Adam Vinatieri: Field goals over 50 yards should be worth four points
By Mike Dyce
There has been some discussion about the extra point in the NFL, it has become so automatic some have suggested just eliminating it altogether. Indianapolis Colts kicker told Mike Florio on PFT Live that it would be “crying shame” if the NFL eliminated it.
He is now suggesting that kicks over 50 yards should be worth four points instead of three.
“I think what they should do is any kick over 50 yards is worth four points,” Vinatieri said, via the team’s website. “Reward the guys that are exceptional. I don’t want to emphasize that kickers are more important…but now all of a sudden you are down three and you have a 48-yard field goal. Do you purposely lose two yards so you can potentially win by a point? It just puts a different little spin into it.”
“Kickers are just getting better. Back in the day, 30 or 40 years ago when football wasn’t a 12-month a year, guys are just getting stronger. They are just getting more focused in on being more accurate. Guys are doing a lot more in the weight room in terms of getting stronger. Percentages back in the 50s and 60s if you were 70 percent you were leading the league. Now, shoot, you got guys that don’t miss any or maybe miss just one or two kicks all season. I think it’s just a combination of a lot more snap, hold, kick work throughout the season to kind of fine tune.”
If kickers were becoming better, why would you give them more points for a 50-yard kick then? Matt Prater, Dan Bailey and Justin Tucker made six of seven field goals over 50 yards. Panthers kicker Graham Gano was 6-6 from 50 yards out.
The worst kickers from that distance was Randy Bullock who was 1-5. Out of the 31 kickers in the NFL who attempted field goals over 50 yards long, five kickers converted less than 50 percent. Four kickers were 1-2, one was 2-4. Six were a perfect 100 percent.