SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — When the San Francisco 49ers used a third-round pick to draft Jake Moody last year, the hope was it would settle their kicking position for years to come.
A shaky second half to Moody's second season with San Francisco has put that into question headed to the offseason.
Moody missed his sixth field goal in the past seven games last week, leading to questions about whether the 49ers will need to replace him or at least bring in competition for next season.
Coach Kyle Shanahan expressed confidence in Moody on Thursday, attributing some of the struggles to a high ankle sprain he suffered in his kicking leg earlier in the season.
“I still feel the same about him, that I believe he is going to be our guy," Shanahan said. “Everyone has got to perform and do things like that and I think he has had a tough year. ... I thought he was doing really well and then had a high ankle sprain to his kicking foot. Since he’s come back, he hasn’t been as consistent, obviously. But I think a lot of that probably has to do with that, just common-sense wise.”
Moody got off to a strong start this season, making all six field goals he attempted in the season opener and going 13 for 14 before injuring his ankle while attempting to make a tackle on a kickoff return in Week 5.
He missed three games and has struggled since he returned. He missed three field goals in first first game back at Tampa Bay, two more in the snow at Buffalo in Week 13 and then a 41-yarder last week against the Dolphins.
“That’s the great thing about kicking is, you can be as talented as whoever and you can struggle,” Moody said. “I feel like this year, I’ve struggled. It doesn’t really waver my confidence or anything. I feel like, throughout my entire life, I’ve gone through struggles, I’ve gone through high points. The biggest thing is to just stay consistent, not change anything.”
Moody had an up-and-down rookie season, making 21 of 25 field goals in the regular season and missing only one extra point. But he missed a potential game-winning kick in a loss at Cleveland and missed field goals in playoff wins against Green Bay and Detroit.
Moody then made three field goals in the Super Bowl with two coming from more than 50 yards, including a go-ahead 53-yard kick late in the fourth quarter against Kansas City. But Moody also had an extra point blocked in that game.
“I believe we’ve got the right guy and I think that eventually, I think he has shown that at times,” Shanahan said. "I thought he showed that at times his rookie year. I thought he showed that big time being 12 out of 13 to start this year. And I think he’ll show us all that in the future.”
NOTES: The Niners placed LT Trent Williams on IR after his ankle injury hasn't healed as quickly as hoped. Shanahan didn't think there were any long-term issues. ... LB Dre Greenlaw (calf) will be shut down for the rest of the season after playing parts of two games in his return from a torn left Achilles tendon. ... OL Spencer Burford (calf) didn't practice but might be able to play this week. ... San Francisco has signed two OL this week, adding Matt Hennessy and Charlie Heck. ... RB Isaac Guerendo (hamstring, foot) was limited but appears on track to play this week.
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San Francisco 49ers place kicker Jake Moody (4) kicks a field goal during the first half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
San Francisco 49ers place kicker Jake Moody (4) looks up after missing a field goal during the second half of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Miami Gardens, Fla. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)
Azerbaijan's flag carrier announced Friday that it will suspend flights to several Russian airports, citing potential flight safety risks after a crash of one of its planes that many experts blamed on Russian air defense fire.
Azerbaijan Airlines’ Embraer 190 was flying from Azerbaijan’s capital of Baku to the Russian city of Grozny in the North Caucasus on Wednesday when it was diverted for reasons still unclear and crashed while making an attempt to land in Aktau in Kazakhstan after flying east across the Caspian Sea. The crash killed 38 people and left all 29 survivors injured.
Authorities in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Russia were tight-lipped about a possible cause of the crash pending an official probe, but a lawmaker in Azerbaijan blamed Moscow. Rasim Musabekov told the Azerbaijani news agency Turan on Thursday that the plane was fired on while in the skies over Grozny, and urged Russia to offer an official apology.
Asked about Musabekov's statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment, saying that it will be up to investigators to determine the cause of the crash.
“The air incident is being investigated and we don't believe we have the right to make any assessments until the conclusions are made as a result of the investigation,” Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
Investigators from Azerbaijan are working in Grozny as part of the crash probe, Azerbaijani Prosecutor General’s office said in a statement.
As the official crash probe started, some aviation experts pointed out that holes seen in the plane’s tail section suggested that it could have come under fire from Russian air defense systems fending off a Ukrainian drone attack.
Ukrainian drones had previously attacked Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, and other regions in the country’s North Caucasus. An official in Chechnya said another drone attack on the region was fended off on Wednesday, although federal authorities didn’t report it.
FlightRadar24 said in an online post that the aircraft had faced “strong GPS jamming” that interfered with flight tracking data. Russia has extensively used sophisticated jamming equipment to fend off drone attacks.
Following Wednesday's suspension of flights from Baku to Grozy and Makhachkala, Azerbaiajan Airlines on Friday also halted service to more Russian cities, cutting air links to Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara.
It said in a statement that the flights will be suspended “following the preliminary results of the investigation into the crash of the Embraer 190 aircraft operating flight J2-8243 from Baku to Grozny, caused by physical and technical interference, and considering potential risks to flight safety.”
The company will continue to operate flights to six other Russian cities including Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan. Those cities also have been repeatedly targeted by Ukrainian drone strikes in the past.
Kazakhstan's Qazaq Air also announced Friday that it was suspending flights from Astana to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg in the Ural Mountains for a month.
The day before, Israeli El Al suspended flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow citing “developments in Russia’s airspace." The airline said it would reassess the situation next week to decide whether to resume the flights.
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Associated Press writer Aida Sultanova contributed to this report from London.
Rescuers transport wounded passengers from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed, near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, upon their arrival at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
The head of the Azerbaijani diaspora in St. Petersburg Vagif Mamishev lays flowers at the Consulate of Azerbaijan in St. Petersburg, Russia, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024, in memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau. (AP Photo/Dmitri Lovetsky)
Cadets of the aviation school lay flowers in memory of victims of the Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 that crashed near the Kazakhstan's airport of Aktau, at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
Workers carry a coffin with a body of a victim from a medical plane after the Azerbaijani Airline crashed, near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, upon their arrival at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
Wounded passengers of the Azerbaijani Airline's plane crashed near the Kazakhstani city of Aktau, are transported from a medical plane at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport outside Baku, Azerbaijan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo)
In this photo released by Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service, a rescuer search at the wreckage of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 laying on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (Kazakhstan's Emergency Ministry Press Service via AP)
In this photo taken from a video released by the administration of Mangystau region, a part of Azerbaijan Airlines' Embraer 190 lies on the ground near the airport of Aktau, Kazakhstan, on Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (The Administration of Mangystau Region via AP)
