08-17-2016, 10:49 AM
(08-17-2016, 10:10 AM)BleedNOrange Wrote: You are correct according to Elias Sports Bureau. They define kickers as "Qualified" as, "To qualify, a player must have at least 1 attempt per team's games played". Using this, here is how Nuge ranks the past 5 years with the Bengals.
Ranking/Total # of players who Qualified.
2015 - 23rd/32
2014 - 27th/31
2013 - 23rd/32
2012 - 20th/31
2011 - 8th/31
He has been a career below-average kicker.
A lot of the issue people have around here is that it seems that Nuge's job is a lock every year. It doesn't seem like the Bengals bring in serious competition.
All those figures can be tossed right out the window, because they are apples and oranges comparisons. To accurately rank Nugent among his peers, you have to compare him almost strictly to AFCN kickers. Comparing his average to kickers for teams that play in warm weather or especially in a dome, let alone in Denver, is ludicrous. If Nugent kicked in 80 degree weather or inside all the time like some of these other kickers, his percentage would skyrocket. Kicking in the AFCN off of frozen or wet turf, in cold weather and in swirling winds is a brutal profession.
