Cory's Corner: Anders Carlson Is Raising Eyebrows
The Packers are replacing an all-timer at more than just quarterback.
It’s not every offseason where an NFL team tries to replace its all-time scoring leader.
The Packers did that with 38-year-old fan favorite Mason Crosby. The Packers kicker, who was taken in the sixth round of the 2007 NFL Draft, is No. 1 on the Packers all-time scoring list with 1,918 points — 864 points ahead of second place kicker Ryan Longwell.
The Packers decided it was time to move on and just like 16 years ago, drafted a kicker in the sixth round hoping to strike it rich. So now legions of people are pinning their hopes to the right leg of Anders Carlson.
“He’s got a lot of leg, and I don’t know if you get an opportunity to see that, but he’s got a big-time leg,” said Packers coach Matt LaFleur this week. “I think it’s just harnessing that power and making sure it’s very consistent, but I think he’s shown improvement throughout the course of the offseason.”
Carlson has shown plenty of promise early on in the offseason, but kicking in the offseason when conditions are nearly perfect and kicking at Soldier Field in driving rain and wind are completely different.
Last year at Auburn, Carlson was 12-for-17 (71 percent) on field goals including 4-for-8 on kicks from 40-plus yards. Carlson is second on the Tigers’ all-time scoring list behind Daniel Carlson, who happens to be the all-time leading scorer in the SEC.
Carlson has certainly displayed his pedigree and he has shown off his leg numerous times. The only thing we need to see is poise. How will he respond to missed kicks? How will he respond to blocked kicks? Will he be a different kicker outdoors vs. indoors?
I’ll be honest, I wanted the Packers to keep Crosby. Then again, it’s better to get rid of players too early than too late. I still think Crosby can be an NFL kicker, the only question is, at what price and for how long? Crosby’s cap hit of $4.7 million in 2022 was No. 6 among kickers, ahead of Arizona’s Matt Prater and Las Vegas’ Daniel Carlson.
The Packers’ next chapter at kicker begins with Carlson and judging from the foreword, you have to like where this story is going.
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Cory Jennerjohn is a graduate from UW-Oshkosh and has been in sports media for over 15 years. He was a co-host on "Clubhouse Live" and has also done various radio and TV work as well. He has written for newspapers, magazines and websites. He currently is a columnist for CHTV and also does various podcasts. He recently earned his Masters degree from the University of Iowa. He can be found on Twitter: @Coryjennerjohn
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Comments (17)
stockholder
June 17, 2023 at 07:20 am
I got a kick out of this article.
It’s right between the uprights.
This change was just a season away.
I can’t fault Gutey at all for taking Carlson.
A booming leg in GB, changes the field position.
If Carlson is money. How sweet it will be.
mrtundra
June 17, 2023 at 07:21 am
As long as AC can kick it out of the end zone on kick offs, I will have little problem with him. He will make his fair share of FGs, as was shown in OTAs. Putting the ball through the end zone, on kick offs, is huge to keep the returners at bay. That is an area Mason had trouble with. The new rules regarding kick offs, may come into play as well. I hope they work in AC's favor.
GregC
June 17, 2023 at 11:00 am
I have to disagree with you on this one. I think that, in general, field goal accuracy is way more important than kickoff distance. Obviously you do risk a runback with a kick that's short of the end zone, but most of the time, the returner doesn't get very far anyway.
I don't think it's at all a given that Carlson will make his fair share of field goals. It's a mental game, and some kickers get into a bad frame of mind for whatever reason. It even happened to Crosby during a couple of seasons. A field goal attempt is a play that is directly responsible for putting points on the scoreboard, sometimes with a win or tie needed at the end of a game.
greengold
June 17, 2023 at 08:10 am
Huge leg + accuracy = Wins.
The physics in play here with our new Kicker, Andres Carlson, at 6-5 219, are immense. All we need in Andres is to be a regular contributor in optimizing field position on KOs and scoring points. That can win a lot of games for the Packers.
Crosby’s phenomenal career was definitely coming to an end, and hopefully we will see that Carlson was smart draft pick at #207 of Round 6 in the 2023 draft. Seems that if we were going to be adding a new Kicker this year, we could have done a lot worse than with Rich Bisaccia's top choice.
His draft profile is checkered in mid-range & deep kicks, but I trust Bisaccia on this one. He knows Andres well, and must see technique adjustments that he can develop as his coach to add power, accuracy & consistency.
