According to the eye test, the last two seasons have not been kind to Dan Carpenter. The man who was next-to-automatic in 2013 and 2014 has been anything but in 2015 and 2016. Bleacher Report’s year-end grades for 2016 seem to confirm what most Buffalo Bills’ fans have seen.
According to scouts and Bleacher Report’s metrics (which they explain here), Carpenter ranked 32nd out of all NFL kickers in 2016, earning a grade of 62.9. Mike Nugent ranked 34th with a 61.9, so Carpenter barely escaped the basement. Any grading system is a bit subjective, but it is a bit easier to watch a kicker and see whether or not he was successful (did he make it?