The 2009 K Thread (1 Viewer)

[Mike Herman]

BALTIMORE

Rookie Graham Gano won the Lou Groza Award last season, given to the nation's top collegiate kicker. He made 24 of 26 kicks in his senior season at Florida State, connecting on 18 in a row, and he maxed out at an impressive 52 yards. On top of all that, Gano punted at FSU as well. The guy is obviously pretty talented. But when the Ravens' undrafted free agent signee first started to kick field goals in today's practice, he struggled with his accuracy. According to assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg, that's not unusual for a rookie kicker who is trying to make the adjustment to the pros.

Rosburg says that in college, a lot of place kickers have a coach or instructor that advises them, but for the most part, they're self-taught. They likely either don't have someone there to watch every single kick and give them feedback, or they don't have someone with fine-tuned knowledge of the art of kicking that can critique their form. Now the 22-year-old has that someone. After Gano's early struggles, Rosburg spent nearly the rest of practice working with him individually. From there, the rookie made vast improvements and was booming 45-yarders that cleared the crossbar with plenty of room to spare. Rosburg clearly enjoys working with his new project, and gushed about his ability and work ethic after practice. "Graham is a very talented young guy that I've been very impressed with in the brief time that I've been around him, because he's a really good athlete, and I think he demonstrated that in college by doing both [kicking and punting]," Rosburg said. "When you're able to punt and kick, it's hard enough to do one or the other, and he was able to do both. And you can see him out here, he's got a strong leg, he's athletic, he's flexible, and he's a very willing student as well. I think that bodes well for him."

Just for reference sake, Steve Hauschka, Gano's competition for the kicking gig, has looked strong so far as well. Rosburg said that Hauschka has made significant improvement since the end of the Ravens' postseason run, and he's looking forward to watching the two youngsters battle it out. "It's going to be an interesting battle," Rosburg said with a smile. "It'll be fun to be around. I'm excited about it."

linkKANSAS CITY

After being saddled all his life with a name that sounds like a vulgar insult, “Mr. Irrelevant” felt like an identity upgrade. So when he appeared before the Kansas City media during a rookie minicamp on Saturday, the last player taken in the 2009 NFL draft was ready for question No. 1. Your last name – uh, exactly how is it pronounced? “It’s ‘suck-up,’, believe it or not,” Ryan Succop said with a big, good-natured grin. When the room fell silent, he looked around and grinned again. “I’ve heard them all,” he said. “If you come up with something new, I’ll be impressed.” Succop remembers no fights with kids who taunted him about his name and no scuffles with teammates who didn’t know when to quit. “Maybe some arguments,” he said. “But no fights.” But he did notice that while serving as South Carolina’s place kicker the past three years, people rarely called him Ryan. “I always went by my last name.”

If things work out the next few months, the Hickory, N.C., native may make a name for himself in the NFL. Unlike most people drafted anywhere in the seventh round, Succop is in a good position to actually win a job. His competition for place-kicking duties with the Chiefs is Connor Barth. He hit 10 of 12 field goals last year as a rookie, but like almost every other aspect of the 2-14 Chiefs of 2008, special teams were generally a mess. That’s why the new Chiefs regime of general manager Scott Pioli and coach Todd Haley drafted a kick returner and a kicker and are taking a look at several special teams prospects at a rookie free agent camp this weekend. “We want competition in as many positions as we can,” Haley said. “(Succop) was somebody that our special teams coach had gone and worked out and really liked.”

Succop was 20-for-30 for South Carolina last year despite a painful abdominal injury that hampered him much of the season. He was 13-for-17 in 2007 with three of his misses from 47 yards or beyond. “Right now, I’m just trying to really work hard and prepare the best I can for all the practices and offseason workouts and try to get ready for the season the best I can,” he said. As the last man drafted, he’s in for a grand celebration in Newport Beach, Calif., next month that will include a parade and plenty of prizes. He’s taken it all in stride. “I didn’t choose to be Mr. Irrelevant,” said the 256th man drafted. “It just worked out that way. I’m just trying not to get caught up in it and focus more on the task at hand, which is trying to come in here and help the team. It’s not one of those things I really think about too much, to be honest.” That’s the advice he got from Pioli and Haley. “That’s a worry. This ‘Mr. Irrelevant’ has become such a big thing,” Haley said. “We just kind of reminded him that he was the last pick in the draft, so he had his work cut out for him making this team, and try not to be distracted any more than any of the other players – that he had a job to try to win.”

So far, the Chiefs like what they see in the hardworking young man with the unusual name. “I like his demeanor,” Haley said. “He’s a calm, level guy, and at that position, with the pressure that ends up on those kickers, that’s a big item. He carries himself well. He hasn’t collapsed out there yet.”

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[Mike Herman]

JACKSONVILLE

Fans following Tiger Woods at The Players Championship can often be seen elbowing their way to the ropes to get a better glimpse of the world's No. 1 golfer. Jaguars kicker Josh Scobee hasn't had to do that this week - because he's been inside the ropes at the TPC Sawgrass Players Stadium Course. Scobee acquired his enviable vantage point by volunteering for the tournament. Mary Sullivan, head of The Players marshal committee, arranged for Scobee to work as a marshal escort following Woods' group - all week long. "I just wanted to get involved somehow, volunteer in any position that they would offer me," Scobee said. "They ended up offering me a job as a marshal escort and to boot, I get to follow Tiger around every round." He said it's been a pretty easy job, just policing the crowds and keeping them quiet at the right moments. He's supposed to face the crowd with his arms up when the players hit, but he admits he sneaks a peek at the shot quite a bit. scobee said he's never volunteered for The Players before this year, but he's already inspired some of his Jaguars teammates - such as cornerback Rashean Mathis - to try it next year.

linkKANSAS CITY

Q&A with K RYAN SUCCOP - 5/9

May 09, 2009, 1:40:39 PM

ROOKIE MINI-CAMP

Q: Have the coaches talked to you about the competition for the kicking job?

SUCCOP: “We have not really discussed it yet. The only thing I can do is work as hard as I can and try to prepare myself to the best of my ability.”

Q: Since you got drafted you must feel like they like you?

SUCCOP: “I felt fortunate that they felt that way about me and thought highly enough of me to draft me. That makes you feel good. You still have to go out there and prove it every day – on the practice field and off the practice field. Just do your best.”

Q: Would you rather have been a rookie free agent instead of getting drafted?

SUCCOP: “I am really happy I got drafted. It worked really well to come to a place like Kansas City to play for some great coaches and a great organization. I am really excited about the fact I got drafted. I feel like I have a legitimate shot to come in and make the team.”

Q: Did you punt in college?

SUCCOP: “Yes sir. I punted for two years.”

Q: Have they said anything to you about giving you some work at punter?

