With the Chief’s Harrison Butker’s 69-yard field goal in the pre-season, it was demonstrated yet again that today’s kickers are better than ever. Year after year they kick it higher, further, and straighter. Usually, the placekicker is the leading scorer on the team, but nobody cares because the kicking game has become boring and predictable.The NFL failed to make it more interesting when they moved back extra points and changed kickoffs.
Here are four ways to boot it up a big notch:CLICK HERE FOR MORE OUTKICK SPORTS COVERAGEKansas City Chiefs place kicker Harrison Butker celebrates after scoring against the Los Angeles Rams during the first half of an NFL preseason football game, Saturday, Aug.15, 2026, in Kansas City, Mo.
(AP)Make it a rectangle that challenges the placekicker to "place" it in the uprights, without kicking it too high, where the referee has to make a judgment call about whether the kick was between the posts. This will make every kick more interesting. 38-yard kicks are too routine. Extra points are so boring it’s time to go get a snack.All NFL level kickers can hit 70–80-yard field goals in practice. More and more coaches are taking chances that their guy can hit it from more than 50 yards out.The primary difference between high school, college, and pro kicking is distance with trajectory. Lining up approximately 7.5 yards behind the line of scrimmage, the defense surges so they are usually about 5 yards from the kick coming off the ground. The pros need to get the ball at least 11 feet in the air to avoid it being blocked. It’s hard to do, but they all do it with relative ease. Time to make it more difficult. Let’s change the "field goal" to an actual goal.Similar to golf, kickers use their 9-iron on all kicks. They are only challenged to hit it long and straight. Kicking it into the target is much different, more challenging, and will be more exciting to watch.THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW–UNFILTERED, UNAPO...