CFL Versus NFL Kicking Stats and Paul McCallum

Comparing CFL and NFL kicking stats, especially completion percentage isn't an apples to apples comparison. The shortest distance an NFL kick can apparently be is around seventeen yards and one inch (the ball is at one inch from the goal line, the goal posts are ten yards behind the goal line and the ball is usually snapped back seven yards). Conversely for the CFL, the ball has to start at the one and be hiked back seven yards so an eight yard field goal is possible. Thus CFL kickers have a bunch of easy kicks possible that NFL kickers never have a chance at, boosting their completion percentage.

Of course one can always look at percentage over thirty or forty yards to get a more apt comparison. In the NFL this year the highest field goal completion percentage was Atlanta with 93.1, while Buffalo and Pittsburgh were tied for last with 74.2, which makes BC's Paul McCallum look pretty impressive, with a 94.3% with a longest of 53 yards.