Rich Bisaccia made it perfectly clear why the Packers made a change.
The Green Bay Packers have yet another new kicker.
After years of consistency from Mason Crosby, the Packers experimented with inexperienced rookies Anders Carlson and Brayden Narveson with the hope they could provide a long-term solution.
While the Packers tried to remain patient with Narveson, they learned from the failed Carlson experiment not to let Narveson’s struggles continue when the games start to count even more.
That time has arrived. Green Bay gets the Houston Texans, Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, and San Francisco 49ers over the next six weeks. It was beyond time to make a kicking change. This week, the Packers signed veteran kicker Brandon McManus, who will immediately replace Narveson in the lineup against the Texans.
There’s one key area where McManus should give Green Bay an upgrade, and special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia spelled it out bluntly.
Rich Bisaccia gives blunt answer about why Brandon McManus helps Packers’ kicking game
Bisaccia made it perfectly clear why they had no choice but to move on from Narveson.
“We’ve had some difficulties with that,” is putting it kindly. The Packers have been awful on kicks within 50 yards.
Around the league, kickers are making anything beyond 40 yards look easy. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, there have been 339 converted field goals in the opening six weeks of the season, which ranks second all-time. Nobody told the Packers, apparently. While other teams are making long-distance kicks look effortless, Narveson struggled with field goals below 50 yards.
In fact, Narveson never attempted a kick over 50 yards. He made just 70.6 percent of his field goals, and once you take out the chip shots from below 30 yards, his percentage dropped to an awful 61.5 percent.
As Bisaccia said, teams have to make their kicks within 50 yards. Missing the occasional field goal happens, but Narveson missed five in six games, all within 50. He was bailed out by a holding penalty on another miss in Week 3. The Packers had no choice but to make a change.
Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, especially at a position like kicker where so much relies on confidence, but McManus should provide the upgrade the Packers desperately need.
While his career conversion percentage from beyond 50 yards is just 54.9, McManus is near-perfect on anything closer.
In 161 games, McManus has only missed 12 kicks between 40 and 49 yards. That’s an average of 0.07 per game. For comparison, Narveson missed four in six games, an average of 0.67 per game.
As Bisaccia quite bluntly put it, the Packers have to be making those kicks. Hopefully, McManus is the solution.