It was an up-and-down training camp and preseason for rookie kicker Anders Carlson. However, he has been nothing but steady for this Green Bay Packers team through four games.
Carlson, a sixth-round pick out of Auburn, has made all nine of his extra point attempts to begin the season and is 5-for-5 on field goal attempts, including 2-for-2 from 50 or more yards.
Buy Packers Tickets“When called upon in the heat of the battle, he’s done an outstanding job,” said Matt LaFleur on Monday. “We’ve all seen the ability that he possesses. A big-time leg, and he’s gone out there and executed when it’s mattered most.”
Over the summer, there was a practice where Carlson went 1-for-6 on field goal attempts and then 6-for-6 the next day, with just about every other outcome happening as well. You truly never knew what to expect.
Some of his best performances came either during the Packers’ Family Night practice in front of a nearly sold-out Lambeau crowd or in a preseason game when the lights were a little brighter. We’ve now seen that carry over to the regular season, where every attempt is a must-make.
Following the draft, special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia mentioned two characteristics about Carlson that the team really liked. One is his big game experience from his time at Auburn. The other is his mental makeup, which we saw on display over the summer with his ability to bounce back pretty effortlessly after poor performances.
Early in his NFL career, Carlson has shown that he’s a gamer. He’s been at his best his best when it matters most. That’s not a bad quality to have in a kicker.
“I think he’s performed well,” said Bisaccia. “The battery is doing a good job. We had the big problem in Atlanta with the delay. It’s the first time we had a spot on the right-middle. It wasn’t exactly on the hash or in the middle like a PAT. So, hopefully, we’ve gotten through that and got a little better with our sense of rhythm and timing with the full group.
“I thought he played well last week. He had two shots at it. Did a good job for us, especially the big one at the end to go in like that, have a chance to hit it and do a good job.”
Carlson packs a lot of power, as we’ve seen on a few of his field goal attempts. The challenge, as LaFleur has pointed out, is finding consistency. Early on this season, he has found that consistency, but as is the case with any rookie, it’s about maintaining and building upon it to make the performances that we’ve seen so far the norm rather than the outlier.
All offseason, GM Brian Gutekusnst preached that patience was needed with Carlson. As a rookie kicker, he needed reps, which is why the Packers never brought in a second kicker over the summer, allowing Carlson to get every available opportunity in practice. Bisaccia also has a strong track record of working with young kickers, including Anders’ brother, Daniel Carlson, when he was in Las Vegas.
While still early, at a quarter of the way through the season, the Packers are seeing the results from their patient approach pay off.
