Akers faced family health issues
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Akers faced family health issues
Jeff McLane, Inquirer Staff Writer
David Akers was dealing with a lot more than just kicking field goals on Sunday.
The Eagles kicker, of course, missed two crucial field goals in the Eagles' 21-16 playoff loss to the Packers. But Akers' mind may have been elsewhere. Several of his teammates after the game alluded that the kicker was dealing with personal matters in the week leading up to the game.
His agent, Jerrold Colton, said Monday that the matter was a "family health concern."
"David makes no excuses," Colton said. "He is an intensely private person when it comes to his family. It was a family health concern with one of his family members. That's all it is."
Colton said that he could not go into further detail.
Akers, who is in the last year of his contract, intimated after the game that he did not expect to be back with the Eagles next season. A 12-year Eagles veteran, he made the Pro Bowl this season for the fifth time in his career.
He missed two big field goals against Green Bay, though, the last a 34-yarder in the fourth quarter. He also was wide right on a 41-yarder in the first quarter.
"We can all count," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "Those points would have helped."
Colton said that he and the Eagles have held contract talks, but that the expiring collective bargaining agreement had put those conversations on hold. He said that Akers wants to remain with the Eagles and that he is not considering retirement.
Akers, the longest-tenured Eagle, connected on 32 of 38 field goals in the regular season and had a league-high 143 points.
"Looking back now, 12 years, it's been a nice run," Akers said after the game. "It's not really the way I wanted to go out as an Eagle."
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Vote: Grade the EaglesComments (110)
Please, stop making excuses. He just was bad, period. A lot of players and people go through rough times and the world doesn't stop because of it.— EL Zorro- Akers has been a stand-up man since he's been here. he's dealt with adversity before and done well. A more level-headed reader would take the potential situation into account before shooting his mouth off. If he was in this much turmoil, why don't you take your aggression out on the coach, who singled him out knowing it? — Bob1
- There was plenty of bad to go around on that field so to point him out is out of line — ejhinchey
- I blame AR just as much for not going for that 4th and short instead of kicking the field goal. Vick was obviously hurt, no way he misses the 1st down run on 3rd down leading up to that.— MidGreen
- Let's not stop with Akers who obviously cost the Birds the game but lets look at other underachievers. Brent Celek needs to go. He cannot block, he drops too many passes and he makes the dumbest penalties in the most inopportune times. Time for a new tight end. Winston Justice is a first round bust. Ernie Sims is a first round bust. Quintin Mikell is not a starting safety in the NFL. Quintin the ball is laying in your gut while you are on the ground. Just roll over. Roll over!!!! That was too hard to believe.— rockinrob
- Justice was a 2nd round pick. I agree with what you said about Sims. Eagles never shouldve traded for him. And I agree, how could Mikell not know the ball was there? C'mom! Just roll on it. — clever
- he had 1 job to do & he didn't get it done it.— Serge_Matthews
- Vick said if he had the chance to play the whole game against the Packers they would have won!! So what happened???? The Eagles had plenty of time to win that game after Akers missed the field goals. It was a team effort loss from Reid to the players.— rolenfan
if akers can't concentrate then he shouldn't have played. ANYONE can miss 2 field goals. he praises god for his $ & ability... who's he praising today? or was it the devil??— tfcino1
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- Let's Go Flyers, Let's Go!!!!— Kingzummo
- Akers is a class guy, it's Andy Reid and the rest of the scumbag team that is to blame. He offered no excuses. However, the genius Andy Reid should have went for the touchdowns. The forecasters and sports analysts said there would be a problem with the kicking and passing games due to the wind. That being said the Packers won because they controlled the minutes and RAN THE BALL, that's what football is, plain and simple, Andy Reid will not do that, he will never change and he is total scum.— karbase8
- Yea - lets not blame the dude that opens the game with a miss to take the wind out of our sails. Then misses in the 4th to again take us out of it. Yea, it wasnt Akers fault at all. Especially in a 5 pt game....you dope
- Its awful that a family member is having issues but he needs to block it out. Ed Reed's brother is presumed dead and he had his usual solid game on Sunday.— rvb2321
- exactly...this doesn't excuse him missing from 41 and 34...if it was that bad he shouldn't have played...