SUCCOP: “I think they are pretty shored up at punter. It’s maybe something I do in practice to help out the returner. In an emergency situation if something happened to the punter, I could in there to do it.”

Q: How has (special teams coach) Steve Hoffman helped you?

SUCCOP: “Coach Hoffman has been really good. When Coach Hoffman came to work me out before the draft he showed me something in five minutes. It was one of the most helpful things I have ever been shown as a kicker my whole career. That was pretty cool just how much of difference that has made. He has been here two days with me working and I have a whole lot of respect for him. I think he is a really good coach. I am excited to have more of an opportunity to work with him over these next few months. I think he can really help me. If I work hard, I think I can improve.”

Q: What was his tip?

SUCCOP: “It was something we were working on for kickoffs. He just showed me a little bit different technique. It made a big difference.”

Q: What was it like trying to kick injured last year?

SUCCOP: “It was frustrating. I had the injury after the fourth game of the year. The hardest part about it was it was too painful to practice during the week. I had to just play on Saturday. That was frustrating because I was not able to practice. As the season went on it got a little bit better and I was able to start practicing again. On that note it was a positive because it was tough experience and I think it made me better from going through it. I look at as a positive.”

Q: What is your range?

SUCCOP: “It depends on the day. I’ve messed around on the practice field and have hit from as far as 68 yards. It just depends on the day and the weather, I guess.”

Q: How many games did you miss because of the injury?

SUCCOP: “I didn’t miss any. I played through it.”

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[Mike Herman]

BALTIMORE

Both Steve Hauschka and Graham Gano struggled to deal with cross winds that pushed accurate kicks outside of the uprights. "I think we’ve got two good, young kickers," special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg said. "I don’t think they’re ready to play today in the NFL, but we don’t have to play today."

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[Mike Herman]

KICKOLOGY

now on Twitter. Just getting started, so be patient until I figure out what I'm doing.

KANSAS CITY

Ryan Succop developed a bond with Chiefs special teams coach Steve Hoffman when he traveled to Columbia to work out Succop. Evidently, the latter convinced the K.C. brass to take the Hickory, N.C. native with the final pick. "Coach Hoffman has been really good," Succop said. "When he came to work me out before the draft, he showed me something in five minutes (different technique on kickoffs). It was one of the most helpful things I have ever been shown as a kicker my whole career. That was pretty cool just how much of a difference that has made. I think he is a really good coach. I am excited to have more of an opportunity to work with him over these next few months. I think he can really help me."

linkThis bodes well for Succop.

 

[Mike Herman]

KICKOLOGY

So, have you heard the one about the kicker? No matter how many sports joke books there are, there's a good chance every one of them has a wisecrack about football placekickers. You know, the skinny little guys with clean uniforms? The guys who aren't really part of the team? Who kick the ball because they can't play real football? But these jokes and stereotypes are becoming old-think in the world of college and professional football. More and more, kickers are being accepted as well-rounded athletes with skills that are critical to a team's success. As part of that shift in attitudes, younger athletes are becoming interested in kicking — and showing promise.

Take 15-year-old Dominic Granieri, an eighth grader in the northern California town of Meadow Vista. He's already 5-foot-11 and 200 pounds. That's nearly the average size of today's NFL kickers. And Granieri sounds ready to take on the stereotype of the scrawny kicker. "If somebody's returning the ball," he says, "and they say, 'Oh, it's just the kicker,' they might let up a little bit. And then, you know, that's my chance to kind of pop him or whatever — you know, just to give him a little surprise." Don't let the menacing fool you. Granieri is a mild-mannered kid who didn't think his booming, soccer-style kicks were all that special until earlier this year, when he was invited to a series of all-star games in San Antonio, Texas, for seventh- and eighth-graders. He kicked well during the games — just missing a 55-yard field goal — and he got noticed. "I don't know if people were joking or not," he says, "but they said, 'Oh, here, sign my helmet because you probably will go pro someday.' Or, you know, 'Good luck in college' or 'Good luck in the pros.'' Granieri and his father, Tom, like to practice on a muddy football field near their home. With his long-in-the-back hair whipping in the breeze, Dominic lines up a 35-yard field goal by looking beyond the space between the goal posts to a spot kickers call the aiming point. With an easy, powerful swing of his leg, Granieri drills the ball through the uprights. "Mission accomplished," he says.

Granieri is not alone in his quest to become a top kicker. Other young athletes around the country are showing similar promise and focus. Jeff Hays, a kicking instructor who has worked from youth levels to the NFL, says, "There's a greater body of knowledge that's out there about kicking, and so for a young kid, it's much easier to get good instruction. And I give the soccer culture some credit. You know, you have more people that're being exposed to kicking and associating kicking with being a very athletic … skill." This weekend in Sacramento, Hays got to see Granieri kick for the first time. They were at an invitation-only instructional camp called Football University. Hays says he was impressed with Granieri, and that, with work, Granieri can be as good as he wants to be. Granieri and a growing number of others want to be very good indeed. After all, today's NFL kickers make, on average, more than a million dollars a year. And no one's joking about that.

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[Biabreakable]

Did a kicker invent Twitter? Seems like a Kicker thing to do.

Any tough guys out there like Gould coming into the league?

 

[-baller]

two words:

gost

kowski

 

[Mike Herman]

DALLAS

Cowboys Stadium turf video and website

 

[Mike Herman]

CINCINNATI

Kicker Shayne Graham had an eventful offseason. He unhappily became the Bengals franchise free agent, but worked himself into what he called the best shape he's been in a long time while spending much of the winter in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area. Then he lost his holder for the last five years when the Bengals cut Kyle Larson in the wake of drafting University of Cincinnati punter Kevin Huber in the fifth round. Larson was a major reason Graham has shattered most of the Bengals kicking records, but Graham doesn't see a loss of rhythm or timing now that a rookie is holding. Graham has already watched Huber hold on film and hooked up with him a few times already and has been impressed. "Kyle was like a brother to me. I loved him, loved his wife, loved his family. The business side is what it is," Graham said Wednesday. "I think (Huber) is a good holder. I don't think there'll be any change in our rhythm or operation so I think it should be pretty good. I've seen him around in social situations. My Virginia Tech football team beat up on his UC team in the Orange Bowl. He had a great game that game. He's a good guy. I think he's got a strong leg, he's a good punter. He's willing to work and learn and he's not coming in here thinking he knows everything. He's open to learning and making himself better." (Huber and Graham hook up officially for the first time Tuesday on the first day of voluntary camp.)

