GREEN BAY, Wis. — On the day he claimed Brayden Narveson off waivers in late August, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst made an admission about his approach to kickers and punters.
“I’m probably not as patient with specialists as I should be,” Gutekunst said Aug. 28.
Narveson knows he’s testing Gutekunst’s patience. In fact, the rookie kicker wondered after he missed two field goal attempts in last Sunday’s 31-29 loss to the Minnesota Vikings if his boss might have run out of patience with him.
“If I’m being honest, most places, you never know if you’re going to come back after a game like that and even get a chance to go throughout the week and whatnot,” Narveson said Wednesday. “I’m just extremely grateful for that, and I’m going to take that as a token of gratitude and a blessing, and I’m going to go prepare my ass off all week.
“A lot of people are probably writing me off right now. I’m going to take that with, not to prove people wrong, but prove the people that believed in me right.”
No kicker this season has missed more field goal attempts than Narveson’s four. He missed wide right from 43 yards against the Eagles in the opener, wide right from 45 in Week 2 against the Colts. Against the Vikings, he hit the right upright from 37 yards, then was wide right from 49 yards. Officially, he is 9-of-13, but that doesn’t include another miss in Week 3 at Tennessee that was wiped out by a Titans penalty.
“I felt what rock bottom feels like in a game,” Narveson said of Sunday’s two misses. “I felt that. I’m at the point right now where it’s almost like a screw-it mentality. I’m a dawg. I’m that guy. I’m going to go out there and bang the kick. That’s how I’m thinking about it this week.”
On Tuesday, Gutekunst brought in Chad Rylan and Lucas Havrisik for workouts but did not sign either one; Rylan was signed to the Cardinals’ practice squad Wednesday. Gutekunst also has Alex Hale, who is part of the NFL’s International Player Pathway Program, on the practice squad. At this point, though, it does not appear the Packers are ready to go with him.
The Packers are in this position because they moved on from last year’s kicker, rookie Anders Carlson. After a strong start, Carlson missed kicks in 10 of the last 12 games, including a 41-yarder in the fourth quarter of the playoff loss to the 49ers. Gutekunst cut Carlson at the end of training camp this summer and initially kept veteran Greg Joseph. But when Narveson became available on waivers, he released Joseph, who has made 5-of-6 field goal attempts since joining the Giants in Week 3.
The good news for Narveson is that his misses have all gone to the right. He said that happens when his plant foot gets wide and, therefore, he is aimed too far right.
“We all could see the same thing. It was pretty apparent,” Narveson said. “It’s something that I don’t do at practice. Just being a little more meticulous about my process — my steps, the preparation — and really honing in and fixing that, and we should be good to go.”
Coach Matt LaFleur, at least publicly, has continued to strongly back Narveson in part because of what he has seen from his kicker in practice.
“I get it, though. You’ve got to go perform, and we expect him to make those kicks as well,” LaFleur said this week. “We’ve got to make sure that we get that production and make sure that his routine is right and he’s got to be able to self-correct as well. If you miss one, you’ve got to make sure that you don’t make the same mistake twice.”