— norfleet - Akers did not cost us the game. Sure if he had made those field goals (as he did for all but one during the regular season) we may have won. But is Celek hadn't stepped out of bounds, we may have won. If the last pass wasn't intercepted, we may have one. It's a team sport, you cannot blame one person. I hope he's back with us next year!— EAvila
- This was a total team debacle, unfortunately our usually sure-footed kicker and best corner both a horrible game. This team was too inconsistent going into this game and I wasn't surprised by the loss.— djw26
- I'm looking for results, not excuses. If his mental state was so altered that he could not do his job, then the Eagles should have brought a kicker in who can kick a 34 yard field goal.— BobbyD
Philly_Mike -- so i guess you are a racist if you blame akers over vick?? lol. i can only laugh at morons like you. btw, vick will be back next year. you can bet that- Ok, from El Zero down to RockinRob's head and beyond... IT'S A FOOTBALL GAME, get some perspective. There is no way a game is more important than a family member's health, not to him, not to me and not to anyone with a functioning brain. I am as upset as anyone they lost but bottom line, collectively they were not good enough, so what! Maybe now you can spend next weekend with your kids instead of watching 8 hours of football. Great season Dave, hope you're back mext year in spite of these knuckleheads.— tkdfrank
Hate to sound uncaring, but Ackers and other "professional" football players are getting mega bucks to produce. Anything else is unacceptable despite the circumstances.— dogman5- You folks are harsh. David has been one of the most solid kickers in the league for us for the past 12 years. Andy Reid's stupid playcalling cost us the game - plain & simple. High winds & you kick a 41 yd. field goal at 4th & 1 - that is just idiotic.— ilovesalad
- akers is sounding like a crybaby... "oh it's my last game as an eagle"... so draft a young kicker, see ya!— tfcino1
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- sorry, but wherever Vick goes, goes the karma of all of those dead dogs who didn't get the numerous, not second, chances of Vick and his cronies....get used to losing!— marcamp
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- Akers, here are two things I have for you: "ED REED"— PhilMar
- Field Goals are points and needed at precise times and not just taken for the sake of getting points during a game. Andy Reeds choice as to when to take a field goal or go for the first down is very poor and over his tenure he has proven this.This is the reason why he will not take the game to the next level— tamgin43
- did anyone notice that Akers never made any excuses for the misses? Of course not, that's just not in his makeup... why everyone is giving him grief I have no idea...— tvalleras
- Akers is still strong and consistent, even though he had a hand, or foot, in this loss. He's pretty stable, for a kicker, and PK is way way down the list of needs for this team. But given the circumstances, how do you try to kick a FG in teh swirling wind when down by 11? ugh, the list is too long and to familiar. Another winnable game slipped away. I know, the pack is overall a better team, better talent, but you cna say the same about New Orleans. It's about who wins the game, and once again, the gameplan and the execution leave us feeling like another opportunity missed.— Eephus
- One more thing. The final 3 games, Eagles were 0-3— PhilMar
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Happy that he didn't take the contract offered to him in December...Makes it that much easier to say good riddance to this non clutch kicker.— citysims- Cheap Eagles will not sign Akers. Another reason we will never win a super bowl under Lurie. Dont spend the cash. You get what you pay for. If you dont sign their offer then you are gone. Great way to run an organization.
- Please.... Akers is not the scapegoat. We focus on those two misses, but those six points should have been offset by that sure TD that Jones dropped at the end of the half. You can go back and forth on that stuff all day. There was more than enough blame to go around. It wasn't Akers' fault that the defense made James Starks look like Barry Sanders. It wasn't Akers' fault that the O-Line were basically turnstiles. It wasn't Akers' fault that Celek didn't keep his foot in bounds on the 2pt conversion (which would've given Akers a chance to redeem himself on the last drive and likely avoid all of this criticism today). Yes, his misses hurt (even though one was into a stiff wind), but to want him gone for this is stupid. If Akers is not resigned because of this, the Eagles will be sorry. A top-level kicker is really hard to find and I guarantee teams will line up to try to hire Akers if he doesn't retire. I don't want us turning to the revolving door of kickers and take our chance with someone less proven next year. With all the mistakes Reid makes, he has no business singling out Akers.— echosmyron
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- Theres always an excuse........ an excuse and no eyes on the Fact that the Fat man has always been the problem with the team, no matter who the QB is.— Calabrese10
- Yea I for one am tired of the fat man getting us to the playoffs. 9 yrs of playoffs in 12 yrs is ridiculous. I wish he'd stop winning the division already. We need a change someone who will go 7-9 more often than 10-11 wins a season. Man where do they unearth some of these losers??
