The Green Bay Packers are having kicking issues right now since Anders Carlson struggled through his rookie season. But this is nothing compared to the struggles the team had right after Vince Lombardi retired as coach after the 1967 season. For a four-year period, the team struggled through a real mess at kicker that cost them plenty of games. It all started after Don Chandler retired after the 1967 season and lasted until the team drafted Chester Marcol in 1972. For those four seasons in between, kicking was a real struggle for the Packers. This was the biggest kicking struggle the team had in the post-Lombardi era.
The Packers Biggest Kicking Struggle: 1968
The Packers officially had four kickers in the 1968 season. The team was trying to replace Chandler who had retired in training camp. Chandler had kicked for the team for the previous three seasons. Replacing him became difficult. From rookie camp till the end of the season, the Packers had 15 kickers on their roster or taxi squad.
The team started the season with guard Jerry Kramer as their placekicker. He had kicked for the Pack in the past when Paul Hornung was suspended in 1963. Kramer hit on 4-of-9 field goal tries and 9-of-10 extra points. He was fairly consistent but didn’t have a long range. He also didn’t want to continue kicking.
In Week 4, Kramer was replaced mid-game by running back Chuck Mercein. Kramer had missed five straight tries by then including a pair of 20-yard attempts. Mercein made all seven of his extra points but hit just 2-of-5 field goal tries. Later, Kramer suffered a knee injury which took him out of the kicking equation.
By Week 7, the Packers activated Errol Mann from the taxi squad (now the practice squad) to try his hand as the kicker. Mann hit all four of his extra points but missed all three of his field goal tries. The team had now made just six of their last 17 field goal attempts. Mann went on to a successful career with the Lions and Raiders and kicked for Oakland in Super Bowl XI.
Next up was veteran Mike Mercer. He was the most consistent kicker of the season, hitting on 7-of-12 three point tries. Still, three of his five misses were blocked.
For the season, the Packers made just 13-of-29 field goals and missed three PATs.
The 1969 Season:
The Packers fared better in 1969, finishing with an 8-6 record. They also had only two kickers during the regular season. Yet, their kicking was historically bad. Mercer returned to start the season, but he made just five field goals in 17 tries, a 29.4 percent success rate. The Pack stuck with him for 10 games before signing veteran Booth Lusteg for the final four contests. Lusteg made just one field goal in five tries which meant the Packers converted on 6-of-22 field goals for the season, or a 27.3 field goal percentage.
Ironically, while the Packers couldn’t make many field goals, their kickers made all 35 extra points they tried that season.
Regardless, the Packers kicking struggles got worse rather than better in 1969.
The Packers Biggest Kicking Struggle: 1970
The Packers opened training camp in 1970 with nine kickers on the roster and taxi squad. That included Skip Butler who the team selected in the fourth round of the draft. Butler was let go but later kicked for the Oilers for five seasons.
The Packers settled on kicker Dale Livingston who had kicked for the Bengals the past two seasons with mixed results.
The good news was, Livingston lasted all season and was the only kicker to attempt a field goal or extra point for the team. The bad news was he made just 15-of-28 field goal tries and 19-of-21 extra points.
The 1971 Season
The Packers continued to struggle with kicking in 1971. The Packers auditioned a lot of kickers but settled on Dave Conway for field goals and former Colts lineman and kicker Lou Michaels for kickoffs. Conway made all five of his extra points but missed the only field goal he tried in the season opener in a game the Packers lost 42-40. He was released two days after that game.
Michaels took over as the kicker, but he struggled as well. He missed a pair of field goals in a 14-14 tie against the Lions. Two weeks later, he had a 23-yard field goal blocked in a game the Packers lost to the Vikings 3-0. Michaels finished the season making 8-of-14 field goals and 19-of-20 PATs.
In the final four games, the Packers activated Tim Webster as their kicker. The good news was, Webster made all eight of his extra points. However, he hit only 6-of-11 field goals.
Fittingly, Webster’s final field goal try, and the Packers last attempt of the season was blocked and returned for a touchdown by Miami’s Curtis Johnson.
The Packers Biggest Kicking Struggle: The Aftermath
In 1972, the Packers selected Chester Marcol in the second round of the draft. Marcol kicked 33 field goals as a rookie and was good on all of his extra points. “The Polish Prince” scored 128 points which led the league in scoring. He led the league in points again in 1974 and made the Pro Bowl in both of those seasons. Marcol remained the team’s kicker until 1980 although he missed most of the 1975 season due to injury.
But for four seasons, the Packers kicking woes cost them plenty of games and caused a lot of aggravation. Hopefully, we don’t see a repeat of that going forward.
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