Graham understood that move, but he said he didn't understand why the club franchised him with a one-year deal of $2.5 million that kept him off the market when they "didn't make a serious effort" to sign him. "I appreciate the fact they felt like there was value in franchising me," he said, "but just a little disappointment there wasn't a serious effort to sign a long-term deal." With the Bengals deciding that Graham is worth the average salary of the top five paid kickers in the NFL, one has to believe he's looking to be paid among the league's elite after six seasons he has become the Bengals' most accurate kicker of all time. That translates to about $3 million per year judging by the recent deals, yet he says "I got over (the disappointment) and either way I'm part of the team." Graham, one of the most recognizable figures in the community through his many charitable deeds, seeks long-term security and says this past year was "good timing" for him to get it. "In free agency, usually how you have to do it, your stats have to be at a certain level, you've got to be healthy and all those things," Graham said, "and when you have those things going into free agency, it was good timing. For the team, I want to perform at the highest level either way. As far as being a free agent and having market value, now you just have to make sure you stay healthy one more year. No stupid injuries occur and you have to make sure you keep your stats up so that you've got that market value. Knowing I could have taken care of that last year and signed a long-term deal ... it's kind of hard to do things like that with all the stresses that go around with it without having that security."

Graham, 31, is coming off a season he missed the first two games of his Bengals career with a groin injury suffered covering an onside kick and he's returned vowing not to miss any more. Although he says he has nothing against the Bengals offseason conditioning program, he opted to rent a home in Florida and embark on a regimen with personal trainers and nutritionists. He says he pretty much went from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. every day, which began with runs on the beach, continued with kicking at the University of South Florida, and were interspersed with sprinting. He figures he lost a lot of body fat and feels better than he has in years. Graham knew some eyebrows would be raised when he didn't get here until two weeks ago after signing the deal. "It was non-stop every day," Graham said. "Just from the mental aspect of having great weather it was worth it to me. When I came in here, I think there was some concern, 'Oh, he's not working out with the team,' but I feel like I'm in better shape than I have been in the past. I didn't feel like I had to play catch up."

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[Mike Herman]

TAMPA BAY

Following a lost season with the New York Jets, Mike Nugent has declared himself healthy and eager to challenge Matt Bryant for Tampa Bay's kicking job in training camp. Nugent, a second-round pick of the Jets out of Ohio State in 2005, signed a one-year deal with the Buccaneers in March as a free agent. At 27, Nugent is six years younger than Bryant, whose career 82.1 percent success rate on field-goal attempts is slightly better than Nugent (81.5 percent). Nugent has recovered from a torn right quadriceps suffered in New York's 2008 opener. By the time Nugent recuperated late in the season, former Tampa Jesuit High standout Jay Feely had established himself as the Jets' kicker. "I'm doing well and getting after it,'' said Nugent, who attended Tampa Bay's voluntary practice sessions this week while Bryant declined to participate. "It was tough for me last year. I'd never been hurt before seriously enough to miss a game since I was a little kid. Right after the game, I thought I'd be fine and maybe miss a week. Then we got the MRI back and it just didn't look very good at all.'' Bryant set a franchise record with 131 points last season, converting all 27 of his field-goal tries from inside the 40-yard line. But Bryant went 0-for-3 from 50 yards or longer in 2008 and is only 2-for-10 from long distance during his seven-year career, although he beat the Philadelphia Eagles in 2006 with a memorable 62-yard kick as time expired. "The best medicine for a torn muscle is just rest,'' Nugent said. "I did a lot of rehab last season, and it was tough to watch your teammates play so hard and you couldn't do anything to help them.'' Nugent is 3-for-9 from 50 yards or longer in his career and has made 53 of 59 attempts from inside the 40.

linkKICKOLOGY

now on Twitter.

 

[Mike Herman]

NEW ENGLAND

Nathan Hodel, a 6-foot-2, 238-pound veteran, was acquired in free agency on March 10, shortly after Lonie Paxton signed a rich new deal with the Broncos. In the long-snapping fraternity, Paxton (who spent nine seasons in New England) is something of a legend, not only for his consistency, but his ability to land a five-year, $5.5 deal that included a $1 million signing bonus. It made him the second-highest paid long snapper in the NFL. It turned out Hodel was part of an offseason long-snapping carousel that saw Paxton go to Denver, Broncos’ long snapper Mike Leach sign with Arizona and Hodel go from Arizona to New England. And while Paxton carved out an impressive career, the 31-year-old Hodel isn’t exactly chopped liver himself. The Illinois product has spent eight years in the league, including the last seven-plus seasons with Arizona. He handled every snap for the Cardinals from 2002 through last season, including their unlikely road to Super Bowl XLIII, which ended with a late loss to Pittsburgh.

Hodel was surprised when he was cut loose by Arizona less than a month after the Super Bowl. He’d just signed a four-year deal, and felt secure after spending eight years with the Cardinals. But thanks to new special teams coach Scott O’Brien -- who worked with Hodel for a brief stretch when he first entered the league in Carolina -- he wasn’t out of work for long. Hodel, who will be battling rookie Jake Ingram for the job, had surgery on his left knee in the offseason, but has received assurances that he’s good to go for the upcoming organized team activities. And he’s done his part to try and get acclimated with the program, specifically working with punter Chris Hanson and kicker Stephen Gostkowski. “I’ve been working with Steve when he’s been here, and those are two professional guys,” said Hodel, who went out to breakfast with the two the other morning. “It seems like they’ve got real level heads on their shoulders. They’re professionals -- they go out and do their job. But they don’t take it to the point where it’s going to get in their head. They don’t take it to the point where it gets in their head. They understand that you make mistakes but you learn from them and you move on.

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[QuizGuy66]

NEW ENGLAND

Nathan Hodel, a 6-foot-2, 238-pound veteran, was acquired in free agency on March 10, shortly after Lonie Paxton signed a rich new deal with the Broncos. In the long-snapping fraternity, Paxton (who spent nine seasons in New England) is something of a legend, not only for his consistency, but his ability to land a five-year, $5.5 deal that included a $1 million signing bonus. It made him the second-highest paid long snapper in the NFL. It turned out Hodel was part of an offseason long-snapping carousel that saw Paxton go to Denver, Broncos’ long snapper Mike Leach sign with Arizona and Hodel go from Arizona to New England. And while Paxton carved out an impressive career, the 31-year-old Hodel isn’t exactly chopped liver himself. The Illinois product has spent eight years in the league, including the last seven-plus seasons with Arizona. He handled every snap for the Cardinals from 2002 through last season, including their unlikely road to Super Bowl XLIII, which ended with a late loss to Pittsburgh.

Hodel was surprised when he was cut loose by Arizona less than a month after the Super Bowl. He’d just signed a four-year deal, and felt secure after spending eight years with the Cardinals. But thanks to new special teams coach Scott O’Brien -- who worked with Hodel for a brief stretch when he first entered the league in Carolina -- he wasn’t out of work for long. Hodel, who will be battling rookie Jake Ingram for the job, had surgery on his left knee in the offseason, but has received assurances that he’s good to go for the upcoming organized team activities. And he’s done his part to try and get acclimated with the program, specifically working with punter Chris Hanson and kicker Stephen Gostkowski. “I’ve been working with Steve when he’s been here, and those are two professional guys,” said Hodel, who went out to breakfast with the two the other morning. “It seems like they’ve got real level heads on their shoulders. They’re professionals -- they go out and do their job. But they don’t take it to the point where it’s going to get in their head. They don’t take it to the point where it gets in their head. They understand that you make mistakes but you learn from them and you move on.

