Ah, finally, an Extra Point about Extra Points.
In the next 90 seconds or so, I hope to prove to you that kicking, yes kicking, still matters in the NFL.
Week 14 of the 2020 NFL season will not be remembered as a particularly glorious week for special teams lovers like me.
This week, alone, NFL kickers missed 8 extra points and 13 field goal attempts.
Vikings kicker Dan Bailey had the worst weekend of all: 3 field goals and 1 extra point missed in a 12-point loss to the Buccaneers.
The haters came out of the woodwork. Maybe you’re one of them. Calling for all kicks to be outlawed from the game.
Saying things like, “You have one job!” or my personal favorite, “Stop letting these scrawny, unathletic guys ruin my football!”
Yes, let’s get rid of the one play in football where the foot actually strikes the ball.
I’ve had enough of the slander.
I won’t succumb to your gladiatorial desires.
Call me soft, but I’m a fan of the finer things in life.
A calm breeze, a chilled glass of Pinot Grigio, a perfectly struck pigskin sailing through the autumn air between two yellow sticks.
What the kicking haters fail to realize is that kicking continues to create some of the most dramatic, memorable moments in the history of the NFL.
Mason Crosby putting Sunday’s game against the Lions out of reach…because of a kick.
The Ravens’ playoff hopes alive after a Monday Night Thriller…because of a kick.
75,000 flashbulbs at the beginning of the Super Bowl every year…because of a kick.
My beloved Buffalo Bills still searching for their first ever Super Bowl Championship…because of a kick.
Brandon Bostick never able to come back to the state of Wisconsin…because of a kick.
Adam Vinatieri living forever in Canton, Ohio because of a kick.
You see…kickers aren’t ruining football. They’re enhancing it.
So, stop hating on kicking.
To steal a phrase from the back judges standing beneath the uprights, it’s good.
