Did RIchard Sherman's Podcast Finally Make 49ers Waive Jake Moody?
Wait a minute... was the front office listenting?
The San Francisco 49ers got their season off to a nice start with a big win over their division rival Seattle Seahawks — even if they got pretty beat up during it — but former Niner and Seahawk Richard Sherman says there's one thing that needs to be addressed right now.
The kicking situation.
Well, maybe the team subscribes to his podcast because they listened.
The performance — or lack thereof — of kicker Jake Moody has been a focus for quite some time, and that came to a head after Sunday's game in which the former Michigan Wolverine got his season started by making only one of his three field goal attempts.
That brought Moody's career field goal average down to a cringe-inducing 74.2%.
Well, on the latest edition of The Richard Sherman Podcast, Sherman absolutely laid into the team for sticking with Moody and his struggles for so long.
"This has to be it. I thought it during the preseason. I thought it last year. I always think it because it’s not acceptable for the position. 76% for a kicker in the NFL is horrible," Sherman pointed out.
Well, it seems like this may have been proverbial pants-kicking the Niners needed to make a change.
I like to think that hearing Richard Sherman lay into them while wearing a Niners hat was what led to the decision. It would just be hilarious if decisions were being swayed by podcasts.
However, I think another reason could be that the kicking game needs to be more reliable in light of injuries and offensive performance.
San Francisco won 17-13 on Sunday, so they weren't exactly lighting up the scoreboard. Then, on top of that, tight end George Kittle — one of the most dangerous options in the passing game — went down with an injury. Quarterback Brock Purdy isn't 100% healthy after suffering multiple injuries, per SFGate.
So, with the offense taking a beating, it would be nice to have the kicking team bail them out with some points here and there.
A 74.2% field goal percentage isn't going to cut it in this respect.
It'll be interesting to see who gets the nod to handle kicking duties from here on out, but it's a change that — as Sherman noted — is long overdue.