Acme Packing Company
Who was best at putting the foot in football over the past 25 years?
Although we have one more position left to decide on the defense for our Green Bay Packers All-Quarter Century Team, we’re going to let some voting finish up at the safety position before putting that last spot up for vote. Instead, this morning we will start examining the specialists, starting with the kickers and punters.
Both of those groups are here together in this post, so we’ll ask you to vote twice today on who the best players are at each position.
Without further ado, let’s get to the place-kickers.
Regular season stats: 96 games; 148-184 field goals (80.4%), 249-251 PATs (99.2%), 11-18 from 50+ (61.1%)
Postseason stats: 6 games; 7-11 field goals (63.6%), 11-12 PATs (91.7%)
Longwell was a long shot to earn the Packers’ kicking job as a rookie in 1997 after the team moved on from Chris Jacke, signing with the team as an undrafted free agent after Ron Wolf selected Brett Conway in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft. But win the job he did, and he would go on to be Green Bay’s kicker for the next 9 seasons. Six of those came in the 2000s, and when Longwell was good, he was very good.
In three of those years, Longwell had a field goal hit rate of greater than 85 percent, and he was in the NFL’s top ten in field goal rate in four of those six seasons. However, the 2001 season was a rough one, as he went just 20-31 (64.5%), and his final season in Green Bay saw him fail to clear 75% (20-27 for 74.1%).
Longwell would leave after that 2005 campaign and sign with the Minnesota Vikings, presumably in part because the Twin Cities had some fancier restaurants than Applebee’s. But jokes about small towns aside, Longwell would return and retire as a Packer in 2013 after six seasons in purple, having held the Packers’ record for total field goals made (226), points (1,054), and field goal percentage (81.6%) at the time of his retirement.
However, one player would eclipse him in the totals and finished 0.2% off on career hit rate, but he wouldn’t arrive for another year.
Packers’ all-time franchise scoring leader (1,918 points)
Regular season stats: 258 games; 395-485 field goals (81.4%), 733-753 PATs (97.3%), 43-78 from 50+ (55.1%)
Postseason stats: 23 games; 31-35 field goals (88.6%), 70-70 PATs (100%)
Quick, can you remember who the Packers’ place-kicker was in 2006? (Please? Because I can’t.)
*Furiously googles*
Dave Rayner? Really? Sure, okay.
Anyway, the Packers had one season of true kicking uncertainty from 2000 to 2022, coming in that one year between Longwell’s departure and the draft selection of Mason Crosby in the 6th round of the 2007 NFL Draft. Crosby had his ups and downs, to be sure, but he finished his Packers career with an 81.4% field goal...
