March 5, 2016

Highlighted Year: John Kasay, 1996

Placekicker, Carolina Panthers


Age:  27 (Oct. 27)
6th season in pro football, 2nd with Panthers
College: Georgia
Height: 5’10” Weight: 198

Prelude:
The left-footed Kasay, son of a former Georgia player and long-time assistant coach of the same name, kicked 46 field goals out of 65 attempts (70.8 %) and added 79 PATs for a total of 217 points in college. He was chosen by the Seattle Seahawks in the fourth round of the 1991 NFL draft and spent four seasons with them, hitting on 82 of 105 field goal attempts (78.1 %), including a high of 25 in his rookie year and making 20 of 24 in 1994, his final year with the club. He also booted 95 extra points and scored 341 points. Kasay signed as a free agent with the expansion Panthers in 1995 and was successful on 26 of 33 field goal attempts plus 27 of 28 extra point tries.

1996 Season Summary
Appeared in all 16 games
[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Kicking
Field goals – 37 [1]
Most field goals, game – 5 vs. Atlanta 9/1, at New Orleans 9/8
Field goal attempts – 45 [1]
Most field goal attempts, game – 5 vs. Atlanta 9/1, at New Orleans 9/8, vs. New Orleans 10/20, at San Francisco 12/8
Field goal percentage – 82.2 [14]
PATs – 34 [13, tied with Matt Stover & Pete Stoyanovich]
PAT attempts – 35 [12, tied with Al Del Greco & Matt Stover]
Longest field goal – 53 yards vs. Atlanta 9/1

Punting
Punts – 1
Yards – 30

Scoring
Field Goals – 37
PATs – 34
Points – 145 [1]

Postseason: 2 G
Field goals – 6
Most field goals, game – 4 vs. Dallas, NFC Divisional playoff
Field goal attempts – 6
Most field goal attempts, game – 4 vs. Dallas, NFC Divisional playoff
PATs – 3
Most PATs, game – 2 vs. Dallas, NFC Divisional playoff
PAT attempts – 3
Longest field goal – 40 yards (twice) vs. Dallas, NFC Divisional playoff

Awards & Honors:
2nd team All-NFL: AP
1st team All-NFC: UPI, Pro Football Weekly
Pro Bowl

Panthers went 12-4 to finish first in the NFC West. Won NFC Divisional playoff over Dallas Cowboys (26-17). Lost NFC Championship to Green Bay Packers (30-13).   

Aftermath:
Kasay went on to spend 15 seasons with the Panthers, through 2010, and was the last remaining player from the club’s inaugural season. Although he missed all but two games due to a leg injury in 2002, he bounced back to connect on 32 of 38 field goal attempts (84.2 %) in the NFC Championship year of ’03 and remained consistent thereafter. Overall, with Carolina he kicked 351 field goals out of 424 attempts (82.8 %) and, adding 429 PATs (with a string of 157 straight that ended in 2008), scored 1482 points, all of which are franchise records. Kasay was signed by New Orleans just prior to the 2011 season due to an injury to Garrett Hartley and booted 28 field goals and 63 extra points on his way to a career-high 147 points in his last year at age 42. For his NFL career, Kasay accumulated 461 field goals, 598 PATs, and scored 1970 points, which ranked eighth in league history at the time of his retirement. His Pro Bowl selection in 1996 was the only one of his career. 

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating
Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)
Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)
All-Purpose: Total Yards
Defense: Interceptions, Sacks
Kickoff Returns: Average
Punt Returns: Average
Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970