So…. I sit here pondering how the 49ers (and I) will cope with the loss of Uncle Phil (Dawson); The loss of an almost guaranteed 3 points whenever the 49ers had field position at the 40 or closer.

Dawson’s professionalism, work ethic and veteran accountability to our young kickers (and all staff for that matter) will certainly be missed, considerably. I can’t help but sit here and hope that we struck Gould with Robbie.

In this article I’m going to compare the two veteran place kickers, just to see what we’re losing or gaining with the loss of Uncle Phil or the addition or Robbie Gould.

We will kick it off with the new man in town.

Robert Paul “Robbie” Gould III is an American football placekicker for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. He played with the Chicago Bears from 2005 to 2015, during which he became the franchise’s all-time leading scorer.

Gould has a career 85.9 field gold percentage. He went to the Pro Bowl and was a First Team All-Pro in 2006, as well as being the NFC Special Teams Player of the Week on three occasions. He has made 399 extra points on just 406 attempts and possesses a career-long 58-yard field goal to definitely place him as a high ranking placekicker in the league. Gould ranks 7th among all kickers in career field goals… not too shabby right?

Gould has however, at times, showed a lack of focus and concentration in clutch situations throughout his career. In Week 13, December 1st, 2013, Gould missed field 2 goal attempts, one being 66 yards out, and one being 47 yards out in the last minutes of the game against the Vikings to lose 23-20 in overtime.

One specific field goal Gould missed that I can remember first hand was in 2015, in overtime that allowed the 49ers to come back and win with a Gabbert to Smith pass. You guys remember this one correct?? Robbie Gould missed two field goals in that game as well; one from 40 yards out and one from 36 yards out.

Robbie’s career stats are as follows:

Year Team FG ATT FGM PCT COMB AST 2016 Giants 10 10 100.0 1 0 2015 Bears 39 33 84.6 1 0 2014 Bears 12 9 75.0 – – 2013 Bears 29 26 89.7 – – 2012 Bears 25 21 84.0 – – 2011 Bears 32 28 87.5 – – 2010 Bears 30 25 83.3 1 0 2009 Bears 28 24 85.7 3 0 2008 Bears 29 26 89.7 1 0 2007 Bears 36 31 86.1 – – 2006 Bears 36 32 88.9 2 1 2005 Bears 27 21 77.8 2 0 Career 333 286 85.9 11 1

Now our Beloved Uncle Phil:

Philip Drury Dawson, (Drury?!?! You can tell he’s old…) also known by us Faithfuls as Uncle Phil, is an American football placekicker for the Arizona Cardinals. He played for the Cleveland Browns from 1999 to 2012 and holds their franchise record for most field goals made, passing Hall of Famer Lou Groza in 2010. He played college football at Texas. As of the end of the 2016 NFL season, Dawson is the second oldest player in the league, behind fellow placekicker Adam Vinatieri.

Dawson, unlike Gould has been a consistent kicker in his career, especially making big game kicks in the clutch. Dawson made a franchise record 27 consecutive field goals throughout the 2013 season before a 24-yard field goal miss against the Arizona Cardinals in week 17. Sadly, the Arizona Cardinals are the new home for our beloved Uncle Phil – he signed a new 2 year contract on March 10, 2017 with our nemesis.

Uncle Phil was loved by all fans here in the Bay Area and across the world. Below are his career stats:

Year Team FG ATT FGM PCT COMB AST 2016 49ers 21 18 85.7 – – 2015 49ers 27 24 88.9 – – 2014 49ers 31 25 80.6 1 0 2013 49ers 36 32 88.9 – – 2012 Browns 31 29 93.5 – – 2011 Browns 29 24 82.8 1 0 2010 Browns 28 23 82.1 1 0 2009 Browns 19 17 89.5 – – 2008 Browns 36 30 83.3 – – 2007 Browns 30 26 86.7 – – 2006 Browns 29 21 72.4 2 0 2005 Browns 29 27 93.1 3 2 2004 Browns 29 24 82.8 1 0 2003 Browns 21 18 85.7 3 1 2002 Browns 28 22 78.6 1 0 2001 Browns 25 22 88.0 1 0 2000 Browns 17 14 82.4 3 0 1999 Browns 12 8 66.7 1 0 Career 478 404 84.5 18

As you can all see, there is not much of a difference between their careers. The sole large difference is the age gap. Other then Dawson being 7 years older then Gould, their career percentages are very close. Dawson has played in the league 6 years longer then Gould and Dawson has been more consistent on a game by game basis.

This could of course be the result of the game schedules and fields they kicked on during their careers. Nevertheless it could be that Dawson was just that much better at kicking field goals under pressure. That is for us to see, this season, So… other then age and us getting the younger kicker, My opinion is….

Other then falling in love with Uncle Phil, and his 6 more years of experience and his ability to kick well under pressure, I do not believe that we are losing as much as we think we are with the change in kickers.

Uncle Phil will always be a beloved Niner in my eyes, but I believe with the age of Gould and his career stats, its not much of a drop off. I am excited to see what Gould brings to the field, and by all means I hope that we don’t have to see as much of his leg as we saw of Uncle Phil’s. Hopefully this offense is going to be much, much, better, So I am going to call it a tie between the two and the rest is to be told on the field, not in your words or mine! I do believe and hope we did Strike Gould!

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