Were you one of the many Chicken Littles who were panicking a few weeks ago?
You know what I'm talking about. The Oh-My-Gawd-Our-Rookie-Kicker-Is-Struggling crowd.
Let's talk Smack, as in Trey Smack, the rookie kicker out of Florida, taken in the seventh round of the NFL draft. Granted, he was 20-for-28 during the early days of training camp. Takes some getting used to, working with a new holder and long snapper.
But in two pre-season games, Smack is a perfect 7-for-7, including 4-for-4 from 50 yards and more. On Family Night he was 6-of-7. Still worried about him?
Will Smack make every kick he ever takes? You know he won't. No kicker does. Look at the struggles that Mason Crosby went through one season, and fans called for the head of the sixth round pick who played 16 years for Green Bay, scoring 1,918 points while converting 81.3% of his field goal tries. Or Ryan Longwell, who scored 1,054 points and covered 81.6% before, after nine seasons, he left for the hated Minnesota Vikings.
Let's go back even further. The Packers drafted a kid out of Hillsdale College, Chester Marcol, and all the Polish Prince did in 1972 was lead the league in scoring with 128 points (33-of-48 in field goals, a 68.8% success rate which, at the time, was solid). He helped Green Bay reach the playoffs that season AND become the only kicker to be named the NFC Rookie Of The Year.
It was unfortunate that, with the success came a cocaine addiction that shortened his career. He played nine seasons in GB, scoring 525 points. And let's be honest, after that 1972 playoff team, Green Bay had some very, very mediocre squads.
In September of 2011, Marcol published an memoir titled Alive and Kicking: My Journey Through Football, Addiction and Life. He discussed his childhood, immigration to the United States, playing for the Packers, and his fall from grace.
Recommended reading.
And hey, Packer Nation, let's talk some Smack!
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