One of the surprises this season for the Green Bay Packers is that whoever is occupying the body of K Mason Crosby is doing a much better job than Mason Crosby version 2012.
I was pretty vocal late last year that they had to make a change from Crosby because it looked like his confidence was shot. However, I was a bit cautious about releasing him for the sake of releasing him this offseason, unless they happened to sign a kicker who was obviously better (they didn't). You never know when a kicker is going to bounce back.
Right now, Crosby is one of eight kickers who are perfect on field goal attempts. While the perfection is appreciated, it's more surprising how accurate his kicks have been. Usually he's been hitting them right down the middle, which is a major change from some of his 2012 shanks that weren't within 10 yards of the uprights.
Maybe his confidence never left him, which is why the Packers were so patient with him. Or maybe they knew that kickers are unpredictable and if they gave him some time, he'd work out of the problem with his technique.
They had some reason to believe that 2012 was a fluke and Crosby could easily bounce back in 2013. Aaron Schatz wrote a great article a few years ago about just how inconsistent kickers are at making field goals. So what's happened to Crosby isn't unusual.
At some point this season, he'll finally miss his first field goal of the season, and it will be briefly mentioned on TV that he was awful last season. I'm not sure how accurate he will be this season, he's proven to be an unpredictable kicker, but right now he looks great and I hope he maintains his confidence and technique for as long as he can.
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