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gotta love the long-snapper coverage. at the risk of sounding like snark, is there a list of the places where there may be competition for LS duties, or for that matter Holder (is that abbreviated HD?) duties? Does Brad St. Louis have competition in Cincy? On a side-note for the ubergeek type stats guys - any correlation between kicking success and how long the snapper-holder team is in place? You figure there would be but has anything quantitative being done.Cheers to Mike Herman!

-QG

 

[Jeff Tefertiller]

those of you that love Mike's kicker coverage need to follow him on twitter. Active and entertaining ....

 

[Mike Herman]

NEW ENGLAND

Nathan Hodel, a 6-foot-2, 238-pound veteran, was acquired in free agency on March 10, shortly after Lonie Paxton signed a rich new deal with the Broncos. In the long-snapping fraternity, Paxton (who spent nine seasons in New England) is something of a legend, not only for his consistency, but his ability to land a five-year, $5.5 deal that included a $1 million signing bonus. It made him the second-highest paid long snapper in the NFL. It turned out Hodel was part of an offseason long-snapping carousel that saw Paxton go to Denver, Broncos’ long snapper Mike Leach sign with Arizona and Hodel go from Arizona to New England. And while Paxton carved out an impressive career, the 31-year-old Hodel isn’t exactly chopped liver himself. The Illinois product has spent eight years in the league, including the last seven-plus seasons with Arizona. He handled every snap for the Cardinals from 2002 through last season, including their unlikely road to Super Bowl XLIII, which ended with a late loss to Pittsburgh.

Hodel was surprised when he was cut loose by Arizona less than a month after the Super Bowl. He’d just signed a four-year deal, and felt secure after spending eight years with the Cardinals. But thanks to new special teams coach Scott O’Brien -- who worked with Hodel for a brief stretch when he first entered the league in Carolina -- he wasn’t out of work for long. Hodel, who will be battling rookie Jake Ingram for the job, had surgery on his left knee in the offseason, but has received assurances that he’s good to go for the upcoming organized team activities. And he’s done his part to try and get acclimated with the program, specifically working with punter Chris Hanson and kicker Stephen Gostkowski. “I’ve been working with Steve when he’s been here, and those are two professional guys,” said Hodel, who went out to breakfast with the two the other morning. “It seems like they’ve got real level heads on their shoulders. They’re professionals -- they go out and do their job. But they don’t take it to the point where it’s going to get in their head. They don’t take it to the point where it gets in their head. They understand that you make mistakes but you learn from them and you move on.

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gotta love the long-snapper coverage. at the risk of sounding like snark, is there a list of the places where there may be competition for LS duties, or for that matter Holder (is that abbreviated HD?) duties? Does Brad St. Louis have competition in Cincy? On a side-note for the ubergeek type stats guys - any correlation between kicking success and how long the snapper-holder team is in place? You figure there would be but has anything quantitative being done.Cheers to Mike Herman!

-QG

Longsnap.com is a good source of info on longsnappers.

 

[Mike Herman]

CLEVELAND

Josh Cribbs' isn't the only contract ordeal percolating. Kicker Phil Dawson quietly has been pursuing a new deal, too.

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The Browns added a kicker to their roster on Friday. He is Parker Douglass, who had been kicking for the Sioux Falls Storm of the Indoor Football League. Douglass, 5-8 and 170 pounds, played four years at South Dakota State, where he made 62 of 91 field goals.

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[Mike Herman]

OAKLAND

No-shows for the voluntary workouts included cornerbacks Nnamdi Asomugha and Chris Johnson; punter Shane Lechler; kicker Sebastian Janikowski; defensive end Derrick Burgess; and quarterback Andrew Walter.

linkATLANTA

The Falcons opened their organized team activities with a couple of key veterans and a draft pick missing Wednesday. Newly acquired tight end Tony Gonzalez, defensive end John Abraham, kicker Jason Elam and rookie cornerback Chris Owens were not in attendance. “OTAs are really not mandatory,” Falcons coach Mike Smith said. “I’m not going to talk about attendance, but I can assure you this, I’ve talked to every one of them, and I know where they are.”

linkCHICAGO

And then Robbie Gould displayed some serious leg strength Wednesday, splitting the uprights with room to spare from 53 and 58 yards while narrowly missing from 63 – wind-aided, of course.

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[Mike Herman]

TAMPA BAY

The Bucs expect one of the most competitive training camp battles to take place at kicker, where Matt Bryant and Mike Nugent are fighting for one roster spot. Bryant, 33, has spent the past four seasons with the Bucs. He has made 82.1 percent of his career kicks. Nugent, 27, originally entered the NFL as a second-round pick with the Jets. He has made 81.5 percent of his field goal attempts, but is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the 2008 season. Bucs head coach Raheem Morris said it would be fairly easy to determine which player will be kicking for the team in 2009. "That goes back to our competitive edge. All these guys are out here competing," said Morris. "You line up the ball, you snap it, you tee it up and you let them kick. Whoever gets the ball between those two yellow bars the most wins. If they put it between those yellow bars then we win. You just have a competitive edge between those two guys. I'm looking forward to the competition. Those guys don't start really until the bullets start flying. We'll see that in training camp and the preseason."

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[Mike Herman]

CLEVELAND

In addition to Donte Stallworth and Josh Cribbs, veteran kicker Phil Dawson was missing from the minicamp practice that was open to the media this morning. The press met with Eric Mangini prior to the practice and were unaware that Dawson was not in camp. There are some reports that Dawson is unhappy with his contract and might be the reason he was not present. The Browns signed rookie free agent Parker Douglass recently and he did all of the kicking duties at Thursday’s practice. Douglass is from South Dakota State and most recently played on an arena league team.

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[Mike Herman]

CLEVELAND

Kicker Phil Dawson is the only player left from the Browns expansion team of 1999, so it was odd not to see him on the field Thursday as the club wrapped up the first of a pair of voluntary, three-day, full-squad mini camps. Dawson holds a lot of the team’s kicking records and is coming off a season in which he hit 30-of-36 field-goal attempts and scored 100 or more points for the second straight time, and the fourth time in the last five years. All this for a team that, especially last season, has generally struggled mightily to score points in the expansion era. But he sat out this camp for unspecified reasons. Whether or not he attends next week’s “voluntary” mini camp, or a mandatory camp next month, remains to be seen.

