Packer Central

Carlson Makes Splash in Unique Kicking Drill

Incumbent kicker Anders Carlson, veteran Greg Joseph and rookie Jack Podlesny were put through a pressure-packed final sequence at Packers OTAs.

Bill Huber

Packers kicker Anders Carlson
Packers kicker Anders Carlson / Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal
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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Tuesday’s practice at Green Bay Packers OTAs ended in some Matt LaFleur-inspired kicking chaos.

Greg Joseph, Jack Podlesny and Anders Carlson each got one shot from 53 yards. This wasn’t just an ordinary practice-field kick, though. They were surrounded by teammates who were yelling, cheering and waving towels in close proximity.

“Just make it as difficult as possible on the kickers,” LaFleur said after practice. “We want to put them in situations that are pretty uncomfortable. I would say that’s pretty uncomfortable. Nowhere in ball are you going to have an entire team lined up around you. But just to try to amp up that level of pressure.”

Joseph had it particularly difficult, with teammates squirting water at him and holder Daniel Whelan. With the water bottles drained, at least Podlesny and Carlson got to avoid the man-made rain shower. He was wide left.

“Obviously, that doesn’t happen during a game so it’s not really game-like but, still, got to do better on each kick,” Joseph said. “Put together a good day before then; just didn’t see my eyes fully through on that one. Got to get better.”

Podlesny was wide left, as well. With the final kick, Carlson split the uprights; teammates began celebrating long before the kick went through the goalposts.

“It was good to see that last one go through the uprights,” LaFleur said.

When it did, he was swarmed by teammates, who celebrated as if he’d just won a playoff game.

For the first time with reporters present, all three kickers were rotated through the special-teams period and 2-minute drills.

It appeared Carlson, the incumbent kicker, went 6-of-7 on kicks ranging from 41 through 57 yards. His one apparent miss seemed to drift to the left from 45 yards. (The net was not up behind the goalpost and there was no make-or-miss signal.)

Joseph, who spent the last three seasons as the Minnesota Vikings’ kicker, made 6-of-7 field goals ranging from 42 through 57 yards. His only miss was the aforementioned 53-yarder to end the day.

Podlesny, who went undrafted last year and spent part of training camp alongside Joseph with the Vikings, went 5-of-7 yards with the makes ranging from 41 through 57 yards.

All three kickers got opportunities during 2-minute situations. After the No. 1 offense stalled when Kingsley Enagbare “sacked” Jordan Love, the kickers got a shot from 57 yards. Podlesny was wide right, followed by makes by Carlson and Joseph.

The No. 3 offense failed to get a first down on its 2-minute drill, with Malik Heath dropping a pass from Michael Pratt. From 54 yards, all three kickers split the uprights with plenty of distance to spare.

“Me vs. me,” Joseph said of the three-man battle. “Obviously, every year’s a new year, so just focus on getting better each and every day, working on my craft. Simple as that.”

After a turbulent rookie season, no doubt it was encouraging for LaFleur and the Packers to see Carlson deliver in a clutch situation. Well, as clutch of a situation as can be created on the practice field on June 4.

“I think there’s been a lot of good moments,” LaFleur said of Carlson. “It’s just the consistency day in and day out, and I think all those guys have had their own moments where they’ve won the day. It’s a tight battle.”

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.