Link: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/8812035

Praise be! In a world of dull, bland journalism, Gregg Easterbrook stands out.
I look forward to his attempt to measure whether the newest New York Jets kicker can kick any better than his (fired) predecessor. Write this down - my guess is No.
Kickers and punters are the butt-end scapegoats in many NFL teams. Miss a couple of field goals, or boom your punts too far or too short, and you are soon banished from the roster. A couple of seasons ago, in what turned out to be Tom Coughlin's last season as their head coach, the Jacksonville Jaguars went through 3 or 4 kickers/punters in the season - every time I turned on NFL Sunday Ticket another soon-to-be-fired one was on the field. Talk about whimsical musical chairs...
Most of the time a kicker or punter is on a short-term deal (not that long-term deals mean anything in the NFL today - ask Toby Gowin how he did on his long-term Cowboys contract from a couple of seasons ago). They are usually paid on or close to minimum salary, with the threat of the big hook hanging over their heads almost constantly during the season, and the threat of the axe hanging above their head in the post-season (ask Doug Brien).
Kudos to the Chargers for not scapegoating Nate Kaeding after his miss in the playoffs last season. Usually what is happening in those situations is that the coach/offensive co-ordinator suffers a loss of nerve, becomes conservative and, instead of trying for a TD, they send on the field goal unit. However, sometimes they don't even bother to get the best field position. One of Doug Brien's misses for the Jets in the playoffs came after the Jets had Chad Pennington kneel on third down, which actually lost the Jets yardage. WTF? Talk about a waste of a play. Hand the ball off to your straight-ahead running back, get the QB to run himself, throw a quick out, anything, but don't send yourself backwards....
Much is made of how good a clutch kicker Adam Vinatieri is for the New England Patriots (and he is an excellent pressure-situation kicker). However, you almost never see the Patriots putting themselves into marginal situations when they send on their field goal unit. They put themselves into a makeable yardage zone, they expect to get a field goal, they're not crossing their fingers, and they usually get the three points.