Taking Dawson’s spot was rookie Parker Douglass. Douglass, who is the team’s second player from tiny South Dakota State, joining veteran tight end Steve Heiden, broke or tied 19 of the 21 kicking records at the school in a career that ended after the 2007 season. He converted a school-record 62 career field goals in 91 attempts and also holds marks for career points (321) and consecutive field goal made (13). Being at San Dakota State, and having played at Columbus (Neb.) High School, Douglass has plenty of experience kicking in less-than-ideal conditions. That’s given him great preparation for playing in Cleveland. No disrespect to Douglass, but it’s hard to envision that happening. At some point, you have to believe Dawson, who has continued the lineage of great Browns kickers going all the way back to Pro Football Hall of Famer Lou Groza in that inaugural season of 1946, will return. It would be the end of an era. Nonetheless, Douglass looked good on Thursday. His field goals were straight and his kickoffs were long. He did nothing to hurt his chances of staying around a little longer.

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[greyone]

TAMPA BAY

The Bucs expect one of the most competitive training camp battles to take place at kicker, where Matt Bryant and Mike Nugent are fighting for one roster spot. Bryant, 33, has spent the past four seasons with the Bucs. He has made 82.1 percent of his career kicks. Nugent, 27, originally entered the NFL as a second-round pick with the Jets. He has made 81.5 percent of his field goal attempts, but is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the 2008 season. Bucs head coach Raheem Morris said it would be fairly easy to determine which player will be kicking for the team in 2009. "That goes back to our competitive edge. All these guys are out here competing," said Morris. "You line up the ball, you snap it, you tee it up and you let them kick. Whoever gets the ball between those two yellow bars the most wins. If they put it between those yellow bars then we win. You just have a competitive edge between those two guys. I'm looking forward to the competition. Those guys don't start really until the bullets start flying. We'll see that in training camp and the preseason."

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Mike,How do you see this panning out? Who has the early edge?

 

[Mike Herman]

TAMPA BAY

The Bucs expect one of the most competitive training camp battles to take place at kicker, where Matt Bryant and Mike Nugent are fighting for one roster spot. Bryant, 33, has spent the past four seasons with the Bucs. He has made 82.1 percent of his career kicks. Nugent, 27, originally entered the NFL as a second-round pick with the Jets. He has made 81.5 percent of his field goal attempts, but is coming off a knee injury that sidelined him for most of the 2008 season. Bucs head coach Raheem Morris said it would be fairly easy to determine which player will be kicking for the team in 2009. "That goes back to our competitive edge. All these guys are out here competing," said Morris. "You line up the ball, you snap it, you tee it up and you let them kick. Whoever gets the ball between those two yellow bars the most wins. If they put it between those yellow bars then we win. You just have a competitive edge between those two guys. I'm looking forward to the competition. Those guys don't start really until the bullets start flying. We'll see that in training camp and the preseason."

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Mike,How do you see this panning out? Who has the early edge?

Right now I'm giving the slightest of edges to Nugent. He probably has a slightly higher upside on leg strength. Plus the fact that the team even brought in an established competitor suggests the "new" coaching staff may not be sold on Bryant.Mike Nugent

 

[Mike Herman]

CLEVELAND

Mangini confirmed that WR/KR Josh Cribbs is at minicamp this week, but also confirmed that K Phil Dawson was not present. “Cribbs is here and Dawson is not,” he said. “It’s a voluntary minicamp. Everybody has the option to not be here.” Mangini used the question to plug rookie undrafted free agent Parker Douglass, who is the lone kicker in camp during Dawson’s absence. “Parker Douglass has done a nice job in taking advantage of his opportunities,” he said. “He made a 52 yard field goal the other day to end practice.” It is believed that Dawson would like his contract status addressed, but Mangini declined to say what the reason was other than the camp is ‘voluntary.’ Mangini did say that he has met with Dawson one-on-one since he’s become head coach. “I’ve met with him like I did with all of the players.”

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[Mike Herman]

DENVER

Although the Denver Broncos are keen on competition, they've invited in no one to challenge kicker Matt Prater, who faded down the stretch last year and went into the offseason wondering about his job security. Vote of confidence? He's certainly hoping so. "It's kind of flattering," Prater said. "That means a lot."

Prater started off solid last season in his first full-time gig, only to lose the pop in his powerful right foot midway through the year. For that, he blames fatigue. His plan this season is to kick less in practice so that his leg stays fresh. "If I have a bad day, instead of going out and kicking a bunch more, just try to get it back the next day," Prater said Tuesday as the team returned to Dove Valley for the start of passing camp. "Hopefully I can peak at the end of the year instead of fade off." Prater had big cleats to fill in 2008 as he replaced Jason Elam, a longtime fan favorite who bolted for Atlanta. Early on, the Broncos weren't missing Elam since Prater wasn't missing many kicks. He began the year very Elam-like, hitting 14 of 15 field goals, including five from 50 yards and beyond. Then his leg tired and he tailed off. He finished the season just 11-of-19 on field goal attempts and didn't make one from longer than 44 yards after Nov. 23.

"With a kicker the big thing is confidence," Prater said. "If you lose a little confidence, you starting thinking too much and trying to tweak different things." Before departing for the offseason, Prater compiled footage of all his kicks. He wanted to pinpoint why he was so good from 50 or longer (5-of-6) and so erratic in the 40-49 yard range (5-of-11). Prater detected no glaring flaws. "It looked about the same. I think I was just really fatigued — with the kickoffs and field goals," said Prater, who was fifth in the league with 19 touchbacks. "It's just a big learning experience."

This season, he will be working with a new special teams coordinator as new head coach Josh McDaniels brought in Mike Priefer to replace Scott O'Brien. Already Prater feels a connection with Priefer. "He's really big on positive reinforcement," Prater said. "He focuses more on the good kicks than say if you go out and miss one. He just says, 'All right, what happened?' You learn from it. That's his biggest thing." Priefer also is slightly altering Prater's kicking mechanics, preferring him to step into the ball more. "It keeps me a little bit more smooth," Prater said. So far, it's working. On Tuesday, Prater said he drilled a 62-yard field goal in damp conditions and with the wind swirling. It was one of many long kicks. "It went really well," he said. "I got my confidence back."

As for his new long snapper, Lonie Paxton, Prater's already singing his praises. Paxton was lured away from New England with a five-year deal worth around $5.3 million, taking the spot of Mike Leach. "He's really good," Prater said of Paxton. "You can see why they gave him the big bucks. He's legit." What exactly makes a long snapper so special? "Consistency," Prater said. "Every field-goal snap he snaps makes the holder's job easier and makes it easier for me. I don't want to jinx him — I should knock on wood — but coach McDaniels said he hasn't had a bad snap in nine years."

