LUKE23 wrote:There were some options listed by other posters. I'd be fine with any of them. At some point you have to send a message to your team that this level of play will NOT be tolerated. I understand what you are saying about field position, but are you under the impression that there are only 32-ish talented kickers in the world? The Packers should have a better handle on this...
I liken this situation to the Jon Ryan situation. It's the exact same thing. Ryan did very well and showed a strong leg, but then had a REALLY bad stretch where he wasn't doing anything right and some even blamed the Bears loss on him for some shanks (even though Favre was also terrible). Management panicked, picked up Frost, who ended up being the worst punter in the entire NFL by a wide margin in his games with us,and then we had to move on to Jeremy Kapinos, who is now a bottom 10 punter. Jon Ryan? He's now a top 5-10 punter in the league.
Crosby is definitely struggling. But he's not struggling and untalented. There is a big difference. There are not guys sitting in their living rooms that are for sure better making FG's that also have the leg strength Crosby does.
He needs to make a few kicks here these last few games. It is completely a confidence issue. But I can pretty much guarantee they don't make a change this season.
If i remember correctly, Ryan wasn't really even struggling that bad, but he was cut because that idiot ST coach and Ted never liked that Ryan took an extra step when punting which they feared would maybe lead to some punts getting blocked and at times Ryan kicked quite a few line drives even if punts were deeps. That's why it was such a head scratching move at the time, Ryan wasn't really punting that bad.
As for Crosby, there might not be a better option out there, but if i'm McCarthy and say in the 2nd quarter it's 4th and 5 at the 31 yard line, i'm going for it instead of trying a 48 yard FG.