Green Bay Packers kicker Greg Joseph is in the middle of a heated rivalry with Anders Carlson. After the kicker’s impressive performance during Thursday’s practice, Joseph may have gained a slight edge over Carlson.
The five-year veteran made all seven of his attempts on the day, giving him a combined 29-31 (94 percent) through the first two weeks of training camp. Carlson was neck and neck with Joseph until he went 4-7 on Thursday, giving the second-year kicker a 25-31 (81 percent) mark for camp.
That’s a comfortable advantage for a seasoned kicker, but Joseph doesn’t focus on his kicking percentage after every practice. Instead, he treats every kick as if he’s 0-for-0.
“I don’t look at stats,” Joseph said. “I don’t look at yesterday. I don’t look at tomorrow. I look at today and I can literally see my foot through every ball one by one, and that’s it. I don’t look at it 7-on-7. It’s one-on-one times seven in my head, so keeping that mindset and then, you know, obviously trying to keep that rhythm and take that mindset into the preseason.”
The Packers won’t officially begin their preseason until Aug. 10, although Joseph will get a chance to kick a ball inside Lambeau Field before then. The team will hold its annual Family Night on Saturday, where Joseph hopes to have more success than in the past.
As a member of the Minnesota Vikings, Joseph kicked Lambeau on three separate occasions. He connected on just three of his seven attempts, with all four misses coming in his last two outings. In 2022, Joseph missed attempts of 46 and 50 yards in a 41-17 loss to Green Bay on New Year’s Day. Last season, Joseph had similar numbers, missing attempts of 42 and 44 yards, the latter of which was blocked by defensive lineman Karl Brooks.
Given his recent struggles, it would have been simple for Joseph to get into his own head. Fortunately, being around other veterans taught him to focus solely on the next kick, rather than getting caught up in the numbers.
“I think it’s really easy to get caught up in it all,” Joseph said. “I think it’s something that I’ve heard from veterinarians and what they’ve advised me to do, but it’s one thing to know and another to trust and implement.”
Joseph’s maturity may be his biggest advantage over Carlson in the competition for Green Bay’s kicking duties. As a rookie, Carlson couldn’t get out of his own way tardy in the season, missing nine of his last 12 games, including the playoffs. Joseph has also had some bad stretches in the past, but he’s managed to bounce back.
Ultimately, the job may hinge on who performs better in the preseason. But it’s too early to tell.
“It’s just too early. I’m glad everybody’s healthy and kicking the ball now,” special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia said Monday. “It’s still a long process. It’s early days of where we want to be at the end of the day. We’re just going to kick.”
