WASHINGTON — The Washington Redskins’ mismanagement of the game’s most important position is well documented. A whopping 16 starting quarterbacks in the 16 years since Dan Snyder — who I may just start referring to as the Notorious D.A.N. — bought the team.
Monday, we were reminded the ‘Skins have been equally awful handling kickers.
This post is inspired by the news the Redskins are ending the Reign of Kai (Forbath) after a two-plus year run that involved making a franchise-best 87 percent of his kicks and an NFL record string of 17 straight when he debuted in 2012. So naturally, they’re hoping lightning strikes twice with 2nd year kicker Dustin Hopkins, whose first field goal attempt for the ‘Skins will also go down as the first field goal attempt of his career.
Oh, did I mention Hopkins just lost a kicking competition in to Zach Hocker in New Orleans? Does that name sound familiar?
It should … he was the Redskins’ 7th round pick in 2014.
And as others have noted — ESPN says #Redskins will sign a kicker who was actually beat out in New Orleans by the kicker they drafted. Oy
— Brian McNally (@bmcnally14) September 14, 2015
This has become standard operating procedure in Washington. Using the same 1999 watermark, the Redskins have blown through 17 different kickers since then. If you throw it back to 1994, the number jumps to 21. From the bad (remember the Brett Conway/Eddie Murray/Scott Bentley/Michael Husted/Kris Heppener situation of 2000?) to the “meh” (Graham Gano) to the pretty good (Shaun Suisham and Kai Forbath), the turnover at place-kicker is every bit as pathetically comical as the quarterback quandary.
This phenomenon is a part of why the Redskins struggle to win. If you look around the league, championship quarterbacks have had solid sidekicks (see what I did there?) to ensure less productive drives still produce points. Tom Brady has been in New England for a decade and a half and has only been paired with Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski. Joe Flacco and Justin Tucker in Baltimore has worked out really well. Russell Wilson/Steven Hauschka has been special, and even the Peyton Manning/Mike Vanderjagt tandem made Indy prolific (though Vandy’s inability to make field goals in the clutch kept them from being champions).
Ironically, some of the league’s better kickers already had stints here. Suisham — who owns the 2nd best field goal percentage in ‘Skins history — resuscitated his career in Pittsburgh alongside Ben Roethlisberger, while Gano has remained gainfully employed since leaving Washington, sending 83 percent of his kicks between the uprights in Carolina for Cam Newton’s Panthers.
I know special teams are considered football’s redheaded stepchild nobody really wants, but they’re a necessary part of the equation for winning football. Yes, Forbath struggled on kickoffs — which compounded the problems in coverage with special teams aces Adam Hayward and Niles Paul on injured reserve — but there’s a very real possibility the Redskins simply traded that issue for the inability to consistently make field goals. That would be a case of throwing out the baby with the (For) bath water.
Time will tell if this move pans out. Just because Hopkins has yet to hold down a full-time gig kicking field goals doesn’t mean he can’t. Maybe he’s the second coming of Mark Moseley.
But do we think the modern day Redskins can find stability anywhere other than the rumor mill? I mean, this team can’t even paint the yard markers on their field right.
Alright, I’m feeling verklempt. Talk among yourselves. Or better yet, drink this tall glass of NFL recap (now complete with the Monday Night games).
