It’s a Dan shame the Vikings still haven’t found a reliable kicker to consistently boot the football through the uprights when it matters most.
Minnesota gave up on Daniel Carlson after two games and three missed kicks against the Packers, wilting under the pressure of a franchise cursed with kicking woes and releasing the rookie they traded up to get in this past year’s NFL Draft.
The move has been a disaster.
Carlson has made 9-of-10 field goals with the Raiders – including a game-winner on the road against Arizona – and is a perfect 7-of-7 on extra points. Things are good for the rookie, not so much for the guy the Vikings replaced him with.
Billed as one of the most accurate kickers in NFL history, Dan Bailey has made just 72.9 percent (16-of-22) of his field goals with the Vikings – the lowest percentage among all NFL kickers with at least 15 attempts.
His six misses are the second-most in the NFL, trailing only Mason Crosby of the Packers, who has one more miss on seven more attempts (75.9 percent).
Bailey’s latest miss was a 48-yarder he hooked wide left in the first quarter of Minnesota’s loss to the Patriots. He’s now 3-of-7 on kicks from 40-49 yards this season, a miserable statistic from a range that he had missed just five times from in his entire career before joining the Vikings.
Maybe it’s time to accept as fact that Vikings kickers are cursed, or that whoever is in charge of hiring kickers has no idea what they’re do. We’re looking at you, special teams coordinator, Mike Priefer.
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