Today’s Sports Stat: February 24, 2018
Earlier this week the Indianapolis Colts signed their kicker, Adam Vinatieri, to a one-year contract. The 45-year-old Vinatieri will be playing in his 23rd NFL season in 2018.
The one-year deal gives Vinatieri a chance to break the all-time scoring record in the NFL. He is currently 57 points behind Morten Andersen; Andersen tallied 2,544 career points, Vinatieri has 2,487.
Vinatieri, who went to South Dakota State, is also within striking distance of breaking the record for most points scored by a player in his 40s. He is second behind George Blanda, who had 863 points at age 40 and beyond. Vinatieri has scored 735 points in his 40s.
Here is a look at the players who scored the most career points in their 20s, 30s and 40s. (Research courtesy of Pro Football Reference.com.)
Most points in their 20s
Stephen Gostkowski, 1,023
Mason Crosby, 903
Nate Kaeding, 862
Pete Stoyanovich, 859
Jason Hanson, 857
Most points in their 30s
David Akers, 1,225
Matt Stover, 1,141
Jason Elam, 1,137
Gary Anderson, 1,118
Matt Bryant, 1,082
Most points in their 40s
George Blanda, 863
Adam Vinatieri, 735
Morten Andersen, 704
John Carney, 629
Gary Anderson, 589
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99 Stats Until Kickoff (#38) Placekickers with 100 field goals with two teams
Adam Vinatieri (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
From May 30 and every day until September 5… the start of the 2013 NFL season… Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ will publish “99 Stats Until Kickoff” a daily dose of NFL stats that will get you ready for the 2013 NFL season.)
With his 29-yard field goal on December 12, 2011 in the third quarter against the Seattle Seahawks, Rams kicker Josh Brown joined an elite group of kickers in NFL history. With that field goal, Brown became only the ninth kicker in NFL history to have 100 or more field goals with two different teams. Brown’s field goal gave him 100 with the Rams; he had made 116 field goals during a seven-year career as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. (Ironic that Brown made history against the Seahawks, the other team he kicked for in his career.)
A fellow member of the 100-100 Club, Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri last season joined three other kickers in NFL history as the newest member of the 150-150 Club. On December 23, 2012, Vinatieri booted a 36-yard field goal against the Kansas City Chiefs. That three-pointer gave him 150 field goals made with the Colts (he had previously made 263 during his career with the Patriots.
Following are the nine kickers in NFL history who have made 100 or more field goals with two different teams.
Active kickers (active in 2012)
Ryan Longwell… 226 with Green Bay; 135 with Minnesota
Adam Vinatieri… 263 with New England; 150 with Indianapolis
Josh Brown… 116 with Seattle; 104 with St. Louis
Retired kickers
Morten Andersen… 302 with New Orleans; 184 with Atlanta
John Carney… 261 with San Diego; 168 with New Orleans
Jim Turner… 151 with Denver; 153 with New York Jets
Gary Anderson… 309 with Pittsburgh; 109 with Minnesota
Matt Stover… 354 with Baltimore; 108 with Cleveland
Norm Johnson… 159 with Seattle; 105 with Pittsburgh
Three active placekickers may have had a chance to join the above group of kickers, but circumstances may leave them a few field goals short.
In Arizona, Jay Feely (who has made 299 career field goals) made 25 field goals with the Cardinals in 2012, giving him 68 in his career with the team. Feely already had 98 with the Falcons. Unless he finds himself back with the Falcons, however, Feely may eventually pass the 100-mark with the Cardinals yet fall two kicks short with Atlanta.
Atlanta’s Matt Bryant has made 233 field goals in his career, 98 with Tampa Bay and 95 with his current team, Atlanta. He will likely pass the 100-mark next year with the Falcons, but miss out on the 100-100 Club by two kicks.
Lastly, David Akers has 367 made field goals on his NFL resume, ranking him 11th on the all-time list, 294 of them with the Philadelphia Eagles. Akers had a rough season in 2012 with his current team, the 49ers, although he did make 29 FGs with San Francisco this past season, giving him 73 for his career with the team. Akers was in jeopardy of losing his job at various points in the 2012 season and his stronghold on the 49ers kicking position is at best tenuous for 2013. That may prevent his from reaching the 100-mark with the 49ers and inclusion in the 100-100 Club.
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Could kickers make the difference in Super Bowl XLVII?
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a sports statistics blog published with a focus on stats that go beyond the numbers.
David Akers kicking a field goal with the Philadelphia Eagles(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
With experts expecting a close game for Super Bowl XLVII, the kickers could play an important role in next week’s game.
The two opposing kickers offer quite a contrast. First we have rookie Justin Tucker with the Baltimore Ravens who had a great first season making 30 of 33 field goal attempts, a 90.9 percentage. In the playoffs he has kicked two FGs, making both.
San Francisco kicker David Akers has 367 made field goals on his resume. He has led the league in field goal attempts in four of the last five years. He has 23 playoff games experience, making 36 of 44 (an 81.8 percentage). That’s the good news.