In 2020 at Auburn, Andres made 24 of 25 Extra Points and 20 of 22 FGs for 90.9% accuracy, scoring 84 points, prior to his knee injury.
SicSemperTyrannis
June 17, 2023 at 01:28 pm
I see great picks at K & backup QB, two very low round picks. Seeing AC get a FG that could have gone for 65 yards is a great sign! That was his biggest weakness I could find, long FGs. I'd hope that a professional schedule could improve that
Spock
June 17, 2023 at 08:54 am
Yes, but can he tackle? Just kidding, Mason saved a lot of returns with tackles and his famous ball strip so the Packers got the ball back. The wiley veteran hasn't retired so who knows what may happen down the road. Best of luck to AC.
SicSemperTyrannis
June 17, 2023 at 01:30 pm
We suddenly have big guys at K, P, and LS. I think our FO has been taking your joke seriously.
Leatherhead
June 17, 2023 at 09:49 am
Longwell was a mighty good kicker, but I thought early on that Crosby might be the best kicker the Packers ever had. I hope the new guy can do the job.
Bitternotsour
June 17, 2023 at 10:13 am
arguably, if you were getting rid of Crosby a year too early, it would have been 4 years ago. He was a big contributor to special teams problems. His hangtime on kickoffs was awful, his leg strength has been suspect for years. that said, he has been a stand up guy for his entire career, was amazingly accurate in bad weather and deserves big praise for his points records. still, we suffered through a lot of blocked kicks, complaints about holders, snappers, etc. in the course of that career.
nonetheless, he's 38. it was time.
marpag1
June 17, 2023 at 10:58 am
I suspect the Packers rightly understood that the NFL kickoff was quickly becoming a non-factor, so they didn't mind Crosby's weak leg. Average starting position after a kickoff never varies by more than a handful of yards, anyway. So they prioritized reliability in kicking field goals and PATs in bad weather. If that was their thinking, I would have to agree with it.
The intriguing question for next year is this: if anything and everything inside the 25 yard line can be caught for a fair catch with the ball being placed not where it is caught but at the 25 yard line, are we going to see teams trying to use squib kicks all the time?
Bitternotsour
June 17, 2023 at 10:13 am
duplicate
GregC
June 17, 2023 at 11:03 am
I saw a brief video of Carlson kicking a field goal (just one kick), and it looked like he had a compact motion, which was good to see. I was a little worried that at 6'5", he might have a big loopy kicking motion that could result in a slight delay or a low trajectory. Based on what little I saw, that does not appear to be the case, although I am by no means an expert on this.
Slaal
June 17, 2023 at 01:22 pm
I think getting a new kicker now, while Rich Bisaccia is still with the team was an important move.
If the Packers exceed expectations this year, Rich will get some head coaching interviews. Getting our new (hopefully long term) kicker introduced to the NFL by Rich, learning how to train and pay attention to details, will set him up for a great career.
I have less faith in whoever the next st coordinator will be, so while I think Mason could have done well for another year, I think the timing for the switch was great.
Dagger
June 17, 2023 at 10:20 pm
Exciting year approaching with alot of new changes. Looking forward to a new starting QB and also looking forward to kicking the year of with Anders. Be patient GB fans as 2023 is building onto to 2024. Be realistic GB fans as our WR's and TE's as well as QB are so very, very young. Time to recalibrate this year. Should be fun.
PatrickGB
June 18, 2023 at 08:38 am
Off topic, but that Irish punter we brought in looks pretty good too. Lots of hang time.
Starrbrite
June 18, 2023 at 06:10 pm
Many of you (LH in particular) are aware of my sentiments concerning ST’s.
I firmly believe —and always will, ST’s are a critical component to success. Too many examples to cite.
We all loved Mason, but I’m in agreement with Bittensour—Mason’s time was over.
Our ST’s are improved/improving…just in time for the NFL to determine kickoff returns are not that important—Nixon has to be upset.
Go Packers!!!
Slim11
June 18, 2023 at 07:04 pm
While I agree Crosby’s time in Green Bay has come and gone, I have one reservation about Carlson. He was drafted because of his brother and Bissacia knows him. This is similar to hiring a friend because “he knows someone.”
Indications from OTAs are favorable. But, there is a new LS and, possibly, a new holder if O’Donnel loses the punting job. Having all three positions potentially filled by rookies concerns me.