Dallas Cowboys

Dan Bailey: The new PAT requires the same skill set

Published May. 20, 2015 2:50 p.m. ET

foxsports

Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey has been one of the most accurate kickers in the NFL over the last few seasons. He is not disappointed with the NFL's new rule to move the distance for an extra point from the 2-yard line to the 15-yard line, but he is confused.

"I think there was talk that they wanted to add, quote, 'skill,' to the kick," Bailey told Todd Archer of ESPN.com. "As somebody that does this as my job, it requires the same skill to kick an extra point from where it was to where it's going to be. The skill set is the same. It requires you to be accurate in both acts. Now it'll be a little more distance, but by saying we're trying to add skill to the kick is almost saying we didn't possess that before, which I don't agree. Ask around the league -- everybody is going to approach each kick the same way. A 50-yarder is just as hard as a 33-yarder to an extra point. You can't take mental breaks on any kicks because then you'll be out of a job."

Bailey has connected on all 179 PAT attempts throughout his career. Extra point and field goal percentages are exceptionally high around the league, and Bailey believes is curious if this played any role in the NFL's decision to make extra point attempts more difficult.

"What does everybody talk about when a quarterback goes 18-of-20 or 24-of-26? They praise how accurate they are and how well he managed the game and how they fought through weather issues," Bailey said. "There's always something, but it's always a positive evaluation. It seems like in this case our percentage is very high across the league and everybody is locked in to do what we need to do and put the work in to perform on Sunday, and it's looked at as a negative. It's hard to understand the thought process behind it."

Last September, Bailey set a Cowboys franchise record for consecutive field goals made. He finished the season having made 25-of-29 field goal attempts. Bailey is signed with the Cowboys through the 2020 season.

(h/t ESPN )

Photo Credit: Tim Heitman/USA TODAY Sports