Why Sebastian Janikowski is a Household Name

Hard Knocks recap + NL MVP race heats up with Matt Olson surging

🏈Past: Why was Sebastian Janikowski so memorable?

As I scrolled through the newly Football HOF-eligible players for the Class of 2024, I stopped when I came across Sebastian Janikowski’s name. Janikowski, also known as Seabass, had one of the strongest legs the game has ever seen. He stood at 6’1”, 260 pounds and in my head, was one of the best kickers of the past thirty years. His actual resume does not tell the same story.

During his 18-year NFL career, Janikowski made exactly one pro bowl. That same year, he made his only AP NFL All-Pro Team (it was only the 2nd team). And that is the extent of the accolades he earned. Sure, Janikowski has decent counting stats, as he made 436 field goals during his career (10th in NFL history) and scored 1,913 points (12th in NFL history), but he ranks 62nd all-time in field goal percentage, which is far from impressive. The fact he only finished top five in field goal percentage in three different seasons doesn’t help his cause either. To be frank, Janikowski was never one of the best kickers in the NFL. The big question is, as someone who saw Janikwoski’s entire career, why did I think he was?

As I sit here reflecting, Janikowski getting drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 2000 NFL Draft may have had a lot to do with why I considered him a star kicker. This was the last time a kicker was drafted in the first round and most likely, the last time. The 17th overall pick was the fourth highest draft pick ever used on a kicker (Washington drafted kicker Charlie Gogolak with the 6th overall pick in 1966) and as a 10-year old football fan in 2000, I imagined that if a kicker was going in the 1st round, he must be able to kick 100-yard field goals. And to be honest, I wasn’t that far off.

For all of Janikowski’s shortcomings, he did have an absolute howitzer as a left leg. That was not a debate. He led the NFL in longest field goal made in three seasons and knocked in two kicks over 60 yards (including a 63-yard field goal in 2011). It seemed like he was brought on the field whenever the Raiders passed midfield and once was brought on the field to attempt a 76-yard field goal attempt (maybe this is why his field goal percentage was so poor).

To really understand the strength of his boot, just look at the percentage statistic he actually excelled at: touchback percentage. Janikowski had five seasons where the percentage of time the kickoff was a touchback was over 50%; his career average was 33.4%. Meanwhile, Adam Vinatieri, the kicker from Janikwoski’s era that will in fact one day enter the Hall of Fame, had a career high touchback percentage of 13.7%. You read that right. Janikowksi was built different.

Add in the fact that he played for the Oakland Raiders, had a badass name, a badass nickname, was born in Poland, and weighed more than many NFL linebackers and you can see why Sebastian was talked about anytime the kicker position was brought up in the 21st century. As memorable as a player he was though, he will never have a shot at entering the Football Hall of Fame.

🏈Present: Aaron Rodgers image rehab is in full swing. Did it work?

Nothing gets me as excited for the upcoming NFL season than HBO’s Hard Knocks. The NFL Draft, training camp, and fantasy football all do a number on me, but the second Liev Schreiber’s beautiful voice begins reciting some poetic lines, I immediately crave Chili, several miller lite, light a dozen pumpkin candles, and want to tackle something.

Last Tuesday was the first episode of this year’s season of Hard Knocks and it features the New York Jets. And why wouldn’t it?

The Jets have a highly engaging and likeable coach in Robert Saleh. They have the reigning offensive and defensive rookies of the year in Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner, respectively. And, of course, they have a new 39-year old Hall of Fame quarterback, fresh off his off-season vacation in a cave.

As engaging and likeable as Garrett Wilson and Sauce Gardner are, new Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers is the leading man of this season and HBO did not let you forget it in episode one. When Aaron Rodgers face was not on the screen (which wasn’t much) there was another New York Jet talking about Rodgers. All talk was super positive and boiled down to the fact that the media has Rodgers all wrong and he is the model teammate. They all love him.

HBO is a well-oiled machine that produces excellent content across the board and after an hour of HBO blessed Rodgers propaganda, I was all in on Rodgers. By the time the credits rolled, I was ready to look past the years Rodgers had beat down my Chicago Bears, spoken down to my city, and been as weird as any athlete has ever been off the field. Go New York Jets, Aaron Rodgers and all.

⚾️Future: Can anyone catch Ronald Acuna Jr. in the NL MVP race?

Outside of the playoff race, MVP races in all sports are what the general public loves to discuss as the regular season comes to a close. The 2023 baseball season has done it’s best to deny the public what they want though, as Shohei Ohtani locked up the American League MVP trophy weeks ago, as he continues to defy what is humanely possible on a baseball diamond.

With no debate in the AL, all eyes turned to the National League, where it looked like Atlanta Braves right fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. was well on his way to locking up his first MVP trophy following a season where he has put together a rare season showcasing both speed (55 stolen bases) and power (26 home runs). However, unlike Ohtani, this is not a done deal, with the man playing spoiler being no other than Ronald’s own teammate, first baseman Matt Olson.

While Acuna Jr. has been on top of the MVP leaderboard all year, Olson has just recently skyrocketed to the top with a ridiculous run since the all-star break.

In the 28 games following the Midsummer Classic, Olson has smashed 14 home runs, driven in 35 RBIs, batted .340, with a 1.260 OPS. These are by far the best power numbers since the all-star break, even including Ohtani. With this second half terror of destruction, Olson now leads the NL in home runs (43), RBIs (107), and slugging percentage (.621). He is also third in OPS (1.003) and OPS+ (162), all for an Atlanta Braves team who has the best record in baseball. Freddie Freeman who?

So how does that compare to Acuna Jr.? Let’s take a look with our great friends from Stathead:

It is quite remarkable that even with Olson’s ridiculous post all-star game run, Acuna Jr. still has Olson beat in every category of the batting slash line besides slugging percentage. Olson has closed the wide gap between them quite significantly, but Acuna Jr. still seems to have Olson beat, with the elite stolen bases numbers really jumping off the screen.

Now, Olson is on pace for 60 home runs as of today, but Acuna still has a chance to join the 40/70 club, where he would be member #1. If they both accomplish the feats ahead of them, I believe who wins the MVP trophy will be a complete toss-up. However, if one of them slips while the other prevails, our MVP will be crowned . My money is on Acuna Jr., but Olson is doing everything in his power to make me hedge that bet.

If they both slip? Watch out for Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder Mookie Betts. If there is a dark horse out there, he is it. The former AL MVP is having his normal MVP-caliber season out in LA. With 31 home runs, 80 RBIs, and a 156 OPS+, Betts has the batting numbers while also playing excellent defensive in the outfield (579.2 Inn), second base (271.0 Inn), and shortstop (98.0 Inn). His 5.6 WAR is third in the NL.