Can you believe that the CFL season is 2/3 of the way through? It really goes by too quickly. Let's discuss how kickers and punters have performed up until now in this week's write up;
Kickers
Through 14 weeks, we have witnessed an insane 307 field goal attempts by all the kickers in the CFL. They have completed 261 of those attempts for an impressive 85% completion percentage. Furthermore, we have seen kickers line up for 239 Point After Tries as well. They made 223 of those, which is good for 93.3%. I'll be straight with you, there was no movement in the Power Rankings this week. Let's discuss why that is with a look at my (un)Official Week 14 CFL Kicker Power Rankings;
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Rene Paredes (CGY) had a good game. He made both of his field goals from 20 yards and under in the Second Quarter. In the Stampeder's 56-28 win over the Elks, Paredes attempted 7 PATs. and made 6 of them. This marks his first missed PAT in the 2022 CFL Season. It isn't enough to dethrone him though. -- BREAKING -- Rene Paredes has missed practice on Tuesday, September 13th due to an ankle injury. Updates are to come in the coming days.
Sean Whyte (BC) did what was asked of him during the BC Lion's anemic offensive attack on the Alouettes. He completed his only field goal from 36 yards out as well as a late PAT to bring his final accumulation of points to 4. He is now one of only two kickers to have completed 90% of their field goals.
Marc Liegghio (WPG) had yet another impressive week, completing both his field goal attempt. His longest was from 45 yards out. While he excelled in the field goal department, he had Bombers fans doubting him after he missed his first PAT. He redeemed himself though because after that first miss he went on to go 6/6 on the remaining attempts. This is the second player this week to attempt 7 PATs.
Brett Lauther (SSK) had a bounce-back week after missing a 50+ yarder last time out. This week, he went 2/2 on field goals and 2/2 on PATs. This means he raised another 200$ for the KidSport program! His long came from 53 yards out, which puts him at 4/5 on field goals over 50 yards. I caught some flack last week because I said that I expect Lauther to make 50+ yard field goals but I stand by that statement. There are not too many kickers in this league with the same leg as him, and to be honest I'm surprised he hasn't been poached by the NFL.
David Côté (MTL) had an easy night, making all 3 of his field goals from under 30 yards out. He also made his longest kicks on two PATs which were completed with ease. This was a stat-padding week for Côté but as a second-year player, he needs all the reps he can get.
Seth Small (HAM) had a Bye Week this week, but none of the kickers below him played well enough to warrant a shift in the Power Rankings.
Boris Bede (TOR) had a bittersweet game, statistically speaking. He only made 3 of his 5 field goal attempts, which is good for only 60% (not ideal). To start the day, Bede lined up for a 51 yard field goal and sank it through the uprights. This would end up being his 200th field goal in his CFL Season! After this, he was good from 17 yards out. He then missed a 51 yard attempt before coming back and nailing a 47 yarder. His final attempt of the night was wide right from 46 yards out but still managed to score a single.
Sergio Castillo (EDM) had a decent week, going 2/2 on field goals and 2/2 on PATs. The biggest limiting factor for Castillo is volume. Early in the season, he struggled from beyond 40 yards but has been fairly consistent since week 9. I just need to see more than 8 field goal attempts in 7 weeks. If he gets more opportunities, I believe he can climb into the top 5 by the end of the season.
Lewis Ward (OTT) had another great game this week and finally showed us he can hit from over 40. He finished the week going 4/5 on field goals, and 2/2 from over 40 yards. This will bring him to 17/31 (54%) on field goals over 40 yards (2021-2022). I will still need to see him make a lot more field goals from over 40 before he makes too many big moves in my Power Rankings.
Punters
Most of the punters played very well this week, however, the majority of punters did not punt more than 4 times. Through 14 weeks the specialists have punted 625 times for a grand total of 29,303 yards! After returns, this figure is brought down to (a still impressive) 23,603 Net Yards. This works out to an average of 46.9 yards per punt and 37.8 Net yards per punt. Let's discuss how the players performed with a look at my (un)Official Week 14 CFL Punter Power Rankings;
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Richie Leone (OTT) was one of the only punters to punt 5 times this week. He managed to end the night with a Net Avg. of 43.8 yards per punt. 2 of his punts were inside the 20 yard line, and another 2 were over 50+ yards. He had a stellar week, but did we really expect anything less from him?
Stefan Flintoft (BC) only punted 3 times this week but had 2 of those punts go for over 50 yards. His 3rd punt was a shank, but he was backed up in his own endzone and wasn't given much to work with.
Cody Grace (CGY) has certainly had himself a season. After missing the first 4 weeks with an injury, Grace has come back swinging (his leg, that is). He punted 4 times for 213 yards (53.3 Avg.) and 192 Net yards (48 Net Avg.). 3 of those punts were over 50 yards, and 2 landed inside the 20 yard line. His impressive Week 14 domination will allow him to sneak his way into the Top 3!
John Haggerty (TOR) played well, punting 6 times for a Net Avg. of 40.2 Net yards per punt. 2 of those were over 50 yards and he even managed to land one inside the 10 yard line. He has now had 4 weeks in a row with a Net Avg. of over 40 yards.
Marc Liegghio (WPG) punted 1 time for an Avg. and a Net Avg. of 51 yards. A solid performance for only having 1 opportunity. Unfortunately, due to the competition around him, he will slide out of the Top 3 this week.
Joseph Zema (MTL) had a good week. He punted 4 times for 190 yards (47.5 Avg.) and 166 Net yards (41.5 Net Avg.). 1 of those punts were pinned inside the 10 yard line, and another went for over 50 yards, but other than that, it was not a very eventful game for Zema.
Kaare Vedvik (SSK) putned 2 times. One of them was a huge 63 yarder that landed inside the WPG 20 yard line. The other was a decent 41 yard bomb when he was backed up in his own endzone.
Michael Domagala (HAM) had a Bye Week this week.
Jonathan Ryan (EDM) had a good week by his standards but still only punted 4 times. While 2 were over 50 yards, he only ended the day with 46.5 yards per punt. His 37 Net Avg. isn't great, but I'm not sure we can count on Ryan to turn this Special Teams unit around. I miss Matt Mengel :/
Thank you for making it this far in my article! Please make sure to let me know what you think. -Big Ups to everyone on Twitter who continues to post great Specialist content. I couldn't do it without you :)