Paul Bretl | 8/24/2024
GREEN BAY, Wis. — After three preseason games and 19 training camp practices, the Packers still have quite a bit of unknown at the kicker position.
Throughout training camp, the kicker competition has ebbed and flowed, with there being stretches where it felt like both Greg Joseph and Anders Carlson had the upper hand at various times.
After a relatively even start, with Joseph making 22 of his first 24 kicks and Carlson making 21, the first real shift in this battle occurred on August 1st. That day, Carlson would go just 4-for-7 while Joseph would make all seven of his attempts.
However, credit to Carlson–and as we saw from him last season–he would rebound. He remained relatively steady over the last few weeks, and then over the past seven days, he took control of the competition.
The lone field goal attempt that the Packers had against Denver was missed wide right by Joseph. On Tuesday, the Packers first practice after that preseason game, Carlson would make four of his five attempts, while Joseph would go just 2-for-5. Carlson would then further pad his lead during Thursday’s joint practice, making all five of his attempts while Joseph would go 3-for-4.
Through three quarters of the Packers’ preseason matchup with the Ravens, it felt like Carlson had a firm grasp on the job. At that point, Joseph, following a rough week, had rebounded with a perfect 2-for-2 on field goal attempts, which included making a 55-yarder, along with his lone extra point attempt.
“That’s exactly it right there,” said Joseph about having a short term memory as a kicker. “Trying to exemplify it. One thing goes wrong, oh well, I can’t control it. Thank God it’s not life or death. It’s a football going through an upright. If it doesn’t happen, onto the next one, because the next one’s the most important one because I can’t change the past.”
However, up to that point, Carlson had matched, making his only field goal attempt–a 54-yarder–and both extra points. But then just like that, with 7:26 left in the fourth quarter, another seed of doubt was sowed, as Carlson missed wide right from 32 yards–not even the length of an extra point attempt.
“I don’t watch,” said Joseph post-game about Carlson’s miss. “Obviously, you hear the crowd and the announcer, I get it, but I stuck true to myself and my values that I didn’t watch any of his kicks. Not to say that I’m not interested in his kicks but I’m worried about Greg Joseph because that’s all that I can control.”
Overall, Carlson has still put together the better performance, making 81.6 percent of his 76 camp attempts, while Joseph has made just 78.9 percent. But at a position where little confidence has been instilled by either player, Carlson’s miss was a sharp reminder of the uncertainty that the Packers still face at kicker.
Carlson’s training camp hit rate of 81.6 percent if compared to 2023 totals would have still ranked 22nd out of 30 eligible kickers last season. Joseph would have ranked 28th and these are their rates in practice. Similarly to basketball, an NBA player is likely making a much higher percentage of their three point attempts in practice versus in a game. So if we are in the neighborhood of this being the ceiling for each kicker this season, that’s probably not good enough for a team with Super Bowl aspirations.
Considering that percentage-wise things are relatively equal, I have to think that Carlson still has the advantage, given that he’s only in Year 2 and there is upside that the Packers will want to chase. Joseph, meanwhile, has five years of experience and has made 82.9 percent of his career kicks, which includes struggling during his visits to Lambeau Field when he was with Minnesota.
What we saw from Joseph in camp has largely been who he is as a kicker, whereas with Carlson, the hope would be that the potential the Packers believed he possesses when they drafted him can still be unlocked. With that said, while all we have to go off of is this number of field goals that each kicker made, when it comes to determining who will win this role, everything is being examined closely.
“Everything that they do,” said LaFleur on what other factors he’s looking for at kicker. “Everything’s under a microscope. Everything’s being evaluated. I think obviously you put a lot of stock into when you’re playing against somebody else, whether it’s a game or practice, and just I think everything gets heightened a little bit, just the anxieties and the pressure gets amped up a little bit more.”
With roster cutdowns now looming, there is also the possibility that the Packers Week 1 kicker isn’t on the roster yet. But even that comes with some risk as there aren’t anymore training camp practices for these players to compete. If a new kicker is brought in, either Carlson or Joseph–whoever is on the 53-man–will be released with the hope that an upgrade is being made. But that won’t ultimately be decided until live attempts are made in regular season games.
From the Packers’ perspective, do you go with the familiar uncertainty, or dive head first into the unknown? The margin for error in the NFL, particularly in the playoffs is incredibly thin.
“You know, that’s not even a question for me, to be honest with you,” said LaFleur when asked if the Packers’ kicker was on the roster. “We’ve got a really good sample size, and then we’ll see what happens just around the league. Certainly there were some really good moments. Both those guys went in there, hit a 54-yarder and a 55-yarder, and then there’s a poor moment there where we missed a chip shot. You know, again, lotta good. Some we know we can be better at, and we’ll wait and see.”