucial points in the game, defense unable to make a key stop and questionable HC decisions. This is an old story for the Packers. Fortunately this team is young enough to hopefully evolve past these issues. The question remains is the FO and coaching staff able to get past the same issues. Time will tell. Thanks, Since '61

Carlson. Remember a few years ago Crosby and McPherson of the Bengals, a rookie at the time,each missed multiple kicks when the teams played. If I RCC McPherson missed 4 kicks. By the end of the year McPherson was a keeper. Clearly Carlson needs more time than McPherson did but the point is good kickers do take some time get it right.

The Packers rolled the dice on Anders Carlson, and it did not pay off in 2023.

I don't expect the Packers to cut bait with Carlson, but I do expect them to start the 2024 off season with three kickers on the roster, and it should be an open competition right up until the final roster cut.

Make a cut after the first few weeks of camp, and let the two remaining men fight it out through preseason.

If Anders legitimately out performs the competition, roll with him. If not.. no hesitations. Best man wins the job heading into the new season.

Josh Karty from Stanford was 23-27 on FGA and perfect on XP. Was 7-7 from 40-49 and 4-7 on 50+.

Kickers have driven coaches insane for decades. The work of an entire game can go pffffff! in a second with a missed kick.

That said, the Packers swung and missed on Carlson. I doubt he will get any better. That alleged strong leg didn't show up much and he had the accuracy of a guy who lost his glasses.

But I smile when I see people going bonkers about it. Kickers are a dime a dozen and a suitable replacement is just a phone call away. We all got spoiled with Mason Crosby. While he had his hiccups he was deadly accurate most of the time. Accuracy is much more important than distance.

MLF should quietly move on from Carlson this off season and have an open audition beginning in April. As we found out repeatedly this year, kickers can be forgotten until the ball misses the uprights.

As a whole the Packers won special teams because of Nixon. With 6 minutes left in the game, they had a lead. The defense couldn't close it out. Barry from my perspective played it safe and rushed four the whole drive and SF slowly worked their way down the field. This is why the Packers list. How many late drives did Barry allow. It does no good to have an aggressive coach and a timid DC. In a game like last Saturday, no risk, no reward. The whole time Barry was here, this is what happened late in games. No. No more Barry because what happened is his late game timidness. What did SF on the missed FG try drive? They brought the house and won the down. That's how you win late in games. The Packers never had the chance with Barry.

I like Karty too gsd3. Harold Mevis also of Missouri. Either would be good competition this summer for Carlson. But both could get drafted late. They are both that good. GB should be in strong contact before the draft and during. UFDAs would be great.

I have seen multiple postings on here suggesting Carlson was told by his coach to purposely kick the ball short of the endzone. Supposedly that's the reason behind the short kickoffs. Might be one of the more ridiculous theories or opinions I have read on here. Kickoffs not returned prevent scoring, lessen injuries, and make for a long field every time. Long drives are tougher to navigate.

According to SI source, Packers have signed former Georgia standout kicker Jack Podlesny. During his senior season with the Bulldogs, Podlesny was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Year after making 26-of-31 field-goal attempts and 73-of-74 point-after tries.

Didn't know he wasn't rostered. Add another and let the competition begin.

MooPack, that is a good get for the Packers. Podlesney was the 3rd ranked kicker in 2 different rating services last year. Strong leg, 65% of kickoffs were touchbacks. SEC kicker, so he has kicked in pressure at high level. Let the best man win.