As for being the lone field-goal kicker on the roster, Prater is a bit surprised. But he still feels like there's nothing guaranteed. "I'm still competing with all the other guys that are out there," Prater said. "As long as I'm doing what I've been doing, I'm pretty confident I'll keep the job."

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[Mike Herman]

BALTIMORE

Both of the Ravens' place kickers looked solid today; Steve Hauschka and Graham Gano were both nailing 40-49 yarders throughout practice despite the wet conditions. Gano was wide left from about 44 yards on one attempt, but that was the only miss that I saw during the session.

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[Mike Herman]

CLEVELAND

Kicker Phil Dawson remains absent from voluntary camp in an apparent contract stand. In his place, rookie kicker Parker Douglass from South Dakota State made a 55-yarder Wednesday, kicked a game-winner Tuesday in a two-minute drill and nailed a 52-yarder the other day.

linkTAMPA BAY

To fully understand the tenuous life of an NFL kicker, look no further than Mike Nugent, the man seeking to give Bucs incumbent Matt Bryant the boot. If not for a flukish thigh strain in the season opener last year, Nugent would most likely be preparing for his fifth season with the Jets. After all, he had been nothing short of stellar in his three seasons with the team that drafted him in the second round in 2005 out of Ohio State. Nugent already ranked fourth in franchise history with 75 field goals, had been named special teams captain in 2007 and established career highs that season with 29 field goals in 36 attempts (after 24 of 27 in 2006 and 22 of 28 as a rookie). But in New York's first game of 2008, amid the circus atmosphere surrounding quarterback Brett Favre, Nugent felt a tweak in his right thigh on the opening kickoff against the Dolphins. He left the game after missing a 32-yard field goal in the first quarter, returned to kick an extra point in the third — and would never attempt another kick for the Jets.

Nugent was replaced by veteran free agent Jay Feely, who made the most of his opportunity and kept the job even when Nugent was healthy enough to return after eight games. "It was really frustrating," Nugent said after a recent workout at One Buc Place. "Fortunately, I've been very lucky with injuries in my career — I'd never been hurt before. It was really tough watching all my teammates work so hard and not being able to be in there with them." Nugent, 27, attributed his injury to a change in his offseason routine, in which he kicked much more than usual. "I like to stick to a routine, but we did a lot more kicking, and I did things I didn't normally do," he said. "The wear and tear on my leg just finally took a toll. It was hard because I was really looking forward to the season as an established veteran."

Instead, Nugent experienced the flip side of a kicker's existence. He worked out quietly on his own, then passed on the Jets' offer to re-sign this year and compete with Feeley. Instead, he opted for free agency as one of the top kickers on the market. Several teams expressed interest, but Nugent was attracted to Tampa Bay because of his comfort level with special teams coach Rich Bisaccia. "I got to know him at the Senior Bowl when I was coming out of college, and I got to meet a few of the coaches who are on the staff today," he said. "So I didn't feel like I was coming into a completely new place. That was a factor."

New coach Raheem Morris and general manager Mark Dominik have stressed that no starting job is guaranteed, so Nugent will come into camp on equal footing with Bryant. The Bucs veteran, who turns 34 on Friday, has been a big contributor since 2005, remembered for his 62-yard winning field goal against the Eagles in 2006 and his perseverance after the death of his 3-month-old son in September. Bryant converted a career-high 32 field goals (in 38 tries) last season. But former coach Jon Gruden seemed reluctant to use him in certain long-distance situations, and the new regime will make Bryant earn his job in 2009. To Morris, it's all about results. "That just gets back to our competitive edge," he said. "All these guys are here competing. You snap the ball, you tee it up and you let them kick. And the guy who puts it between those two yellow bars the most wins. … I'm looking forward to the competition." There's no animosity or awkwardness between the kickers. "Things are great with me and Matt," Nugent said. "We actually met my rookie year, when the Bucs played the Jets in New York. Then we played down in Tampa in the preseason, so I got to know him a little bit more. Kickers really have their own fraternity — it's great how everyone treats each other, even if it's a playoff game. It's amazing how supportive kickers are of each other."

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[Mike Herman]

GREEN BAY

Kicker Mason Crosby has seen a little bit of everything in his first two seasons in the NFL. Reflecting on the body of work thus far in his young career reveals plenty to take pride in, a couple of disappointments, and some oh-so-close calls, with a lot to look forward to in 2009.

The achievements

Coming off a rookie season in which he led the NFL in scoring with 141 points in 2007, Crosby added 127 points in his second year, and his two-year total of 268 points is more than any player in NFL history has scored in his first two seasons. "I did not know that, but hearing it now, that's pretty sweet," said Crosby following a recent offseason workout. "It's really a credit to the team and the offense. These first two years have been unbelievable with how many points we're scoring, how many opportunities I'm getting to kick field goals. I'm just blessed and happy I get out on the field as much as I do. "I think it's just going to continue on. We're a powerful offense and we're going to find ways to put points on the board." Crosby also boosted his touchback total from 14 his rookie season to 17 last year, the most in a single season by a Packers kicker since 1972 when Chester Marcol had 28, and the most for this team since kickoffs were moved from the 35-yard line back to the 30 in 1994. To improve on that in 2009, Crosby has his work cut out for him. He likely needs to be at or very near last year's total through the Thanksgiving game in Week 12, because the Packers play four potential cold-weather games in a row in December (two at home vs. Baltimore and Seattle, plus road contests at Chicago and Pittsburgh) when touchbacks could be harder to come by. Still, it's a challenge he looks forward to. "I want to always be going up, so next year I'm shooting for 20-plus," he said. "Touchbacks are important. It gets them started on the 20, and we don't have to bang around as much, so it keeps guys healthy. "But at the same time I'm working on different things, focusing on hang time, distance and placing the ball, so if the conditions aren't perfect to crank one and go for that touchback we can still pin them deep. Ultimately, we have to do the best thing we can for our defense to keep them backed up."

The disappointments

Without prompting, Crosby is the first to mention the two failed game-winning attempts that played a big part in Green Bay's 6-10 record in 2008. After hitting a last-second game-winner in his first game as a pro to beat Philadelphia in the 2007 season opener, Crosby didn't get another such chance until Week 10 last year in the Metrodome, and his 52-yard attempt sailed just wide right with 26 seconds left in a 28-27 defeat to Minnesota. Crosby recovered from the miss well, making nine straight field goals over the next five games, and was poised for redemption when lining up a 38-yarder in the final half-minute at Chicago in Week 16. But that try was blocked, and the Packers lost 20-17 in overtime. "Those hurt," Crosby said. "But I try not to dwell on them, try not to think how could I have done it different. Last year I felt great with how I was contacting the ball, and it's one of those disappointing things where they didn't go the way I wanted them to." Crosby knows he can't control when the game-on-the-line opportunities arise, but he can control his mental focus and preparation, and he has no doubts his confidence won't waver the next time that situation is upon him. "Year to year it's going to be different, and I know I'm going to have more chances," he said. "Ultimately you want to win by 20 points but it doesn't always happen that way. I'm going to have a chance to kick those again this year, and I'm going to be ready just because my preparation and everything I'm going through is heightened even more."



