For you Gostkowski haters

[Tricorn Hat]

Rank Player (age), + - HOFer, Bold - Active FG% Years Teams
1. Nate Kaeding (28) 86.500% 2004-2011 sdg
2. Mike Vanderjagt 86.46 1998-2006 2TM
3. Rob Bironas (32) 86.111% 2005-2011 oti
4. Shayne Graham (33) 85.944% 2001-2011 7TM
5. Garrett Hartley (24) 85.714% 2008-2011 nor
Robbie Gould (28) 85.714% 2005-2011 chi
7. Stephen Gostkowski (26) 84.242% 2006-2011 nwe
8. Matt Bryant (35) 83.966% 2002-2011 5TM
9. Connor Barth (24) 83.721% 2008-2011 2TM
10. Matt Stover 83.659% 1991-2009 3TM

ALL TIME RANKINGS

 

[dhamz]

When he hit the game winning field goal as a rookie in the divisional game at San Diego From 51 yards with :40 left, the man gained my confidence.

It was a 31 yard chip shot actually.

He is a solid kicker - good on kick-offs and despite the occasional head scratching miss he makes a high percentage.

I'm not sure I would be overflowing in either confidence or dread were he needed to make a big kick in the playoffs based on his limited but mixed history. The GW in SD was part of an 8-8 post season in 2006. In 2007, he was very shaky in the postseason. He missed a 35 yarder against Jax at a time the game was tied. In the SB after shanking a kickoff out of bounds BB chose to go for it on 4th and long in Giants territory.

 

[dhamz]

Rank Player (age), + - HOFer, Bold - Active FG% Years Teams
1. Nate Kaeding (28) 86.500% 2004-2011 sdg
2. Mike Vanderjagt 86.46 1998-2006 2TM
3. Rob Bironas (32) 86.111% 2005-2011 oti
4. Shayne Graham (33) 85.944% 2001-2011 7TM
5. Garrett Hartley (24) 85.714% 2008-2011 nor
Robbie Gould (28) 85.714% 2005-2011 chi
7. Stephen Gostkowski (26) 84.242% 2006-2011 nwe
8. Matt Bryant (35) 83.966% 2002-2011 5TM
9. Connor Barth (24) 83.721% 2008-2011 2TM
10. Matt Stover 83.659% 1991-2009 3TM

ALL TIME RANKINGS

I find it interesting that you probably can't find a coach, player, or fan who would want either of the 2 most accurate kickers of all time anywhere on their list of guys they would want to kick a must make FG.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Exactly, not sure how anyone can hate on this guy. On his worst day, he's an average kicker who is athletic enough to make plays on special teams that most kickers can't. But generally IMHO he's a better-than-average kicker. He's got more range than Vinatieri, but not quite as much accuracy.
Like

Hes more accurate than Adam, he just doesnt have two snow kicks and two winning super bowl picks. For that he'll probably always be thought of as inferior to Adam, but how many kickers get the opportunity like Adam has and to his credit came through.
Until Ghost misses a kick to win a SB or playoff game in the final seconds Ill assume hes as capable of making it as anyone.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

Do yourself a favor. Get a football. Put it in the freezer. Take it outside and then try and kick a 50 yard FG and tell me how you do. Better yet, tell me how your son does. I'll give you 100 chances to make just ONE.

Gostkowski has missed only 2 from inside of 40 yards this year. Not sure how that warrants the statement that "He seems to miss too many 'easy' FGs".

I would say that you and your son don't understand how hard it is to kick FGs from 40+ yards away.

Asking a non-professional to try kicking a 50 yard field goal doesn't help your argument. Others posted stats on page1 showing that Ghost is an average kicker when compared to his peers in the NFL.

Belichick himself doesn't seem to have much trust with Ghost past 40 yards. Aside from the decision in the 2007 Superbowl, there are other instances where Belichick went for it rather than give Ghost a shot at a 40->53 yard field goal. Recent tries by Ghost past 40 yards have also been off. He might be accurate within 40 yards, but we would expect that since he's a NFL pro, one would hope to find at least 32 people in the world who can consistently make a FG within 40 yards. Beyond 40 yards I don't think the stats show that Ghost is one of the icy kickers a team can rely on.

 

[Deus Irae]

Asking a non-professional to try kicking a 50 yard field goal doesn't help your argument. Others posted stats on page1 showing that Ghost is an average kicker when compared to his peers in the NFL.

