49ers release David Akers

[Indyfan4life]

49ers released K David Akers.

The Sideline View's Adam Caplan reported the move was imminent on Monday. Just one year removed from one of the greatest kicking seasons in NFL history, Akers left the 49ers no choice after shanking 13-of-42 field-goal attempts last season. He narrowly avoided a handful of other misses. Akers' résumé is impressive enough that teams should be willing to ignore an off year, but at 38, he may not get a job until a team finds itself in a desperate situation. Mar 6 - 6:07 PM

[tonychen]

have the Packers cut their kicker yet? Mason Crosby has a 63.6% success rate in 2012 which is even worse than Aker's 69.1%

[Nobody]

have the Packers cut their kicker yet? Mason Crosby has a 63.6% success rate in 2012 which is even worse than Aker's 69.1%

Crosby was bad, no doubt, but he is young and has a very strong leg. They will give him another year, I think.

[PrincetonTiger]

I am surprised they waited this long

[southwest1]

Not surprising. The 49ers can always move someone up from the practice squad or draft a new one in April I guess. I hate the idea of wasting a draft pick on a kicker though. I'm curious as to why more NFL scouting departments don't search for kickers from a professional soccer team in Europe. That's where I would find my next golden foot personally.

 

Funny, you never hear Mike Mayock break down kickers at the Indy Combine.  Maybe there needs to be a special set of drills for kickers...Foot placement, holding the ball, simulated rain, snow, & wind, coping with a shanked FG miss, & sideline isolation from all other team mates.     

 

This topic gives me a perfect opportunity to post this again....I never get tired of this either & yes, I believe kickers are way too overrated. Are they necessary? Yes. But, I still think are given way too much credit for game outcomes personally. 

 

[Andy]

Goes to show you what one really bad year can do.

 

From best season ever by a kicker, to being cut the next season.

 

Crazy league!

[ColtJ82]

Shocking.....

[Tark The Shark]

It goes to show that kickers have probably the smallest margin of error. No matter what they did in the past.

 

Kinda like Vandershank, he had a very good year and then against Pittsburgh in 2005, he hooks the kick. He is gone after that.

[krunk]

I've been kind of watching the situation with the Titans and Rob Bironas. I remember when that guy kicked a field goal just about from the 50 yard line and beat us when Jeff Fisher was still the coach. I was mad as I don't know what!

[tonychen]

Not surprising. The 49ers can always move someone up from the practice squad or draft a new one in April I guess. I hate the idea of wasting a draft pick on a kicker though. I'm curious as to why more NFL scouting departments don't search for kickers from a professional soccer team in Europe. That's where I would find my next golden foot personally.

 

Funny, you never hear Mike Mayock break down kickers at the Indy Combine.  Maybe there needs to be a special set of drills for kickers...Foot placement, holding the ball, simulated rain, snow, & wind, coping with a shanked FG miss, & sideline isolation from all other team mates.     

 

This topic gives me a perfect opportunity to post this again....I never get tired of this either & yes, I believe kickers are way too overrated. Are they necessary? Yes. But, I still think are given way too much credit for game outcomes personally. 

 

 

Generally I agree with you on not spending a draft spot on a kicker, but after watching how bad these college kickers are you may understand why teams sometimes select the promising kickers with a draft pick: they are just too hard to find and shouldn't be missed. And considering how boring the job is, and the pressure and how small the error margin teams can tolerate, it really isn't a desirable job for young talents, and the pool for selection is really small.

 

To your comments on finding kickers from soccer players, if an European soccer player can kick accurate long balls on such a consistant basis, generally he could get himself paid more than a kicker's salary. Not to mention this is much less fun and respect compared with a successful career in soccer leagues. A Latino player with good soccer skill and grown up loving football might make more sense.

 

I don't think kickers are dispensable and field goals should be removed from football games. Imagine if the only way to score is to get TDs how much less dramatic the game could be, and inferior teams would have much less opportunities to upset stronger teams. The strategy of the game could also become much simpler. Finally the game is called "football" anyway.

[tonychen]

Goes to show you what one really bad year can do.

 

From best season ever by a kicker, to being cut the next season.

 

Crazy league!

 

typical for old players. just like Favre having a fantastic 09 season but sucked in 2010.

[tonychen]

Crosby was bad, no doubt, but he is young and has a very strong leg. They will give him another year, I think.

 

Strong leg is just one thing for kickers. Vaneteri is never know for a strong leg. For kickers if the confidence is gone, it generally will never come back, and more likely he would choke at the big moments even if he manages to come back somewhat, like the San Diego kicker who shanked multiple fieldgoals in 09 playoff. The missed kicks always stay in their heads.

[Buck Showalter]

Not surprising. The 49ers can always move someone up from the practice squad or draft a new one in April I guess. I hate the idea of wasting a draft pick on a kicker though. I'm curious as to why more NFL scouting departments don't search for kickers from a professional soccer team in Europe. That's where I would find my next golden foot personally.

 

The Niners have to find some way to burn their seemingly endless supply of draft picks....

[shakedownstreet]

maybe they'll draft 3 or 4 kickers