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In the early stages of Cowboys 2020 training camp, we’re being fed tiny amounts of information given that so many new things are being installed on offense, defense, and special teams. Outside of a few post practice notes on who stood out, it’s hard to gauge how Mike McCarthy’s offense or Mike Nolan’s defense is going to look.
One thing we do know to be a fact is that Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein has been perfect for the Cowboys so far in camp. While the sample size is small, Zuerlein has made every single one of his field goal and extra-point attempts so far in training camp for the Cowboys.
** We have seen Greg Zuerlein kick once so far. He made all six tries ranging from 28 to 43 yards. Ball rockets off his foot but had a couple of low-trajectory hits inside Ford Center.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 19, 2020
Zuerlein, 32, is coming off a poor year in Los Angeles where he saw his field goal percentage dip far below 80% (72.7%). While new to Dallas, Zuerlein will have a familiar face in John Fassel as his special teams coach, the same coach he had with the Rams for his entire career.
Zuerlein’s struggles last season were somewhat of a mystery, and somewhat related to leg issues. He hasn’t disclosed exactly what went wrong, but he claims it’s in the past.
“Obviously, I did not perform up to my ability last year,” Zuerlein said of his 2019 struggles, attributing them to several, undisclosed reasons. “It was a very bad year for me. But that’s in the past. I’m not going to let what’s happened in the past change what I do or get in the way of my preparation for this season.
“There’s no doubt in my mind I will be back to my normal self this year.”
We know Zuerlein can hit from distance, given his “Greg the Leg” nickname and his multiple makes from over 60 yards. He even once hit a 64-yard attempt against the Cowboys in a training camp scrimmage with the Rams.
The Cowboys are coming off a year in which Brett Maher severely disappointed, leading to the addition of Kai Forbath who was also perfect to finish out the year. The team opted to go with Greg Zuerlein over Forbath after releasing Forbath before training camp kicked off last week. With Zuerlein getting the nod, he will need to prove over these next few weeks that 2019 was a fluke, and he’s capable of getting back to his 2017 self in which he drilled 95% of his field goals. He should see plenty of opportunities in 2020, as the Cowboys should have one of the top scoring offenses in the league.