New England Patriots Player Profile: Stephen Gostkowski

July 9, 12:45 AMNew England Patriots ExaminerSean Crowe

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It’s not easy being a kicker in the NFL. It’s damn near impossible being an NFL kicker with the unenviable task of replacing a legend. So is the life of the subject of this edition of New England Patriots Player Profile.

Stephen Gostkowski

Gostkowski was drafted in the fourth round by the New England Patriots in the 2006 NFL draft. He was the first of only two kickers selected in that draft, the other being Kurt Smith (sixth round, San Diego) who is no longer in the NFL.

Gostkowski signed a four year, $2.035 million contract prior to training camp in 2006. The contract included a $425,000 signing bonus. He will become a free agent after the 2009 season.

Gostkowski attended the University of Memphis on a baseball scholarship. He “walked-on” to the football team and became their place kicker.

Gostkowski was first team All-Conference USA in both his junior and senior years, and was Conference USA’s Special Teams Player of the Year his senior year.

Gostkowski converted 70 of 92 field goals and 159 of 165 extra points during his college career. Both the 70 field goals and 159 PATs made are Memphis school records.

The Patriots signed Martin Gramatica before drafting Gostkowski, and most people expected Gramatica to handle the impossible task of replacing legend Adam Vinatieri. But Gostkowski, who was perfect on both PATs and field goals in preseason, beat out Gramatica for the kicking job.

Gostkowski made 20 of 26 field goal attempts in his rookie season, including a Gillette Stadium record 52-yard field goal against the Chicago Bears. He was 43 of 44 on PATs.

Even with his strong rookie season, Patriots fans were wary of their young kicker going into the playoffs. But he eliminated all doubt with an extremely strong postseason in which he converted all eight of his field goal attempts, including the game winner against the Chargers and a go-ahead field goal late in the fourth quarter against the Colts.

His 50-yard field goal against the Chargers was a Patriots postseason record.

In 2007, Gostkowski went a ridiculous 74-for-74 on PATs, an NFL record. He was 21 of 24 on field goals, giving him 137 points on the year (third behind Mason Crosby and Randy Moss).

In 2008, Gostkowski led the league with 148 points. That total was the 13th highest in NFL history. He converted 36 field goals, which was a Patriots record and the sixth best total in NFL history.

Gostkowski was selected to his first Pro Bowl in 2008. He was also voted to the All-Pro team.

Player Analysis:

Gostkowski has proven to be one of the best kickers in the NFL. He’s been, believe it or not, even better than the legend he replaced. He lacks the signature kicks (like Adam Vinatieri’s Snow Bowl kicks, or his two Super Bowl winning kicks) but something tells me that if given the opportunity, the kid would rise to the occasion (see the 2006 playoffs against the Chargers and Colts).

Previous Player Profiles:

• Fred Taylor
• Leigh Bodden
• Randy Moss
• Shawn Springs
• Wes Welker

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Questions? Comments? Insults? You can email them to Sean Crowe at scrowe@gmail.com.

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