By Weston Hodkiewicz / Green Bay Post Gazette
Where others see a streak, Mason Crosby sees another mountain to conquer.
In the wake of signing a five-year contract with the Green Bay Packers last July, Crosby paid his team back last season when he set a new franchise record with 23 consecutive regular-season makes (dating back to 2010).
Along with making a career-high 85.7 percent of his regular-season field goals, it added up to the most decorated season of Crosby’s five-year career.
In the process, Crosby tied his franchise record with a 56-yard field
goal against Atlanta in Week 5 and broke it with a 58-yard kick in a 33-27 win against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 7.
For all the successes, there were a few failures — missing an extra point and four field-goal tries, including one that hit the right upright against Tampa Bay to end his streak on Nov. 23.
Mix it together and that’s the motivation Crosby needs entering next season.
“There are always one or two things you can just improve on,” said Crosby prior to the start of the Packers Tailgate Tour Tuesday. “Obviously, I didn’t make every kick, so definitely that’s a new goal, and now I have a number, a mountain-in-a-row, that I can try to eclipse. There’s always things you set and try to get better with.”
It’s hard to find much fault in Crosby’s 2011 campaign. He finished fourth in league scoring with 140 points and surpassed 80 percent in field-goal efficiency for the first time in his career.
Crosby also took advantage of the new NFL rule that moved kickoffs forward to the 35-yard line, finishing third in the league with 49 touchbacks.
Crosby credits most of that success to the continuity between him, punter/holder Tim Masthay and long snapper Brett Goode, who has spent the last four seasons with Crosby.
Although the NFL’s new offseason program rules didn’t allow Crosby or Masthay to kick during the first two weeks of offseason workouts in April, the trio practiced on its own at St. Norbert College and various area high schools.
During the last three weeks, the three has practiced with the team. Crosby has ramped up his kicking during individual player workouts, which are three times a week.
The late start might not be ideal, but it beats last summer when the lockout washed out OTAs.
“This offseason has been good to have Brett and Tim,” Crosby said. “We’ve already been able to work together and get the operation going again. This is three years now with these guys. As far as consistency goes and being in May only, and being able to go out and feel comfortable with that operation is definitely a positive. It’s something I’m going to build off of from last year.”
After moving kickoffs up last season, there has been talk of eliminating kickoffs completely given the NFL’s recent emphasis on avoiding concussions and player safety.
New York Giants owner John Mara, who is a member of the league’s competition committee, admitted he’d be in favor of such a move last month and that conversations have taken place about potentially throwing out the play entirely.
Crosby is all for safety and the long-term health of players, but takes pride in one of the defining features of his craft. Until a declaration is submitted, however, he’s concentrating on building upon last season.
“It’s definitely something I look at, guys’ safety is so important,” Crosby said. “For a kicker, I obviously don’t want to eliminate part of my job for kickoffs. I think it’s part of the game. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen. For me, I’m going to keep kicking off as long as I’m called to do that.”
