You probably shouldn’t worry whether or not Trey Smack can kick in the cold

GAINESVILLE, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 29: Trey Smack #29 of the Florida Gators celebrates a field goal against the Florida State Seminoles during the second half of the game at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on November 29, 2025 in Gainesville, Florida. (Photo by Megan Briggs/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Packers have both a new special teams coordinator and a new kicker. Naturally, one is going to get questions about the other. And since the new kicker most recently did the bulk of the kicking in the historically balmy state of Florida, people want to know whether or not he can make the transition to kicking in the much more temperate climate of Green Bay, Wisconsin.

For his part, special teams coordinator Cam Achord isn’t worried.

“For me, personally, I think there’s more made of it than it is,” he said of the difficulty of kicking in the cold. “I mean, just think of the history here, right? Ryan Longwell, Oregon, Cal. Pretty good here, right? Mason Crosby, Texas, Colorado. Pretty good here.”

To his point, Longwell and Crosby weren’t exactly kicking in Florida, but both did manage the Wisconsin temperatures well enough to carve out long careers for the Packers — though, in fairness, Longwell ultimately fled for indoor kicking in Minnesota.

But is the question even worth asking to begin with? Should we worry at all about kickers battling the cold? Or was Achord just going to say that because coaches are going to defend their guys, no matter what?

The data shows Achord’s got a point.

Over the past 10 years, kickers league-wide have converted 83.96% of their kicks in outdoor games when the kickoff temperature is 36 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. When the temperature is 35 degrees or lower at kickoff, field goal percentage does drop, but only slightly. The league-wide conversion rate is just 83.55% in colder games.