Further breaking it down (I know this is analysis is becoming ad nauseum) Akers was:

75% in September, 100% below 40 yards, 7th in the league,
71.4% in October, 100% below 40 yards
62.5% in November, 83% below 40 yards, missed everything above 40 yards
66.7% in December, 80% below 40 yards, made one 40-49 and one above 50, 6th in the league

So the guy has a big drop off in November and December but the mistake is obviously every time we make him try to kick a field goal more than 40 yards. More of the games late in the season are on the line so he gets his confidence shattered and a few death threats thrown in for good measure.

Also note that average for the entire league dropped in December because Akers at 66.7% was 6th in the league!

So basically every time he tried to kick a field goal greater than 40 yards, which directly translates from the offense failing to advance even close to the red zone, we should treat it as a punt, and on the odd chance it goes between the uprights, a bonus 3 points.

But pretty much every time our offense has a failed drive within the red zone Akers makes the field goal, almost 9 out of 10 times.


What Nedney says from Mo's link above is:

"The telling sign to me is that he is missing them wide left, which means he is not getting his hips through the ball, he is not swinging confidently through the ball. Its kind of what we call poking-and-hoping."

Its hard to definitively state whether or not Akers has lost confidence, but he certainly isn't as automatic as he once was. But it's like they say about momentum; it comes as quickly as it goes. There is a chance Akers regains his prestige before the divisional round, but it will take some luck and brilliant motivational devices by Harbaugh.

Akers needs to be the guy for the 49ers heading into the postseason. He'll have less than two weeks to prove to Harbaugh this is something he can overcome.



So its really a rudiments problem probably caused by increase pressure and negative attention from a few misses he made earlier in the season. Like with Quarterbacks and mechanical problems (like with Alex Smith and the baseball coach in SoCal) these mechanical problems can be fixed. Let's hope they address this in the next week. We will probably kick a few field goals a week from Saturday.