Kickers matter.
There is something of a perception among US-based NFL fans that those of us on this side of the pond take a disproportionate interest in kickers.
I would not want to estimate how prevalent that stereotype is. Nonetheless, it does exist.
Coverage of the NFL’s London Games often features announcers discussing the kickers at length. There has also been extensive discussion of Harry Kane’s desire to kick in the NFL.
In San Francisco last year, a lot of natives wanted to discuss field goals with me. I have long found this perception a little strange. A lot of my NFL-supporting friends have expressed similar feelings in shared conversations.
Getting Moody about kicks
As we all know, British NFL fans are not lacking when it comes to knowledge of American football. We also are not especially fond of the idea that soccer shapes our understanding of the NFL.
However, the first two weeks of the season have led me to question whether, actually, this stereotype is accurate. This is almost entirely due to the 49ers’ own drama at the kicking position.
Last week, I was fixated on every single one of Jake Moody’s field goal or PAT attempts with good reason. Moody missed a 27-yard field goal, had another attempt blocked and was ultimately cut prior to Week 2.
Moody was one of my 49ers to watch ahead of 2025, given that he barely won the kicking competition and was on very shaky ground.
Steady Eddy
Eddy Piñeiro replaced Moody for the Niners’ Week 2 game in New Orleans but initial returns were not great. Piñeiro missed his first PAT attempt and once again, I almost paid closer attention to kicks than when my team were on offense or defense.
It did get better after that initial miss. Piñeiro made the rest of his kicks relatively comfortably. In particular, his 46-yard field goal was impressively gun-barrel straight.
Noticing how straight a kick was leads me back to the crux of the article. For weeks, I have probably read more about the 49ers’ kicker than their starting quarterback. I am now micro-analysing every NFL kick.
For those that miss, I try and work out what went wrong. If a kick is good, I will estimate the kicker’s true range.
Switching codes
Finally, I mentioned that my own obsession with the kicking position stems almost entirely from San Francisco’s own issues at the position, the key word being ‘almost’. One kicker’s story has really hooked me.
There are no prizes for guessing that is Brandon Aubrey. The sheer confidence of the Cowboys to call a run play and leave Aubrey a 64-yard field goal at the end of regulation on Sunday stunned me, and yet it was the right decision. Aubrey would have been good from 70+.
Aubrey’s story as a former professional soccer player turned NFL kicker is fascinating, and has left me wondering how good a standard EFL professional footballer could be as an NFL kicker. The money would surely be tempting.
Maybe US observers are right and us UK fans are obsessed with kickers.
Or maybe it’s just me.
