Wisconsin News and Sports
Tim Masthay
After a sub par 2014 season for punter Tim Masthay, the Green Bay Packers are adding some competition to the position by signing former Alabama punter Cody Mandell.
Mandell was cut by the Dallas Cowboys on Aug. 9. During his senior season at Alabama, in 2013, Mandell was named to the all-SEC team and was a semifinalist for the Ray Guy Award.
Masthay finished 30th in net average (37 yards), 26th in gross average (44.1) and 32nd in punts inside the 20-yard line (14). [Read more…]
The Green Bay Packers released kicker Giorgio Tavecchio, which means the kicking battle in training camp is now down to just two, incumbant Mason Crosby and recently signed rookie free agent Zach Ramirez.
AUDIO: Mike McCarthy said there’s still more to come in the kicking battle :14
McCarthy told Tavecchio he’s still a part of the competition. McCarthy said, “We’re at that point where we need to cut to 75. Obviously, we’ll take
Giorgio Tavecchio
the final cut all the way down to tomorrow. The final cut down is just not clear to us.”
Crosby and Ramirez were both at practice this morning, but they didn’t kick. The kicking competition will resume on Tuesday during practice.
Tavecchio hit roughly 86% of his field-goal attempts in practice and preseason games, compared to 80% for Crosby. But Tavecchio doesn’t have the same leg strength as Crosby or Ramirez.
Mike McCarthy said the Packers wouldn’t likely get down to the NFL limit of 75 players until tomorrow. The deadline is 3pm.
Instead of getting ready to make a decision on their kicker for the regular season, the
Mason Crosby
Packers have added a third kicker to the mix.
After working out for the Packers on Saturday, Ted Thompson and Mike McCarthy decided to sign Ramirez to a contract to allow him to compete with Mason Crosby and Giorgio Tavecchio for the kicking job in Green Bay.
All three kickers competed together for the first time at practice on Sunday. They kicked from 11 different spots on the field from 34 to 63 yards. Each kicker got 11 attempts. Crosby made 10 of 11, missing from 53 yards. Tavecchio made 9 of 11, missing from 45 and 63. Ramirez hit 10 of 11, missing from 53. [Read more…]
It was two weeks ago that Mason Crosby missed 5 of his 8 field goal attempts in the
Mason Crosby
Packers Family Night Scrimmage.
Since then, Crosby has been as solid as they get, matching Giorgio Tavecchio with every kick. Then, Crosby went 3 for 3 on Saturday night in the Packers 19-7 win over the St. Louis Rams, including a solid 48-yarder.
It was the kind of performance Crosby needed.
AUDIO: Crosby says things have been good lately :14 [Read more…]
Watching Green Bay Packers kicker Mason Crosby struggle last season was tough.
Crosby & Tavecchio in Training Camp!
He went through the worst season of his career, hitting on just shy of 64% of his field goal attempts.
Crosby entered 2013 with all of that behind him, looking to start fresh and return to his pre-2012 form. His field goal percentages were 79.5, 79.4, 75.0, 78.6 and 85.7 in those five previous seasons.
Crosby also entered 2013 training camp with some competition, street free agent Giorgio Tavecchio. Prior to Saturday night’s team scrimmage, the two were even. Then came Saturday night’s debacle where Crosby hit just 3 of his 8 field goals, good for 63%. Tavecchio moved into the kicking lead, hitting 6 of 7 for just over 84%. [Read more…]