Ex-Chiefs player points out possible flaw in Kansas Citys kicking game thats leading to missed field goals

Ex-Chiefs player points out possible flaw in Kansas Citys kicking game thats leading to missed field goals

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For the first five years of his career, was one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL, but this season the kicker has been struggling and one former player has a theory on why that's happening.Former Chiefs punter is pinning the blame for Kansas City's kicking i sues on current punter , who also serves as the holder for Butker. After watching Butker mi s both a field goal and an extra point during a 30-24 overtime win against Houston in Week 15, Colquitt took to Twitter to defend his former teammate after someone wrote that the kicking position is becoming a problem for Kansas City."Watch the holds and try saying that again," Colquitt . "On the extra point the laces on facing the sidelines Townsend has screwed him all year."Basically, Colquitt is saying that Townsend isn't getting the laces where they need to be when he puts the hold down. "If you look back at the holds on the extra point, the laces are facing the sidelines and on the mi sed 51-yarder, Townsend pulled the ball to him at the last second and forced the ball to go to the right -- he's been mi sing the spot all year," Colquitt .Ideally, the laces should be facing outward, but if that's not po sible due to a bad snap or a bobbled hold, a holder just needs to make sure two things DON'T happen: You can't have the laces in, you can't still be spinning the ball when the kicker makes contact with it and you shouldn't move the ball once it's in its spot.Colquitt served as Butker's holder for three years and during those three seasons, Butker hit 89.7% of his field goals on average. This Daniel Alfredsson Jersey year, Butker is hitting just 76.2% of his kicks (16 of 21), which ranks 30th in the NFL for any kicker who has attempted 15 or more field goals. Butker is also hitting just 90.3% of his extra points, which ranks 27th in the NFL for any kicker who has 15 or more attempts. Pick Six Newsletter Crafted By The Best NFL Experts Get the day's big stories + fun stuff you love like mock drafts, picks and power rankings. I agree to receive the "Pick Six Newsletter" and marketing communications, updates, special offers (including partner offers), and other information from CBS Sports and the Paramount family of companies. By pre sing sign up, I confirm that I have read and agree to the and acknowledge Paramount's . Please check the opt-in box to acknowledge that you would like to subscribe. Thanks for signing up! Keep an eye on your inbox. Sorry! There was an error proce sing your subscription. Butker did mi s four games earlier this season due to an ankle injury, so it's po sible that has had an impact on him, but even when he was out, the Chiefs still struggled with their kicking. During his four-game absence, the Chiefs used two kickers -- and -- and those kickers combined to hit 75% of their field goals. The only constant between the three kickers has been Townsend.The Chiefs punter has been Butker's holder for three years and during his first season on the job back in 2020, Butker finished the season with a career-low extra point percentage (88.9%). During Colquitt's three seasons as holder, Butker never finished below 93.8%.Although Colquitt is insistent that Townsend is the one to blame for Kansas City's kicking woes, Butker isn't buying it. The Chiefs kicker said this week that Townsend and long snapper have been doing a great job this season. "James and Tommy do a great job, and I've got to finish it and get the ball through the uprights," Butker said, . "I've been happy with all the effort Zack Smith Kids Jersey and all the work those guys have been putting in. At the end of the day? If the ball's on the ground, it's got to go through."That being said, Butker did seem to concede that the holds haven't been perfect, but he made his point by saying that he needs to get better at being ready to kick the ball no matter how the hold looks."One thing I've worked on the past couple of years is just looking right under the ball so I'm not noticing the spinning laces -- if there are any spinning laces -- because I can't control that," Butker said. "And I like to think that no matter where the laces are, I should still be able to hit a straight ball." Butker also added he's actually been working on getting used to the way Townsend spins the ball."That's one thing Tommy and I have been working on throughout our time together: Just some drills where Tommy is putting the balls down and he's spinning it," Butker said. "So I have to get better at just kicking the ball starting at basically the ground below the ball so that I'm not even noticing a spinning ball."The kicking struggles might be partially Townsend's fault, but Butker would never say that and that's because the Chiefs kicker firmly believes that in the end, if the football is placed down, then it's on him to put it through the uprights. "I think a lot of times kickers maybe give too much credit to balls where the laces are off -- or the lean or whatever it may be," Butker. "I just take the approach of, 'I can do better. I can fix that.' I should be able to hit any ball through the uprights."Two of Butker's biggest mi ses this year came in two of Kansas Matt Duchene Men Jersey City's biggest games: A 27-24 lo s to Cincinnati and a 24-20 lo s to Buffalo. If Colquitt is right about all of this, then the Chiefs' kicking game will definitely be something to keep your eye on come playoff time.
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