The close calls

That late-season heartbreak in Chicago contributed to Crosby narrowly missing his efficiency goal last season. He made 79.5 percent of his field goals as a rookie (31-of-39) and was aiming to improve that to 85 percent. With two games remaining last year, Crosby was at 86.2 percent (25-of-29). But a miss in the third quarter at Chicago, followed by the block, plus a valiant effort at a 69-yard free kick in the season finale vs. Detroit left him with a 2-for-5 finish and 79.4 percent (27-of-34) for the year. Had he made the long free kick - set up by a fair catch of a punt with no time remaining in the first half - he would have not only reached 82 percent but also shattered the NFL record for longest field goal. New Orleans' Tom Dempsey (1970) and Denver's Jason Elam (1998) share the mark at 63 yards. Crosby struck it about as solidly as he could, and at first he felt it had a good chance, but the 10-degree wind-chill factor probably played a part in it falling just a couple of yards short. "I think earlier in the year we might have gotten a little more carry," he said. "I thought I hit it well. When it came off my foot I kind of started going down the field after it, and I thought it was in. But that (north) end zone can be a little tricky, that wind starts swirling. Literally it looked like it was going and then was knocked down right in front of the uprights." That said, Crosby proved he's got the leg to break the league record should he get another try. He had a 58-yarder in college, kicked at Miami, the third-longest field goal in the college or pro ranks kicked at sea level without a tee, behind Dempsey and New Orleans' Morten Andersen (60 yards vs. Chicago, 1990). "Ultimately in the back of my mind that's always been a goal," Crosby said of the record. "In college I liked kicking the long ball, and I'm always confident outside of 55 and stuff like that. During pre-game I'll always try a couple long ones and see how I'm feeling. If we get the right circumstance and the right time ..."

The future

Crosby, like many of his teammates, is genuinely fired up about the coming season, but he's pacing himself. He concentrated his work in the offseason strength and conditioning program on core exercises that help with stability, balance and flexibility, all valuable physical attributes for a kicker. Now he's participating in organized team activities (OTAs), and the progression continues through training camp and the start of the regular season. Crosby is keeping the intensity of his training and focus in step with that progression. It requires patience and diligence at the same time. "In the offseason you try to take a break and you don't want to be gung-ho, because once you get in OTAs, training camp and the season, it's always 'on'," he said. "But at the same time I'm trying to stay sharp." Sharp enough, hopefully, to add to the accomplishments, limit the disappointments, and get the close calls to go his way. "It needs to be a good gradual climb so you go into that season feeling confident, feeling good," Crosby said. "I feel confident in my physical tools, feel good about how I'm approaching the game, and I just need to keep building that up until the season comes."

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[Mike Herman]

SEAWORLD

Shamu Kicks Field Goal

CALIFORNIA

Gus The Miracle Mule

 

[stevegamer]

That's really just an extra point there for Shamu.

 

[Mike Herman]

KANSAS CITY

The kickers were very active on field goals throughout the practice and while we couldn’t chart every kick, rookie Ryan Succop looked like he was having a good day. He was six-for-six from 43 yards away with a nice cross breeze coming from his right to left. He then hit a 51-yarder. Connor Barth hit an upright from close in on one of his FG attempts and went three of four from 43 yards, missing wide right.

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[Mike Herman]

BALTIMORE

Before I head out to Owings Mills for today's passing camp, I thought I'd pass along a few words from Steve Hauschka. Kicker hasn't been a position that the Ravens/Browns organization has had to worry about for a little while (um, yeah, try for the last 18 years), but with Matt Stover not with the team this offseason, the PK job is now up for grabs. Hauschka is one of the guys battling it out for that spot. The second-year man out of NC State handled the kickoff duties throughout the second-half of last season, but he only attempted two field goals on the year. His lack of experience at the pro level didn't scare off the Baltimore coaching staff, who chose to put up a "Help Wanted" sign this season rather than bring back the veteran Stover. "It was very exciting," Hauschka said of the Ravens' offseason shake-up. "I think I've got all the potential in the world, but the main thing was to know that I was going to have a chance here all offseason to get better every day and then assess where we're at day one, first game of the season. That's what I was most excited about was that they have the confidence in me to give me a chance throughout the whole offseason to show them what I can do."

Hauschka's looked very sharp so far, showing off his strong leg and demonstrating some improved accuracy over last season. "I think the most important thing is that I'm getting better every practice," he said. "The goal of the offseason here has been to build a technique and a form that I can repeat day after day and that's definitely coming to form right now. You can see it on tape. If you look at my film from a year ago, maybe only 2-of-10 kicks looked the same. Now about 9-of-10 look the same. So that's what we're trying to do, get something that I can replicate and something that will work under pressure." One step in that process has been tweaking a couple flaws in his mechanics. With the help of special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg, Hauschka has focused on two things - keeping his kicking foot open and making sure his head stays down through the kick. The 23-year-old said when kicking last season, he had a tendency to lift his head out too soon, pulling his body out and causing kicks to fade to the left.

Hauschka is competing this offseason with undrafted rookie Graham Gano ("a very talented kicker [who] can kick at this level," Hauschka says), but so far in minicamps, Hauschka appears to have a leg up on his competition. Pun intended. Man, I'm funny early in the morning. "I'm just taking it one step at a time," the humble yet self-assured kicker told me, "but I want the team in the locker room to have the confidence in me that I'm going to go out there and make the kick every time. So that's what I'm trying to do and get across to everybody is that I'm the man for the job."

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The players also got a chance to get some laughs in when Harbaugh called for both Steve Hauschka and Graham Gano to attempt a "game-winning" field goal from about 49-yards out. Hauschka went first, and the entire team closed in around him as he set up for the kick. Linebacker Antwan Barnes literally got right up in the second-year kicker's ear and started talking trash, and cornerback Evan Oglesby broke out dancing back and forth in front of holder Sam Koch. The distractions didn't bother Hauschka, as he calmly booted the pressure-packed kick. Gano, the undrafted rookie out of Florida State, was true on his kick as well. "I don't know if it could've been any tougher than it was out there," Harbaugh said of the kicks. "Guys were walking around, throwng hats at them and walking across the kicking line, and both those guys came through, so they've both done a nice job."

