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Eagles kicker David Akers missed a 50-yard field goal on Sunday. The kick, if good, would have put the Eagles up by 17 points.
Instead, the Redskins got the ball at their own 40, and ultimately converted the possession into a three-pointer of their own.
The six-point swing in what ended up being a six-point game is getting attention in Philly. As is the fact that Akers has missed nine kicks in a row from 45 yards or longer.
“The distances are there,”Akers said. “It’d just be nice to hit ‘em between [the uprights] once in a while . . . I go out and try my best, and I’m coming up ‘right’ on them, apparently. Is it frustrating? Yeah. Do I feel like I’m letting my teammates down? Absolutely.”
Meanwhile, Redskins kicker Shaun Suisham made field goals of 48 and 50 yards on Sunday.
At some point, the Eagles need to contemplate making a change. Sure, Akers has been the team’s only kicker during the Andy Reid era in Philly. But something’s wrong — and Reid seems to be the only one who doesn’t realize it.
“David’s going to make a lot more of those than he’s going to miss,” Reid said Sunday. “Down the stretch here, he’ll be fine.”
We’re not so sure Akers will be fine. And we’re not so sure the Eagles will be fine, either.
October 6th, 2008 at 7:38 am
I found this shocking when I saw it…….Attached is the field goal % from the past 3 years….Akers is ranked SECOND TO LAST!!!!
Florio, this criticism is not unfounded. He missed a 46 and a 50 yarder in Chicago (lost by 4 points, hitting ONE of them would have allowed the Eagles to kick a chip shot field goal instead of going for it on 4th and 1). It is pretty amazing when you look at how one play can change a season. Instead, the Eagles are 2-3, with more losses than the rest of the division COMBINED. Classic Andy. He goes into last season without a punt returner. He goes into this season without a FB (because its not like the eagles have had their issues on short yardage downs) and a kicker who hasn’t made a 40+ yard field goal in 9 attempts…. NINE ATTEMPT’S. Its unheard of. Has any kicker in the NFL ever remained with the team after missing 9 straight 40 yarders? The attached chart speaks for herself……..
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Rating: 5 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
October 6th, 2008 at 7:46 am
Akers needs to go and it’s just another example of why Andy needs to go too. I’ve been a supporter of Andy Reid’s for a long time now for the simple reason that the guy wins football games, but the time has come for a change. He abandons the run way too early, he’s never prepared in the red zone, can’t manage the clock effectively, doesn’t adjust at all at halftime and can’t admit that the Eagles receivers are mediocre at best. Every year it’s the same thing. It’s becoming more and more apparent that the Eagles success during his tenure was as much a product of a weak division as it was Andy’s coaching. Sorry Andy…it’s time to script the first 15 plays somewhere else.
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October 6th, 2008 at 7:52 am
Eh Shayne Graham can’t hit 45+ worth a crap but get’s praised for being so accurate.
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October 6th, 2008 at 8:02 am
He missed Koy Detmer as his holder
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October 6th, 2008 at 8:43 am
Being an Eagles fan is the most aggravating passtime on earth.
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October 6th, 2008 at 8:59 am
The leg strength has been there for the most part.
Who is helping Dave with his plan, his frame of mind??
He’s missing a lot of makeable shots.
Sometimes, if the player is more big time than the coach,
the player basically is coaching himself
and it can develop into a problem.
He needs some coaching with all that.
Where is it at..?
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October 6th, 2008 at 9:15 am
The problem is more with Reid than Akers. Akers hasn’t been a top kicker for several years, as was well explained earlier in the comments.
Reid sticks with something whether it is working or not simply because it works in practice and training camp. He’s never been a good gameday coach and he’s never improved over the course of almost a decade in Philly.
I don’t know whether he’s a worse coach or GM but I believe he’s merely mediocre at both jobs. There are worse guys out there but there are better, as well. In the NFL, mediocre gets you a .500 record, which is approximately what the Eagles have over the last few years.
(27-28 from 2005 - 2008)
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October 6th, 2008 at 9:24 am
I couldn’t agree more Stini777…..but one thing I’m not hearing much of is the fact that Jeffrey Lurie and Joe Banner will never fire Reid.
They’re almost as oblivious to the obvious as Reid is. It’s easy to blame McNabb, the WR’s, and Akers, but we should never be in these situations to begin with. We had a good run with Reid, but it’s time for a change, effective immediately!
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October 6th, 2008 at 9:24 am
I love Akers and always defended him as the best in the business, but we need to win NOW and he’s not getting it done. Granted none of the Eagles are getting it done and this season that was so promising two weeks ago is now a nightmare. This will ultimately be the end of the Reid/McNabb era.
