Packers May Actually Have Advantage in Kicking Game
San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh — in all his infinite wisdom and brilliance — has chosen a kicker to face the Green Bay Packers. That man is… David Akers.
You’re wondering, “Wasn’t David Akers already the 49ers kicker?” Yes, he was, but not unlike Mason Crosby, Akers has struggled this season. He’s made just 29 of 42 field goals or 69 percent of his tries.
What’s worse is Akers is 9 of 19 from 40+.
So Harbaugh brought in Billy Cundiff to compete with Akers. Cundiff was cut after week 5 by the Redskins. At the time, he was 7 of 12 on his kicks with a long of 45.
Not surprisingly, Cundiff didn’t unseat Akers, who’s been limited by a sports hernia surgery he had in February.
For maybe the first time all season, the Packers may actually have an advantage in the kicking game, although I doubt we want to test that advantage too much.
The wild card here is the field, which was a mess earlier this week. If you watched the Redskins game last weekend, Candlestick may look a lot like FedEx Field did during that game — some dirt spray painted green.
Cundiff posted this picture earlier this week.
Doesn’t look great for footing.
(Photo via BASG)
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01/11/2013 - 10:15 am
Crosby MAY be better than Akers, but Masthay is not better than Andy Lee.
Heard on the radio that Crosby hasn’t missed a kick since he got sick over Christmas. He had burned out his leg and two days in bed doing nothing was the magic cure.
Are Ross/Cobb better than Ted Ginn? Special teams are pretty even. This game boils down to the battle in the trenches. If Rodgers gets the time he needs, I think we win.
01/11/2013 - 11:59 am
Yes, Ross/Cobb is better than Ginn, and no, Masthay is not better than Lee, but he’s still pretty damn good.
01/11/2013 - 12:37 pm
Best signing is still Longwell with the Seahawks. We shall see…
01/11/2013 - 12:43 pm
go figure……let’s go Mason!
01/11/2013 - 6:20 pm
Why is it so hard to keep a field in good condition? I’ve been to Lambeau plenty of times in Dec and Jan and I’ve never seen it that bad. I know they use some kind of synthetically reinforced natural turf ..or something. But come ‘on man!