- Although disappointed in those misses, you can't seriously put this loss on Akers. The Birds were LUCKY to be in the game because of a dropped GB pass at the end of the half. We need serious retooling of the defense, from the line to the backs. The O-line is mediocre at best. So really? You are going to blame the kicker? This was a total team loss, just like all the other Andy big game losses.— fugazi3000
- I agree with you. I honestly believe even if those kicks were made, Rogers would have drove down the field and scored anyways. We would have still lost that game. — Eaglemania500
- "We can all count," Eagles coach Andy Reid said. "Those points would have helped."
Sounds like Andy Reid passing the buck a la McNabb.— cjl4959 - Oh so and so are not and never will be Super Bowl QB's but Trent Dilfer, Jeff Hostetler, Jim McMahon and whoever else won SB's are. Why did they win, oh I know because they were all qreat QB's! There is more than one way to win a SB and by the way, let us all never forget football is a team game, so lay the blame where it all belongs on the Philadelphia Eagles organization as a whole, from the top to the bottom.— BCRock
- Really starting to sounds like personnel issues. Anyone else tired of undersized guys with "high motors?" You see the guys lining up for the Ravens earlier that day? Looked like the varsity squad and ours like JV guys. Those guys are monsters. Suggs, Ray Lewis, Ngata, Kelly Greg, on and on.
- Wasn't just Akers - Dog Killer really dropped the ball. Literally. Iggles choked early again this year.— Iggles Out Again
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- You must have very, very low self esteem to come onto a competitor's board and talk smack after a win. I feel sorry for you. I'll bet that you had a bad relationship with your father or no relationship with him. That would make you an unfortunate son. Seek therapy or religion for your issues.
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Spot on EAvila.— Richard Saunders- For all those dogging Akers, he wasn't the one who brought the topic up. He said he screwed up in the game and made no excuses. The family health issue was actually brought up by Mikell. Also, how many of you have ever had bad days at work and make excuses or blame others for poor performance? Heaven forbid you ever have a bad day at work.— demac
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- No excuses. Players deal with personal issues all the time, and succeed. Dave just sucked.— Don Cornelius
- EAvila,I agree that I hope Akers is back too, but he really has to take a lot of the blame for this one. You mention Celek stepping out of bounds on the 2 point conversion but you forgot to realize that had Akers made 1 or both of those field goals he missed, they would not have needed to go for the 2 point conversion, nor would they have needed that final desperation drive.— BigRy2179
- D.A. may be the only HOFer BIG RED ever had,,the BIRDS SB chances were lost in the Minnesota Vikings game and the blame of that game is on conVick's back (3 turnovers)BIG RED said he had trouble reading the defense it looked like he had trouble again yesterday too..BTW the last minute INT was horrendous a panic move he had plenty of time left.....wolf.— wolf 4
- C'mon guys and girls, Akers had one bad game, costly yes but he is still one of the best kickers in the game. He made the pro bowl again for God's sake. The Eagles have a lot more pressing issues than to go looking for another kicker. They need to be searching for defensive help, a new offensive line and while we are at it, a new head coach!— fanup
- Eagles were not a playoff team at the start of the season. They showed us why last night. We just need to fix Andy's offensive line and cornerback mistakes and we will be back in the hunt.
