Year in review: David Akers

Time to kick off our Year in Review series. We'll take a look at every player on the Eagles' roster and evaluate how each performed in 2009. We'll go (mostly) in alphabetical order, but I need more time checking my in-season notes on Victor Abiamiri, so we start with David Akers.

by Sheil Kapadia

Published Feb. 15, 2010, 8:52 p.m. ET

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Time to kick off our

series.

We'll take a look at every player on the Eagles' roster and evaluate how each performed in 2009.

We'll go (mostly) in alphabetical order, but I need more time checking my in-season notes on

, so we start with

The veteran kicker hit 86.5 percent of his field-goal attempts last season, the third-best mark of his career and the best since 2002. It was the ninth-best overall percentage among kickers with at least 15 attempts.

Akers led all kickers with 32 makes, but also had the most tries (37).

He was money from 39 yards and under, hitting 20 of 21 attempts.

From 40-49, Akers made 11 of 13 kicks (84.6 percent). The two misses? Both against the Raiders, in a game where he attempted five field goals. In his previous 10 seasons, Akers hit 69.2 percent from that range.

From 40 or longer, he was 12-for-16 (75 percent). Only four kickers (who attempted at least 10 from that distance) had a better percentage. In his previous 10 seasons, Akers hit 64.9 percent from 40 or longer.

In terms of "game on the line" kicks, Akers hit winners against the Redskins and Broncos in the second half of the season.

The numbers don't lie. Even by his own standards, Akers was well above average in 2009. And keep in mind, this is a guy who was named to the league's All-Decade team.

At 35, he showed no signs of slowing down and will return to a field-goal unit that