I get a kick out of that

I watched a lot of football over the years and I can tell you that the kicking game has really changed with the soccer style kickers. Pete Gogolak became the first soccer style kicker in the NFL. A couple of years later his younger brother Charlie would be the second.

Up until that time most kickers were linemen. The NFL kicking award is named after Cleveland Browns tackle Lou Groza. There were other kickers that played skill positions like Paul Hornung and George Blanda but it didn’t take long for the NFL to scour the college kids kicking this new way. Many of the new kickers were from overseas where soccer is popular. There are numerous punters in the league that use the Rugby style punt. These punters take several strides to one side and punt the ball which allows the tacklers another second or so to get downfield to keep the punt returner from breaking off a long runback.

Spokane has had a couple of very successful kickers who played for WSU and the NFL. Joe Danelo, out of Gonzaga Prep kicked for Green Bay, New York Giants and Buffalo. Danelo had his most success with the Giants.

Jason Hanson played for Mead and WSU. He would spend his entire 21 year career with the Detroit Lions. He never had to worry about making travel plans for Thanksgiving since the Lions are at home hosting another NFL team on that day.

Kickers were at one time not considered a valuable commodity since they only are in on kickoffs, PATs and field goals. In the early days of the NFL the goal posts were at the goal line so distance for PATs weren’t a problem. But the game has changed and the extra point is a longer kick now as well as the goal posts being ten yards farther back. PATs are missed more than they used to be.

Kickers need be able to forget failure as in a kick that was a sure thing but pulled to the right or left. A field goal missed in the first quarter isn’t as significant as one missed at the end of the game. A miss is a miss but the pressure to succeed is much greater as the game goes on especially when the game means a chance at a playoff or even a Super Bowl victory.

I was watching a couple of NFL games on Sunday and these games came down to the end. One game was within two points and the other was tied. The undefeated Kansas City Chiefs had a two point lead late and the Denver Broncos had the ball and were driving. Denver was doing its best to kick a field goal without anytime left on the clock. Once they got close they weren’t as aggressive and they only gained a yard or two. With several seconds left on the clock Denver brought in their kicker for a very makeable field goal. Kansas City had other plans and overwhelmed the left side of the Broncos’ line and they would block the kick and preserve their undefeated season. This certainly wasn’t the fault of the kicker as the Chiefs figured out where the weakness would be.

In the Sunday night game, the Houston Texans and Detroit Lions were battling and the Lions found themselves down by ten. Lion QB Jared Goff was having a subpar night. But the Lions defense played well and made sure Houston wouldn’t score anymore and keep the game within reach of a rally. Detroit’s Jake Bates kicked a 58 yard field goal just slipping past the right goal post. That kick would tie the game and the teams struggled to score until there were only a few seconds left on the clock. Bates once again was called on the kick a field goal. This time his 52 yard kick just made it through the left goal post and the Lions hoisted the young kicker in celebration. Detroit is now 8-1 and actually looking forward to a Thanksgiving Day football game.

Special teams are so important to the success of any football team and finding the right kicker to bring victory is not that easy. Finding that guy on a college football field, soccer field, working as a bartender or anywhere else is important. Making or missing a kick is the difference between sitting alone in the locker room and getting interviewed on national TV.

— Dale Anderson is a sports columnist from Ritzville. To contact him, email [email protected].