WE ARE STILL IN BETTER SHAPE THAN THE GIANTS, COWBOYS AND REDSKINS.— garcia7 - His Uncles sisters cat is sick.— dafence
- I think the Eagles have a good nucleus, and I think they'll be back in the hunt next year. BTW: These have been the Eagles kickers since I started following the team: Nike Mikemayer, Mike Michel, Tony Franklin, Paul McFadden, Luis Zendejas, Gary Andersen, Roger Ruzek, and David Akers. {I may have missed a few... Forgive me.) I'll take David Akers any day of the week and, especially, on Sunday. In addition to his usually reliable accuracy, how many touchdowns has he saved with tackles when there have been special teams breakdowns? C'mon, people. It wasn't all Akers' fault. The Eagles got beat, and they got beat by the better team. That's life.— andrewfrombrooklyn
- Heard he was up all night practicing air guitar.— dafence
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At least the game was vomit and air guitar free.
so what?? he is payed big oney to make field goals... We would have probably won if he had not missed...— dexter55- Don't be sad that the Packers are a much more superior team. Your downfall is Andy Reid.— cheezeoroo
- Akers ought to start pointing to God before he kicks. Still missinf the big kicks that mean so much.— mrsoks10
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- Akers has more class than Reid could ever imagine! Akers didn't make any excuses; Akers didn't throw anyone under the bus!
The fact is that Reid is p*ssed because Akers rejected their below market offer last week; just like they ran B Dawk's name into the ground when he did the same thing, they're starting with Akers.
Akers won't be here next year and it has nothing to do with missed kicks; it will be because he didn't do handstands when they sent over their under market offer!
— JBinPA - 2008 NFC Championship missed Pat missed Fg. 2 missed Fgs yesterday He is an all pro @ getting us kicked out of the playoffs— dafence
- Keep Akers, please— Gold
- I am sure Sarah Palin had money on the Packers and she made sure Akers had distractions. Ed Reed too.— eldiablodelsol2009
- If you can't be 100% don't get on the field. There was no excuse for the 34 yarder. That said, Akers has been around long enough and done enough to be forgiven for this. Hope his family health issue gets resolved favorably. As for my own mental health I've been going to my guy, Jack Daniels.— notch44
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- C,mon Eagles fans, we've been here without a Superbowl win at the end of every year, and here we are again. No need to throw the team under the bus. We'll lose a couple of players, gain a couple. That loss really hurts the next day, trust me I'm feelin' it too. Still love the Eagles and always will, see you again in the Fall.— hallux
- Akers is an amazing player. Kickers are not there to replace the basic offensive goal of scoring a touchdowns. Sunday's game was a blend of many issues -- Blame Justice for not making plays and bringing harsh penalties. Blame the defense for not doing their job. Blame the offense for not scoring touchdowns. In the end, it was a little bit of everything. Akers is not absolved, but he was by no means the reason we lost. I will still proudly wear my #2 jersey for a man with amazing career stats, who has kicked many, many, many game-winning points for us. At times, the only points.— bethalef27
- Hopefully it wont be windy @ the pro bowl— dafence
- That is so sad that they would release a statement like that. He plays professional football. Yes it comes with pressure, but the money more than compensates. We all have jobs and deal with family issues. My mother has MS. I still perform at work. And I'm quite sure that some of the winning team's players were dealing with issues as well. Sounds a bit Peyton Manning or Donovan McNabbish, except they themselves whine that it is never their fault. At least David was smart enough not to emulate those two multi-millionaire mopes. Shame on the Eagles for putting that out there. Even if he makes the two field goals, it just changes the way the game unfolds and does not guarantee it would have ended 22-21 Eagles. They can do better. The real tragedy is here we go again with a team that takes the first 3 1/2 quarters off and then tries to pull it out in the end. Same result, year after year. What that says is the problem is motivational and therefore a COACHING problem. As Andy always (dryly) says, it's his job to prepare the players and put them in a position to win, and he never seems to do it when it counts. Period.— deuce922
- It is, what it is......We had a fun season. There was no way we could have won the Super Bowl with our defense. At least we had another week of football......time to get over it. Thanks Eagles, cant't wait for next season.— Static87
- Reading these comments makes me realize why so many other cities find our fans to be scum. Akers had a bad game. He will tell you that. He also has been at Childrens Hospital more than any other athlete the past 10 years spending time with kids. Not for recognition, but because he can make a difference in a child's life.
