Philadelphia Eagles David Akers: A Glaring Hole or Special Team Stud?

The Philadelphia Eagles' David Akers is an all-time Eagles great. 

During his career he has placed the ball on the correct side of the uprights 81 percent of the time. He has scored over 1,000 points as an Eagle. 

In 2008, Akers led the NFC with 144 points, set an NFL record by connecting on 19 straight postseason field goal attempts, set a career high for touchbacks with 17, and became the longest tenured kicker in Eagles' history.

If you look at his 2008 stats, it really does seem as though Akers is a solid NFL kicker. 

So why do I have doubts? Maybe it's not the kicks that he makes, but the ones that he doesn't.

In Week Four, 2008, the Eagles struggled against a strong Bears defense. Akers was 2-for-4 in this game. The final score: Bears win 24-20. Simply connecting on these two kicks could have not only won the game for the Eagles, but may have also contributed to a secured playoff spot coming into Week 17.

The next week, back at home vs. the Redskins, Akers missed on another opportunity in a close game. A 50-yard kick sailed wide right and the Eagles lost another close game 23-17.

One major problem with missing a field goal is not just missing out on the three points, but it also gives the opposition excellent field position and morale for the next drive. After Akers' first miss in the Chicago game, the Bears drove 60 yards in nine plays for a touchdown.

After the Akers' miss in the Washington game, the Redskins were able to get close enough to put their first points of the day on the board with a 41-yard kick. A long field goal miss is essentially the same as turning the ball over.

From 2005-2007 Akers was completely unreliable. 

It is widely believed that this all started from an injury sustained during the opening kickoff against the Oakland Raiders in 2005. He came back later that game with a torn hamstring, in his nonkicking leg, to win the game with a 28-yard boot, but this was the start of his decline.

He missed the next four games due to that injury, and ended the season making only 72 percent of his kicks.

But he still made it into his third Pro Bowl, perhaps from the toughness shown during that Oakland game. Though this is the beginning of my concern. Of the six FG's missed that year, four were between 40 and 49 yards.

2006 showed more of the same. 

Andy Reid, I have to assume was very concerned behind the scenes as he did not even give David one shot at a kick over 50 yards the entire season. Maybe this was because he was having so much trouble short as three of his five missed kicks were less than 40 yards deep.

In 2007, Akers recovered his short game, but continued to struggle past 40 yards missing five kicks between 40 and 49 yards and three kicks of 50-plus.

From 2000 through 2004, the Eagles could rely on Akers. While the Eagles enjoyed their greatest success under Andy Reid, Akers was good for an amazing 86 percent of field goals attempted (8-of-12, 50-plus yards). However, 2005-2007 saw an inconsistent Akers struggle with injury and what would appear to be rehabilitation.

In 2008, Eagles fans saw a David Akers that had appeared to get his game back. Though there is still cause for concern, missing four kicks between 30 and 49 yards and three of his five chances over 50.

Akers has been training with sports performance coaches during the offseason to improve the explosiveness in his hips and help him retain his power. The Eagles' website has this to say about him:

"Big leg, terrific on kickoffs and with range of 50-plus yards, David Akers remains one of the best place kickers in the league. He worked through some issues last season to end up with a good, strong season, converting 33 of 40 field goal attempts. Akers remains fit as a fiddle and he was booming field goals of 59 yards in the spring. Kicking in the wind and the wintry conditions at Lincoln Financial Field won't be as easy, but Akers remains an outstanding kicker in this league."

It's hard for me to agree.

The fact is since 2005, Akers has missed 13 attempts from distances between 30 and 49 yards and has consistently missed with his power kicks of 50-plus making only four of his 11 attempts. 

In 2008, Akers saw much improvement, but it truly does feel like this is a concern that Andy Reid and company refuse to address.

Are they afraid of shaking Akers' confidence by bringing in competition? 

Could this be the glaring hole in the Eagles' bid for NFC dominance in 2009?

Dan Bandekow is a writer on Bleacher Report covering the Philadelphia Eagles. He is also the Lead Columnist for www.thephillyeagles.com covering Daily Eagles News.