Kicking the can: Digesting the Dallas Cowboys kicking situation

Kai Forbath

Not many people will remember this, but Kai Forbath is returning to Dallas after being with the team in 2011. Injuries and a great season from former starter Dan Bailey held him from getting an opportunity to kick in a game for the Cowboys.

After playing for five different teams, including one game with the Patriots this season, Forbath returns to the place where he was fighting for an opportunity, now as a starter. He has had a very up and down career thus far.

In 2016, Forbath was kicking for the Minnesota Vikings. He managed to make every field goal, although he did miss three of 14 extra-point attempts. In his six seasons of at least 10 field goal attempts, five of them saw him hit above 80 percent of the kicks and three times above 85 percent.

How he will play in Dallas is unknown, but I would assume he would kick better while playing in a closed stadium. In his career, he is 11-18 when kicking from 50+ yards (61 percent). When kicking from fewer than 50 yards, he is 110-123 (89 percent).

This would further back up having Maher on the roster for longer kicks. Forbath is great at shorter kicks, while Maher is great at longer kicks.

I would expect Forbath to at least kick for 82.5 percent. If he doesn’t, then hopefully he picks it up next season if he doesn’t lose his job in training camp or preseason. Overall, Forbath shouldn’t be missing as many kicks as Maher has, so it’s a win.

No more missing what should be an easier field goal (knock on wood). This will change how Dallas matches up against opponents because Maher has left 30 points off the board in 13 games this season. Let’s hope things get better from here.