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PK David Akers, Philadelphia Eagles
HT: 5-10, WT: 200, Born: 12-9-1974, College: Louisville, Drafted: ---
2008 Projections
Best Case
To prove he is not past his prime and return to being an elite kicker, Akers would need to produce like he did earlier in this decade. From 2000 to 2004, Akers was one of the best kickers in the NFL. His field goal accuracy was above 82% every one of those years, with a high of 88.2% in 2002. He was accurate from long range, including an exceptional number of longer kicks in 2004 (15 of 18 from 40-49 yards, and 2 of 3 from 50+ yards). He has eleven career 50+ yard field goals. In 2006 Akers had two career highs with 48 PATs scored and a 65.5 yard average on kickoffs.
Worst Case
What if Akers is past his prime? Early in 2005 Akers played hurt for several games and then missed four games entirely. Akers finished 2005 with only 71 points, and hit 72.7% on field goals, his worst average since becoming a starter. 2006 was a little better as he hit 18 of 23 (78.3%) field goals, although that still was still not up to his previous levels. Three of his missed field goals that year were from under 40 yards. Last year was Akers' third consecutive sub par year, as he made 24 of 32 (75.0%) field goals. While he was perfect from under 40 yards, he was only 2 of 10 from his once bread-and-butter range of 40+ yards. His kickoff numbers also declined last year, as he averaged 61.8 yards with six touchbacks. On average, Akers misses an extra point every 2.2 years. Everyone has a bad year (or two) very now and then, but three in a row is hard to consider as something that can be rectified.
Outlook
During the five year run from 2000 to 2004, the Eagles ranked in the top ten in kicker scoring each year (5th, 9th, 2nd, 7th, and 6th). In 2005 the combination of Akers, France and Cortez (and linebacker Mark Simoneau on one PAT) scored only 98 points for a ranking of 23rd in kicker scoring. In 2006 Akers played in all 16 games, but had a career low of only 23 field goal attempts. He scored 102 points, for a 20th place ranking in kicker scoring for Philadelphia. Last year's 108 point effort ranked 21st. Akers' long time holder had been backup quarterback Koy Detmer. In 2006 punter Dirk Johnson took over that role and punter Sav Rocca served as the holder last year, however neither did as well as Detmer. Rocca faces competition as the punter this year from newly signed Richmond McGee. One factor in McGee's advantage is that he can also handle kickoffs, an area where Akers isn't what he once used to be.
