GREEN BAY, WIS. — Two lockers down from the football shrine that is the Brett Favre dressing cubicle, Mason Crosby stood relaxed but unbowed as he awaited the interrogation.
The media read the body language of the former University of Colorado kicker and accepted his invitation en masse.
Although, the Green Bay Packers had just improved to 5-1 by defeating the Washington Redskins on Oct. 14, Crosby had the first difficult day in his fledgling NFL career.
In a game played in a continuous drizzle, two of Crosby’s field-goal attempts soared from his foot like rockets, only to hook slightly from the intended target inside the posts. A 46-yard attempt to end the first half ascended well over the left post, but went the wrong way by a foot or two. Another 38-yard try pelted the left upright.
Accuracy aside, the kicks showcased how Crosby got here in the first place.
“What sets him apart is his lift,” Packers coach Mike McCarty said. “We weren’t looking to replace Dave Rayner. He’s got a strong leg. But Crosby not only has a strong leg, he gets lift, like, now.”
Of course, accuracy is never an afterthought when it comes to kicking field goals. Crosby had also made a 37-yard field goal in this game, a successful kick that provided the winning margin in the 20-17 final score. But the winning kick wasn’t why reporters were swarming the rookie kicker.
Displaying uncommon poise and maturity for a rookie, Crosby handled the inquisition expectantly, seriously and professionally.
“The guys fought hard and bailed me out,” Crosby said. “The important thing is we won the game.”
This is mental-check week for Crosby. After beating out the incumbent Rayner during the preseason, Crosby had lived up to his enormous hype through the Packers’ first five games, making 9-of-10 field goals, including a 53-yarder, and ranking fourth in the NFL with seven touchbacks.
The Redskins game, though, was followed by a bye, which gives Crosby 15 days to not think about those dang-blasted missed kicks entering his trip back to Colorado, and all the potential distractions going home again can bring, for the Monday night game against the Broncos.
“I still have a lot of friends in the area back there,” said Crosby, who 10 months ago graduated with his communications degree from Boulder. “I’m looking forward to it.”
While at CU, Crosby became unusual for bringing star appeal to the kicker position. He made 12 field goals of at least 50 yards in college, including a 60-yarder against Iowa State in Boulder, and an NCAA sea level-record 58-yard kick at Miami.
A consensus All-American as a junior, Crosby made a 61-yard attempt as a senior against Colorado State, only to have it wiped out on a late timeout called by CSU coach Sonny Lubick. While Lubick started the late-timeout trend, Broncos coach Mike Shanahan popularized it with the game-saving tactic against Oakland.
“The idea is to get inside the kicker’s head,” Crosby said. “I think once a kicker misses the first one, but makes the second one after the timeout, that’s when you may see it die down a little bit. But as a kicker, you have to just prepare to make two kicks and concentrate on each one. If you make the field goal and a timeout takes it away, you have to know that’s part of the game and focus on making it again.”
Upon leaving his record-setting career at CU, Crosby was projected as a third- or fourth-round pick in the 2007 draft, but he wasn’t selected until the Packers’ third sixth- round pick.
Staying true to form, Crosby was not disappointed.
“You can’t be disappointed when you have an opportunity to be drafted in the NFL,” Crosby said. “I couldn’t have picked a better situation to be in. I’m happy it all worked out.”
All he needs now is another chance to kick a field goal.
Mike Klis: 303-954-1055 or mklis@denverpost.com