Family is most important.— hawk18 - Akers is a high quality and consistent kicker. I remember the days of all the scrubs they brought in before him. Unless Tony Danza the garbage man is available to kick 100 yd FGs, stay w/ Akers until his leg falls off.— tklem
- This game was not lost because of a kicker. The whole team sucked. Dropping easy catches, not blocking for Vick or Shady, not stopping the run on Defense, poor special teams for the 17th game this year and for last few years and letting Clay Matthews look like an Eagles running back as he was in the backfield as much as Vick and Shady. The Eagles do not have an Offensive line and the Defense is not too hot as well. We were lucky to get where we did if your real about it. Too many come backs that were not necessary if they played well. Next year boys...all you can say. Lets Go FLyers !— crush77
- We need a kicker who can consistently get touchbacks and make clutch FG's outside the 40. Don't know if any of those are available, so we may have to take Akers back next year.— farside37
- Ray Diddy said that Akers was I believe 28 for 32 in playoff games before last nights game. Pretty good stat I would say. After the game on 97.5 they mentioned that he had been going thru some personal issues during the week according to a few players. Maybe he wasn't in the right frame of mind.They said he was off in pregame warmups. Maybe AR should have recognized this, and considered alternative plays. But he drafts and trade for players with torn ACL's so why should we expect him to think.— watsonmr
- Calm down Bird Headz. Of course it sucks to say it every January for 12 years straight, but we really are a year ahead of schedule here, very young team, and I think Vick can still get better... Akers, bummer if this was it, you were a great Eagle.— R3
- Bottom line: The QB gets most, or all of the credit when the team wins...The QB also gets most or all of the blame when the team loses. When the Eagles were winning, I didn't hear too many people saying that it was every member of the team that's responsible for winning...It was all Vick & Jackson. Now after several disappointing losses against the Vikings, (almost against the Giants) and against the Packers, Vick deserves most or all of the blame.— ericyshel
- Akers is finished. He can't even kick any FG in a playoff game. Time for a new kicker. Now he just feels sorry for himself. I just think its funny.— MRD
- When Mike Vick said "he got greedy, but at least he went down swinging," I at least thought that is more than Ryan Howard can say! LOL— phigglesfan75
- Much love for you Akers. And for all you simpletons wishing him out remember what you ask for. He stands as the best franchise kicker this teams ever had so to pin this game on him is plain dumb. Goes all around - starting with Vick. And can someone remind me who had over 300 yds passing w 3 TDs against the #1 NFC team again?? We're going to get rid of this guy over a soon to be 31 yr old running QB who beat WHOM this year? Detroit? Washington? Come on...— ejhinchey
- YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Go PHILLIES !!! oh wait baseball hasn't started yet.Ok on the EAGLES Ty for the good season.Yes It hurt you guys lost but you did better then I expected.Thank you MICHEAL VICK for being a stand up guy.He did take the blame for the interception.He took blame for other plays through out the year.As far as the off the field issues LET IT GO.He did his time and what was asked of him and was aloud to return to football.THATS ALL IM GONNA SAY ABOUT THAT.....ty Forrest! I think McDermott should go and the olins coach.I think our schemes need to change,AR thats on your head.Can anyone see the potential in V7 if he had time to pass the ball. Until they fix the oline all you KK lovers will be disappointed because he would get killed and look horrible while doing it. DID I mention bring on the PHILLIES.Im in NC but Love my home teams !!!!!!— rneal
- he has to make those two field goals that the bottom line— hannigan
- If you read between the lines Akers is saying he would like to play on a team with a chance to win a superbowl.
The Eagles are a disfunctional team with endless personal issues going back to Freddy Mitchell, Terrel Owens and now Mike Vick.
How many years do you expect Akers to dedicate to a team that can't overcome the personal problems of the coach and star players.
— Big Leo - Pitchers and catchers report in February!— phillynupe4
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- I have been an Eagle fan for over 45 years,this is nothing personnel they didn't play well and they lost. What does the organization have to do to get to the next level of the playoffs and then stay there? Do they need to get rid of coaches, players, what....— NC Eagles Fan
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Who cares? Eagles suck...always will as long as AR is head coach. Deal with it.- I'm 100% behind Akers despite his performance in one game. The Eagles wouldn't have been in the playoffs if not for the peroemance of the perenial Pro Bowler, future Hall of Fame kicker. Only the lowest of low lifes would bail on him now.— MikeP
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Birds' Eye View is the Inquirer's blog covering all things Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL.
Jeff McLane
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