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October 6th, 2008 at 9:45 am
It’s hard to win close games when you can’t make a field goal.
The Eagles’ current predicament reminds me of when we had Simmoneau kicking field goals when Akers got hurt in 2005. Except now, we have the same field goal accuracy with a kicker that we had with a linebacker. Perhaps Akers is nipping at the bottle like a former Colts kicker.
I thought with the way Richmond McGee was kicking in preseason, Akers would be replaced, but they cut the guy before any sort of kicking competition could play out.
I don’t get it… AR didn’t hesitate to replace Dirk Johnson when he was doing an adequate job, even if not great, because Rocca was a clear upgrade. Speaking of punting, that’s what we might as well do rather than attempt field goals that aren’t inside the 40.
Do they really like playing the “Green Acres” song so much at the stadium they can’t part ways when it clearly isn’t working out anymore? At this rate, we won’t be hearing the song much either way.
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October 6th, 2008 at 10:13 am
They should teach Rocca to place kick. That sumbitch could kick the 74 yarders that Lane Kiffin likes to call.
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October 6th, 2008 at 10:16 am
The Eagles should take Purdue’s kicker!
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October 6th, 2008 at 10:17 am
““David’s going to make a lot more of those than he’s going to miss,” Reid said Sunday.”
What does that percentage drop to when the game is on the line?
There are a lot of ex-college football and soccer players who can hit 51% if that’s Reid’s benchmark of excellence.
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October 6th, 2008 at 10:21 am
My opinion of Andy Reid hasn’t changed over the past 10 years. He’s a very good coach Monday thru Saturday, but for some reason, on Sundays (or gameday) his play calling baffles the hell out of me - whether they win or lose. He must be “allergic” to the running game, or he gets a hard-on watching the passing game. The Eagles had the Redskins defense confused a bit on the first drive because they ran the ball first. But, after going up 14-0, he calls the type of plays you’d see when your team is down by 2 touchdowns late in the 4th quarter. It’s amazing that a man who obviously is IN LOVE with passing the football doesn’t “value” the WR position, and still hasn’t drafted a solid tight end.
I’m not trying to take anything away from the Redskins, and I think their QB is EXTREMELY underrated. But, the Skins were down 2 touchdowns early, and never abandoned the running game. Sometimes, if the run is working, it will keep working because the defense can’t stop it. Andy Reid seems to out think himself, and it kills the offense. I mean, when you pass the ball close to 80 percent of the time after the first drive, why even bother using play action EVERY play?
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October 6th, 2008 at 10:33 am
Birds could be 5 - 0 with a different kicker. In two of their losses, Akers missed a combined 6 figgies. That’s 18 points the offense didn’t score (although, the offense should probably have gotten TDs anyways). Those two games were lost by 10 points. Against Dallas, Felix Jones returned a kick off for a score. Can’t be entirely sure the coverage wasn’t crap, but a low angle kick from a kicker desperately trying to get the ball two yards deep in the endzone is far easier to return than a high arching ball. I can’t find stats on how many times Akers has caused a touchback on kick offs, but from memory it is not nearly as many as it once was.
My guess: the injury in 2005 has ruined a great career as a kicker. The fans, the organization and the team all love David Akers, but at some point you have to let an underperforming veteran go. They did it with Duce Staley, Hugh Douglass, Troy Vincent, Bobby Taylor, etc… Akers needs to go that route, too.
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October 6th, 2008 at 10:51 am
“Eh Shayne Graham can’t hit 45+ worth a crap but get’s praised for being so accurate. ”
40+ yards
Graham 100%
Akers 25%
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October 6th, 2008 at 11:09 am
I bleed green, but akers has to go. It is a what are you doing for me right now league and he hasn’t done anything in 2 years. Didn’t KC cut Feeley? Paging Jay Feeley…paging Jay Feeley….
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October 6th, 2008 at 11:51 am
Not that I want to help the Eagles, but why don’t we hear teams like the Eagles or Ravens (who are being hampered by Matt Stover) inquire about kickers from the teams that are not in the playoff hunt? Are you saying that Josh Brown, Jason Hanson, or even SeaBass couldn’t help a contending team? While I hate when teams waste a draft pick on college kickers, proven kickers are worth a draft pick.
What do you guys think?
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October 6th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
As a packer fan, crosby easily booted a 38 yarder through only to get it called back for holding…a few minutes later he missed from 48 and guess how much we lost byy……thats right 3 points… it is ridiculus how important field goals are every week
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October 6th, 2008 at 7:48 pm
This is exactly why the Giants are probably going to keep two healthy kickers this year. They know Akers is a problem for the Eagles and you don’t solve a division rival’s problems by giving them a kicker.
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