This year, however, has been a struggle for Akers. He missed 13 FGs in the regular season ending the year with a 69 percentage rate, the lowest of his career and far below his career mark of 81 percent.
Akers is, however, one of 26 kickers who has made 80 percent or more of his field goals in playoff games. Here’s a look at the kickers who have the best field goal made percentage in the post-season (from 1966-2012, minimum of 10 attempts).
Field Goal percentage, kicker
92.9%: Martin Gramatica
92.0%: John Kasay
90.9%: Chuck Nelson
90.0%: Brad Daluiso, Stephen Gostkowski
88.9%: Mike Hollis, Jeff Reed
88.0%: Steve Christie
87.5%: Sebastian Janikowski
86.7%: Chris Boniol
85.7%: Josh Brown, Billy Cundiff, Olindo Mare, Rafael Septien
84.2%: Jason Elam
84.0%: Matt Bahr
83.3%: Mason Crosby
82.8%: Adam Vinatieri
81.8%: David Akers, Jim Breech, Shayne Graham
80.6%: Matt Stover
80.0%: Gary Anderson, John Carney, Toni Fritsch, Pat Leahy
In looking at the past 46 Super Bowl games, there have been 10 games where a kicker missed two or more field goals. Dallas Cowboys kicker Efren Herrera in the 1978 Super Bowl missed three field goal attempts, the only time three have been missed by one kicker in a Super Bowl game. Nine kickers have missed two FG attempts in a single Super Bowl contest: Lou Michaels (1969), Jim Turner (1969), Roy Gerela (1976), Rich Karlis (1987), Mike Lofer (1989), Jason Elam (1999), Al Del Greco (2000), Adam Vinatieri (2004), Josh Brown (2006).
Two more interesting stats:
* Two kickers missed a field goal in a Super Bowl game where their team lost by a final margin of three points or less. Buffalo’s Scott Norwood missed a FG in the Bills 20-19 loss in the 1991 Super Bowl against the New York Giants; Rams’ kicker Jeff Wilkins missed a FG in St. Louis’ 2002 Super Bowl loss to the New England Patriots, 20-17.
* Field goal kickers from the Super Bowl winning team have made 73 of 98 field goals, a 74.5 percentage. Kickers from the Super Bowl losing team have made 41 of 64 FGs in the big game, a 64.1 percentage.
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Rams kicker joins elite group; Packers look to avoid dubious distinction!
- Josh Brown… Image via Wikipedia
Sports Stats ‘on Tapp’ is a biweekly blog published every Wednesday and Sunday with a bonus “SIX STATS…” posting every Friday.
With his 29-yard field goal on December 12 in the third quarter against the Seattle Seahawks, Rams kicker Josh Brown joined an elite group of kickers in NFL history. With that field goal, Brown became only the ninth kicker in NFL history to have 100 or more field goals with two different teams. Brown’s field goal gave him 100 with the Rams; he had made 116 field goals during a seven-year career as a member of the Seattle Seahawks. (Ironic that Brown made history against the Seahawks, the other team he kicked for in his career.)
Following are the nine kickers in NFL history who have made 100 or more field goals with two different teams.
Active kickers
Ryan Longwell… 226 with Green Bay; 133 with Minnesota (as of 12/24/11)
Adam Vinatieri… 263 with New England; 122 with Indianapolis (as of 12/24/11)
Josh Brown… 116 with Seattle; 102 with St. Louis (as of 12/24/11)
Retired kickers
Morten Andersen… 302 with New Orleans; 184 with Atlanta
John Carney… 261 with San Diego; 168 with New Orleans
Jim Turner… 151 with Denver; 153 with New York Jets
Gary Anderson… 309 with Pittsburgh; 109 with Minnesota
Matt Stover… 354 with Baltimore; 108 with Cleveland
Norm Johnson… 159 with Seattle; 105 with Pittsburgh
Packers look to avoid dubious distinction.
Through 15 games of the 2011 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers have gained 5,932 yards on offense and have given up 6,010. If the Pack finishes with more yards given up on defense than gained on offense, they will become the seventh team in NFL history to win 12 or more games and give up more yards than they gained. If they win their 15th game Sunday and finish the season with more yards given up than gained, they would become the first 15-win team to “accomplish” this feat; if they lose and finish with 14 wins and still have fewer yards gained than given up, they would become the second 14-win team with this dubious distinction in NFL history. Following are the teams with 12 or more wins who finished the season with more yards given up than gained.
Team, year Offensive yards/Defensive yards
Denver, 1984 (12 wins) 4935/5687
Detroit, 1991 (12 wins) 4788/5046
Buffalo, 1993 (12 wins) 5260/5554
Chicago, 2001 (13 wins) 4694/4978
Philadelphia, 2003 (12 wins) 5035/5307
New England, 2010 (14 wins) 5820/5864
Note: It is possible that the Packers could be joined on this list by the San Francisco 49ers. The 49ers have 4653 yards of offense and have given up 4622, a slim difference of 31 yards after 15 games played this season. Stay tuned!
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