Anders Carlson and Greg Joseph didn’t make their final kicks of the night, but Green Bay Packers coach Matt LaFleur was pleased with the performance of both kickers during Saturday’s Family Night practice at Lambeau Field.
Carlson attempted his first eight kicks but missed his last one from 57 yards out, finishing the game at 8-for-9. Joseph attempted his first six kicks but missed his last two of three, both from more than 50 yards out, finishing the game at 7-for-9.
“I thought they both had a pretty good night,” LaFleur said Saturday night. “Obviously, you want them to make the last two kicks, but other than that … I thought overall they did a pretty good job.”
Carlson and Joseph each made an extra point early in practice, then had back-to-back catches from 43 to 52 yards out. Joseph’s 54-yard miss — snapping his impressive streak of 20 consecutive catches during camp — was the first missed throw of practice.
Carlson and Joseph both had passes dropped due to a timeout before the scrimmage. In fact, Carlson made his first attempt for 57 yards after the timeout. On his second attempt, the incomplete pass affected the operation and he missed wide right.
Including two nuked kicks, Carlson finished 9-of-10, while Joseph was 8-of-10. Overall, Joseph leads the field in competitiveness through 10 training camp practices — 37-of-41, while Carlson is 34-of-41. The difference is just three misses.
LaFleur said he believes the competition at kicker will continue throughout the preseason, but he acknowledged that could change quickly.
“I expected it, but things change,” LaFleur said.
The rivalry will begin again Tuesday, with the first practice of next week. The real separation between Carlson and Joseph could come when the Packers open the preseason at Cleveland next Saturday.
