The Philly Eagles David Akers is an all-time Eagles Great. During his career he has placed the ball on the correct side of the uprights 81% of the time. He has scored over 1000 pts as an Eagle.
In 2008 David Akers led the NFC with 144 pts, set an NFL record by connecting on 19 straight post-season feild goal attempts, set a career high for touchbacks with 17 and became the longest tenured kicker in Eagles history.
If you look at his 2008 stats, it really does seem as though David Akers is a solid NFL kicker. So why do I have doubts? Maybe it’s not the kicks that he makes but the ones that he doesn’t.
In week 4 2008, the Eagles struggled against a strong Bears defense. David Akers missed 2 of 4 in this game. The final score 24-20 Bears win. Simply connecting on these two kicks could have not only won the game but may have contributed to the Eagles having a secured playoff spot coming into week 17.
The next week back at home vs the Redskins, Akers missed on another opportunity in a close game. A 50 yard kick goes wide right and the Eagles lost another close game 23-17.
One major problem with missing a field goal is not just missing out on the 3 points but also you give the opposition excellent field position and morale for the next drive. After Akers first miss in the Chicago game, the Bears went nine plays for 60 yards and a touchdown.
After the Akers miss in the Washington game, the Redskins were able to get close enough to put their first points of the day on the board with a 41 yard kick. A long FG miss is essentially the same as turning the ball over.
From 2005-2007 David Akers was completely unreliable. It is widely believed that this all started from an injury sustained during the opening kickoff against the Oakland Raiders in 2005. He came back later that game with a torn hamstring, in his non kicking leg, to win the game with a 28 yard boot but this was the start of his decline.
He missed the next four games due to that injury, ended the season making only 72% of his kicks but still made his third pro-bowl, perhaps from the toughness shown during that Oakland game. Though this is the beginning of my concern. Of the 6 FG’s missed that year, four were between 40 and 49 yards.
2006 showed more of the same. Andy Reid, I have to assume was very concerned behind the scenes as he did not even give David one shot at a kick over 50 yards the entire season. Maybe this was because he was having so much trouble short as 3 of his 5 missed kicks were less than 40 yards deep.
In 2007 Akers recovered his short game but continued to struggle past 40 yards missing five kicks between 40 and 49 yards and three kicks of 50+
From 2000 through 2004, the Eagles could rely on David Akers. While the Eagles enjoyed the greatest success under Andy Reid, David Akers was good for an amazing 86% of FG’s attempted (8/12 50+ yards). 2005-2007 saw an inconsistent Akers struggle with injury and what would appear to be rehabilitation.
Though Akers had trouble from 2005 - 2007, 2008 Eagles fans saw a David Akers that had appeared to get his game back. Though still there is cause for concern, missing four kicks between 30 and 49 yards and three of his five chances over 50.
Akers has been training with sports performance coaches during the off-season to improve the explosiveness in his hips and help him retain his power. The Eagles website has this to say about him.
“Big leg, terrific on kickoffs and with range of 50-plus yards, David Akers remains one of the best place kickers in the league. He worked through some issues last season to end up with a good, strong season, converting 33 of 40 field goal attempts. Akers remains fit as a fiddle and he was booming field goals of 59 yards in the spring. Kicking in the wind and the wintry conditions at Lincoln Financial Field won’t be as easy, but Akers remains an outstanding kicker in this league.”
It’s hard for me to agree. The fact is since 2005 Akers has missed 13 attempts from distances between 30 and 49 yards and has consistently missed with his power kicks of 50+ making only 4 of his 11 attempts.
2008 still saw much improvement but it truly does feel like this is a concern that Andy Reid and company refuse to address. Do they not want to shake Akers confidence by bringing in competition? Could this be the glaring hole in the Eagles bid for NFC dominance in 2009?
Dan Bandekow is a writer on Bleacher Report covering the Philadelphia Eagles. His work has been featured on NFL Sport Channel, BallHype.com, League.com, as well as many other news outlets.