Belichick himself doesn't seem to have much trust with Ghost past 40 yards. Aside from the decision in the 2007 Superbowl, there are other instances where Belichick went for it rather than give Ghost a shot at a 40->53 yard field goal. Recent tries by Ghost past 40 yards have also been off. He might be accurate within 40 yards, but we would expect that since he's a NFL pro, one would hope to find at least 32 people in the world who can consistently make a FG within 40 yards. Beyond 40 yards I don't think the stats show that Ghost is one of the icy kickers a team can rely on.

In 2011, Gost is tied for 5th in the NFL in FGs made from 40-49 yards (8-10, comparing favorably to Vinatieri's 7-9). He's also 1-2 from 50+. In other words, there's no data supporting your notion.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

In 2011, Gost is tied for 5th in the NFL in FGs made from 40-49 yards (8-10, comparing favorably to Vinatieri's 7-9). He's also 1-2 from 50+. In other words, there's no data supporting your notion.

You're right, he does have good numbers from 40-49 this year, and also career wise he had a good percentage. But he also has that big kickoff shank in the 2007 Superbowl, and multiple instances where Belichick decided NOT to use his kicker and go for it in big situations. Others posted that compared to his peers in 2011, he is outside of the top-10, but of course his defenders selectively choose when to use stats and when to use the excuse that he is recovering from injury. I guess there's always a way to defend the guy. He's obviously not a bad player, but in the meantime his reputation as a clutch kicker doesn't get any help as Belichick continues to not use him in big situations even when the opportunity presents itself.

 

[Deus Irae]

You're right, he does have good numbers from 40-49 this year, and also career wise he had a good percentage. But he also has that big kickoff shank in the 2007 Superbowl, and multiple instances where Belichick decided NOT to use his kicker and go for it in big situations. Others posted that compared to his peers in 2011, he is outside of the top-10, but of course his defenders selectively choose when to use stats and when to use the excuse that he is recovering from injury. I guess there's always a way to defend the guy. He's obviously not a bad player, but in the meantime his reputation as a clutch kicker doesn't get any help as Belichick continues to not use him in big situations even when the opportunity presents itself.

Given that I'm one who's posted his numbers, I'll address one point and note that nothing I used was selectively chosen by me, but was in response to others. It is, in fact, the others who are pointing to just 2011, rather than his entire career, who are "selectively choosing" the stats.

The reality is that even as he recovers from a major injury for a kicker, his numbers are fine. One thing that you, among many, seem to be ignoring is that many kickers are not particularly consistent. Take a look at Neil Rackers for an example of this.

Neil Rackers NFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com

He's a perfect example of why you don't just veteran kickers just on one given year.

Heck, you can do the same thing with the current 'leader' this season, Matt Bryant

Matt Bryant NFL Football Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com

 

[rufcut]

He's obviously not a bad player, but in the meantime his reputation as a clutch kicker doesn't get any help as Belichick continues to not use him in big situations even when the opportunity presents itself.

This is a little bit of cherry picking, too. It assumes that the main reason for Belichick's decision is mistrust of Gostkowski, rather than a different assessment of the game situation from yours. For example, Belichick may have thought that a field goal wasn't enough even if made.

 

[DaBruinz]

So, Gost finishes the season with 28/33 on FGs (84.8 %) on the season. In addition, he added 7 touchbacks on 9 kick-offs raising that to 39.4%.

The 2 returns were for 42 yards (21 yard avg).

People might want to think that hitting almost 85% of your kicks is "average" but that just isn't the case.

 

[DropKickFlutie]

This is a little bit of cherry picking, too. It assumes that the main reason for Belichick's decision is mistrust of Gostkowski, rather than a different assessment of the game situation from yours. For example, Belichick may have thought that a field goal wasn't enough even if made.

This is true. Fair enough and I agree completely. Ghost is a fine kicker, I never said otherwise, I just don't think he's elite. Mike Vanderjadt had decent stats too but similarly wasn't seen as a go-to kicker in big moments. Belichick has opted to not use him in some big situations, and in other situations he has missed some memorable FG's or kickoffs which has stuck in fans' minds. Let's see if he can make that leap and hit some clutch FG's in the playoffs.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

It was a 31 yard chip shot actually.

He is a solid kicker - good on kick-offs and despite the occasional head scratching miss he makes a high percentage.

I'm not sure I would be overflowing in either confidence or dread were he needed to make a big kick in the playoffs based on his limited but mixed history. The GW in SD was part of an 8-8 post season in 2006. In 2007, he was very shaky in the postseason. He missed a 35 yarder against Jax at a time the game was tied. In the SB after shanking a kickoff out of bounds BB chose to go for it on 4th and long in Giants territory.

OTOH, Gostkowski DID make a 50-yarder in the first half when the Pats were desperate to get anything going. I honestly believe if he hadn't made that one, the Pats ultimately get blown out of that game.