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GREEN BAY – Green Bay Packers veteran kicker Brandon McManus has been dealing with a right quad injury since heading into Week 6 of the Cincinnati Bengals game that’s forced him to miss three games.
Packers coach Matt LaFleur said McManus’ injury isn’t an injured-reserve situation.
“I think it’s one of those things you got to take in stride and handle it on a day-to-day basis,” LaFleur said.
McManus is 11-of-17 this season on field goals and 16-of-17 on extra points. Backup kicker Lucas Havrisik stepped up in place of the injured McManus and, after starting 10-for-10 on all kicks and extra points, he missed two extra points on a windy day against the New York Giants.
With that in mind, we’re asking Packers fans about the kicking situation:
How should the Packers handle the kicking situation for the rest of the season?
Sean: If they can afford to activate both kickers on game day, have Havrisik handle kickoffs and field goal tries over 40 yards and McManus handle XP tries and field goals 40 yards or less.
Bill Breco: Let the player without an injury be the active kicker for the game. Give the team the best opportunity for success to prevail.
Troy: I would say pray McManus recovers. Given Havrisik’s prior history (9 games in 3 years), the two missed PATs may be a better indicator of his potential than his two good games.
Nick: Let McManus heal up. Then play him from then on out. He’s the starter.
David Radzinski: McManus
Kathy: Whoever is healthy.
Mike: McManus probably saw the weather forecast and finally decided to admit he was hurt. Give the kid another chance on a day when the wind isn’t gusting over 30 mph.
Jon: Ha. Go for 2.
Corey: If McManus is hurt, he obviously can’t kick. Otherwise, they need to decide on oen guy. Kind of like they say about QBs: If you have two, you really don’t have any.
Joe: Cut McManus and put the other guy in.
Philip Carr: McManus
Marc: Use the substitute until McManus is healthy then cut Havrisik.
Rick Yanda: Are Mason Crosby and Ryan Longwell still viable?
Gregg: Start Havrisik and let McManus fully heal. Then let them battle it out in training camp.
Dave Dettman: Stay the course with the current twosome. Let Havrisik kick the next few weeks until McManus is fully healed, then switch. Both have shown enough promise. Check in with superstar punter Whelan on what may have happened with the ball string placement on the PAT; and with Orzech on the snaps a couple of which seemed off. Issue may be the unit as a whole vs. the kickers individually.
InFact: McManus stays
Jeff Murawski: If Brandon is healthy, he’s the man. People are so fickle about kickers and know nothing what they are talking about. Period.
Tom: This is easy. Use the Dan Campbell method. Always go for it on 4th down and 2 point conversions after every touchdown. Think about it. You can train Whelan to handle kickoff chores and open up 2 spots on the 53 man roster. It’s all win-win.
Heathcliff: Run with Havey. He’s the future. People are being too critical given the conditions and awful snap on one of those XPs.
Tom: Go for two more often in windy conditions.
Nelly: Put McManus on IR and ride the next four games with Lucas. If he struggles, McManus gets the job back after four games. If they would have handled this properly from the beginning, like they should have, McManus would be back and healthy already.
Diogenes: Use Havrisik until McManus is healthy. Then have a kick competition at Lambeau on a windy day.
Tom: Go for two.
Dave Puzia: The Packers should have put McManus on IR when he first was injured. The type of injury he had is hard for a kicker to overcome. That would have opened a roster spot for another player and might have won the Carolina game. McManus should be placed on IR now so he can be healthy for the post-season.
Pat: If healthy, it should be McManus. He is the vet, need his experience and leg for the playoff run. But, keep him sidelined until he is fully healthy.
Mike Lorenzen: McManus has had crucial misses this year, but there’s no doubt that he is the more talented, and has resume to be #1 GB kicker, the Packers erred in not realizing that he was still hurt and should have kept him out of Pitt and Carolina games. That’s on Rich Bisaccia to know better.
Sean: Sign Justin Tucker
Eric: Allow McManus to get healthy, and in the interim allow Havisik take on the kicking duties. His missed extra points against the Giants appear to be more wind induced than a trend of missing those kicks.
Rick Weyenberg: Keep both kickers, use the one who had the best practice for the week.
Dennis: With McManus’ availability questionable week-to-week, the obvious options are to put him on IR until he’s healthy and find out what you really have in Havrisik; or keep going like they have been for the last few weeks with McManus a game day decision and Havrisik the back-up option. Either way you’re carrying two kickers for a while. If Havrisik proves the misses in the Giants game was a wind-caused anomaly, might as well finish the season with two kickers and let them battle it out in spring training.
Kevin: Go with McManus. They signed him for a reason. Stick with the reason.
Steve: Stick with Havrisik. At least he’s healthy.
Eric: At this point in time might as well bring back Mason.
Karl Fiasca: If Brandon McManus is 100%, he kicks. If not, Lucas Havrisik. I understand Havrisik had an underwhelming day against the Giants. He was on fire before that. I feel bringing in any other kicker is more risky.
Mike Ryan: Have a kicking competition in practice each week and whoever wins plays on Sunday.
Marsha: They will need to go week to week. McManus is probably the better kicker of the two. He just has to stay healthy. Can’t trust the other guy to be consistent – not enough experience and plus missing 2 extra points is a big problem, wind or no wind.
Bob: Not McManus.
Jason Sertle: If McManus is healthy, use him. If not, use Luke. Pretty simple!
Lou: McManus
Kurt: Whoever is healthy and kicks better in practice during the week should kick in the game.
Jim: When McManus is healthy, he should be the only kicker on the roster.
Brian Naze: McManus
James Miller: Four down territory from the 50 yard line on in and go for two after every touchdown!
Antoni Benton: I would go the younger route and live with the consequences; at some point you will gain experience.
Dan: Until McManus is fully healthy, stick with the backup.
Jonathan: They should put McManus on IR with hopes he can return later in the season.
Neil: Use Havrisik
Kevin Coulombe: Give Robbie Gould a call and make him an offer he can’t refuse. And put McManus on IR, and Havrisik on the practice squad. Let him work his issues out.
H G Garcia: Should go with Havrisik.
Todd: Havrisik
Brett: When McManus is 100% healthy, bring him back.
Steven: Go for two after TD and go on fourth down whenever possible. Have ht punter handle kickoffs and add an extra OL for the two open roster spots as we no longer need a long snapper.
Jim: Stay with the current plan. Keep both McManus and Havrisik on the active roster and evaluate weekly.
Mpg: McManus
Dick: Keep both kickers and use the one that has the better practices during the week. If he falters during the game, switch kickers. Eventually one of them will become the most reliable.
Allyn: Have a kickoff in practice once B Mac is healthy.
Bill: Stay with Lucas until our regular kicker is injury free.
Mike: Keep both.