Re: Re:
Nomad said:
Parkey is a NFL player PAID BIG BUCKS to make these kind of kicks when the chips are down! Now do you want to convince me that when he was signed by the Bears he was told something like: "Just try your best Cody...and if you happen to miss a game winning FG in a playoff game it'll be just fine...no worries" Rainbows & marshmallows Lol
The stats are very clear: no one is perfect from that distance. Parkey made three shorter FGs earlier in the game. Assuming kickers make those 90% of the time, the odds that he would miss at least one of his four attempts were almost 50%. IOW, he had an average day at the office. Not a very good day, not a very bad day. The Bears needed a very good day from him, but only because other players on the team also didn't do better than average.
How about Trubisky? His QB rating for the game was below league average, and below his season average, despite playing a below average defense.
Again, why aren't you calling for Gostkowski to be cut? He screwed up worse than Parkey did, but his team bailed him out. In the 1983 NFC championship game, Mark Moseley, who the year before set a record by not missing a single FG in the regular season (though strike-shortened), missed 4 FG. That could have easily cost Washington the game, but he made the final one, so all was forgiven. If Parkey had missed even one of those three earlier ones, his team wouldn't have been in position to win with a FG at the end. Would you or anyone else have called for him to be cut? Probably not.
I could go on and on and on with examples. In a Raider-Steeler AFC championship game in the mid 70s, both teams had a 35-40 FG attempt in the first half. The Steelers made theirs, the Raiders missed theirs. That missed FG was crucial late in the game, when the Raiders trailed by 9 points instead of 6. Did anyone blame George Blanda, the Raiders kicker? No. The 49ers missed a perfect season in 1984 because their kicker missed a 37 yard FG. Anyone blame him for the loss? Nope.
There are lots of playoff games decided by a FG or less, and quite frequently a kicker misses a makeable FG at some point during the game. But because it doesn't happen to be at the end of the game, he gets a pass. Many fans seem to think that missed FGs earlier in the game don't count as much as those late in the game. They do.
And your analogy with HS kids and 3 pt shots and Curry is rather stupid. HS kids aren't paid ZILLIONS of dollars to make 3 pt shots, catch flyballs, kick FGs, etc.
You were the one who said any HS kid could kick that FG, remember? Your point seemed to be that Parkey couldn't do what any HS kid could do. My point was that by your logic, any HS kid could do what Curry does.
These pro players who make zillions of dollars want to be treated like Gods, worshiped like Gods, cuddled like Gods, etc. - then they better perform like Gods or be subjected to criticism.
Can you provide a link that indicates Parkey has ever been treated like a God, or is averse to criticism?
Most of us have to work, or if retired, have worked hard for a living. None of us have had the luxury of being a professional kicker with a very easy job, making huge bucks, while basically sitting on the sideline doing nothing until it's time to kick an extra-pt or FG. He simply CHOKED under pressure and should be cut. Unacceptable at that level of football, IMO.
If it's so easy, why don't you do it? I saw some pre-game festivity once when a young, athletic guy was given multiple chances to kick a long FG, allowed to take as long a run to the ball as he wanted, no defensive line to worry about, he still couldn't make any of them. If kickers were a dime a dozen, they would be paid a dime a dozen.
And you make think 43 yds isn't chip shot but these are NFL kickers - tbe best of best.
The difference between you and me is I don't just think something is or isn't. I post stats that address the issue. The stats show very clearly that kickers miss from that range a substantial amount of time.
And FFS, he nailed the first attempt as the TO was called.
Which supports my point--usually they make them from this distance. Just not always. There was a playoff game between Pittsburgh and Tennessee in which the Titan kicker had three chances to make the game winning FG. The first time he made it, but his team was offside. The second time he missed, but Pitt was offside. The third time he finally made it with no penalties. Stuff like that happens.
And on that stat you linked - how many of those kicks were blocked or affected by inclement weather?
Since you're the one making an unsupported assertion, why don't you find out the answer to that yourself? And while you're at it, how about looking up all the plays Trubisky didn't make that a QB could make, which might have affected the outcome of the game?
For the record, though, the NFL has now officially given an Eagles player credit for blocking the kick. And even after being deflected, the ball still almost made it through. So it sounds as though the ball was kicked pretty accurately.
Every pro athlete plays on a knife's edge, where little things can affect the outcome of the game. No pro athlete does what is possible to do at his best on every single play. Every one can see when a kicker misses. Most people don't see when a QB or WR or lineman or DB misses a play he usually would make, and which could cost his team the game. The Patriots might have beaten the Giants in the SB on their second try if a Brady pass hadn't been just a little bit off. Did anyone blame Brady for losing the SB? Of course not.
It's easy to yell and scream when kickers miss. Other players are more insulated from their mistakes. You think being a kicker is so easy, but this is one of the really difficult things about it. Your misplays aren't covered up by your teammates.
Wow.....I think in my ln my next life I'll ask to be a NFL kicker.
Since you're dreaming, why not wish to do something important?
Many people in the real world are fired for choking or not producing at their job - jobs that pay a fraction of what this chump is making.
Not based on one single performance. Based on a pattern of poor performance.
Maybe you live in some fantasy world or something and worship these pro athletes but I don't! Professional athletes are just entertainers in my book and subject to a lot of criticism. And many of them could give a sh*t about the fans anyway.
I don't worship any pro athletes. You sound as though you do, otherwise, why would you get so worked up about a missed FG? All I'm pointing out is that Parkey's missed FG is not that unusual. I'm not saying he's a God or a hero or deserves to be paid millions of dollars. I'm only saying that players can do what they're paid to do, and still lose games.