SoulfishHawk":2dwkkw1w said:
No, they did NOT overpay for him. He's the 11th highest paid in the league. And he's clearly top 5, period. 3 mil is the going rate these days for a good kicker.
Yup, Hauschka was 2nd in the league in FG %age last season. That's awesome.
He was tied for 12th the year before.
He was 17th the year before that.
Maybe he's getting better. Or maybe, just maybe, he's like every other kicker in existence and his success rate fluctuates by a few points here and there each year.
Remember Josh Brown? He was awesome for us, right?
Here are his ranks with Seattle and then in the years following:
2005: 30th
2006: 18th
2007: 24th
2008: 16th
2009: 22nd
2010: 13th
2011: 31st
2012: 5th
2013: 17th
See that? Here it is again with Phil Dawson:
2005: 2nd
2006: 28th
2007: 12th
2008: 22nd
2009: 6th
2010: 21st
2011: 19th
2012: 3rd
2013: 14th
So, you find me a kicker that CONSISTENTLY ranks in the top 5 over a stretch of multiple seasons, then I'll agree that he's elite and deserving of more money than every other kicker in the league. But Haushcka isn't that guy.
But again, no big deal. The contract he got is about 750k more per season than I would have given him, but it's done now and a moot point.