linkNEW ENGLAND

The greatest compliment someone could give New England Patriots kicker Stephen Gostkowski — other than the fact that he has been great at his job — is that it’s been three years since anyone around Boston has missed Adam Vinatieri. Sure, those memories of Vinatieri’s Super Bowl heroics will forever remain, but the new kid in town has been the better kicker since 2006, when Vinatieri spurned the Patriots for the rival Indianapolis Colts. Now, Gostkowski is entering camp on the heels of his most productive season, a Pro Bowl campaign in which he booted a league-best 36 field goals (on 40 attempts) and led the NFL with 148 points scored. Since the Patriots selected the Memphis product in the fourth round of the 2006 draft, Gostkowski has nailed 77 of 90 field-goal attempts, and his 85.6 percent career conversion rate ranks fourth among active kickers with at least three years of experience. Vinatieri, meanwhile, has made 68-of-82 attempts (82.9 percent) during his stint with the Colts. Replacing Vinatieri wasn’t ever a major motivational factor for Gostkowski. Heck, he had to beat out Martin Gramatica just to earn a roster spot in the Patriots’ 2006 training camp. But his time in New England has been a little more comfortable now that he’s not mostly known as the guy who filled in for a Hall-of-Famer. Gostkowski has long since earned the respect of Patriots fans — it helped that he split the uprights for a game-winning kick to oust the San Diego Charges from the playoffs in 2006 — and he can just worry about his daily duties.

A kicker’s offseason might not be as exciting as a linebacker’s, and Gostkowski’s right leg didn’t even draw half of the attention of Tom Brady’s left one. Starting in March, though, Gostkowski reported to Gillette Stadium and began his workouts like just about everyone else. “Obviously, we come in here and work on strength, work on conditioning,” Gostkowski said. “That’s first and foremost. Once I start getting into kicking, just routine stuff, progression. You can’t come out here expecting to make every field goal. It’s all about timing, rhythm and consistency and trying to get better every day. I can’t be looking way too far ahead. It’s all a long, long way from the season. I’m just trying to see how consistent I can be today, tomorrow and the next day.” He didn’t even touch a football until late April or early May, and he is only kicking field goals twice a week until workouts really pick up as the season draws closer. “You don’t get younger, so you always try to get stronger,” Gostkowski said. But he is focused on gaining strength without getting bigger. He also said his offseason is about gaining strength, and the regular season is geared toward maintaining it. “We try to stay around the same size,” Gostkowski said. “Obviously, you don’t want to be overweight. If the bigger guy kicked the ball farther, the linemen would be kicking. Everybody is different. As long as my leg speed is there, it really doesn’t matter how big or small I get.”

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[Pickle Rody]

PHILADELPHIA

Akers Perfect During Practice

Kicker David Akers was a perfect 9-for-9 in field goal attempts during the special teams portion of Tuesday's OTA.

In order, Akers hit from 28 yards (left hash), 33 yards (left hash), 35 yards (right hash), 40 yards (right hash), 41 yards (left hash), 47 yards (left hash), 52 yards (right hash), 56 yards (right hash) and 59 yards (right hash). All of the kicks had plenty of distance. The only one that looked like it didn't go through the uprights was the 40-yard attempt. But it was in by a good two feet, according to Akers, before the wind carried the ball to the right.

"Ultimately, you have to be able to make the kicks in September," Akers said. "I feel good. My timing's good with Sav (Rocca) and Jon (Dorenbos) right now. I'm hitting the ball pretty solid. I had a good first mini-camp and I hope these OTAs go just as well."

Akers had arguably his best season in 2008. He set the franchise record with 144 points, which was the best total in the NFC and second in the league. At one point, Akers nailed 15 straight field goals. He also showed that he still has plenty of leg strength on kickoffs with 17, also a career high. As good as Akers was last year, fans will recall that he missed a 47-yard field goal attempt and an extra point in the NFC Championship.

In the off-season, Akers continued his P90X workout, the one that he learned about late in the 2007 season while watching an infomercial at the team hotel in Dallas. He also continued to utilize trainer Kate Decker, a Sports Performance Coach at Velocity Sports Performance in Cherry Hill, N.J.

"I train with her to be a little more sport-specific, to work on explosiveness in my hips for my age," said Akers, who turns 35 in December. "I still feel that I have good power as you saw out there today. I've worked with her for five, six years now for injury prevention."

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[Zoomanji]

PHILADELPHIA

Akers Perfect During Practice

Kicker David Akers was a perfect 9-for-9 in field goal attempts during the special teams portion of Tuesday's OTA.

In order, Akers hit from 28 yards (left hash), 33 yards (left hash), 35 yards (right hash), 40 yards (right hash), 41 yards (left hash), 47 yards (left hash), 52 yards (right hash), 56 yards (right hash) and 59 yards (right hash). All of the kicks had plenty of distance. The only one that looked like it didn't go through the uprights was the 40-yard attempt. But it was in by a good two feet, according to Akers, before the wind carried the ball to the right.

"Ultimately, you have to be able to make the kicks in September," Akers said. "I feel good. My timing's good with Sav (Rocca) and Jon (Dorenbos) right now. I'm hitting the ball pretty solid. I had a good first mini-camp and I hope these OTAs go just as well."

Akers had arguably his best season in 2008. He set the franchise record with 144 points, which was the best total in the NFC and second in the league. At one point, Akers nailed 15 straight field goals. He also showed that he still has plenty of leg strength on kickoffs with 17, also a career high. As good as Akers was last year, fans will recall that he missed a 47-yard field goal attempt and an extra point in the NFC Championship.

In the off-season, Akers continued his P90X workout, the one that he learned about late in the 2007 season while watching an infomercial at the team hotel in Dallas. He also continued to utilize trainer Kate Decker, a Sports Performance Coach at Velocity Sports Performance in Cherry Hill, N.J.

"I train with her to be a little more sport-specific, to work on explosiveness in my hips for my age," said Akers, who turns 35 in December. "I still feel that I have good power as you saw out there today. I've worked with her for five, six years now for injury prevention."

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And they waived Swank the other dayLink- 5/28/09

 

[Mike Herman]

KICKOLOGY III

In conjunction with the forthcoming CD, an advanced copy of The Complete Guide to Kickology III is now available. The third edition still contains plenty of fantasy info, plus I also snuck in some reality K goodies (don't tell Joe and David). It's not 100% complete yet, and I didn't get a chance to spend as much time proof-reading it as I probably should have... so if you see any glitches, please let me know.

Kickology III (Advanced Copy)

 

[Pickle Rody]

KICKOLOGY III

In conjunction with the forthcoming CD, an advanced copy of The Complete Guide to Kickology III is now available. The third edition still contains plenty of fantasy info, plus I also snuck in some reality K goodies (don't tell Joe and David). It's not 100% complete yet, and I didn't get a chance to spend as much time proof-reading it as I probably should have... so if you see any glitches, please let me know.

Kickology III (Advanced Copy)

Cool......thanks, I'm checking it out now.

 

[Mike Herman]

Bossier-Shreveport BattleWings (AF2)

Their kicker is Art Carmody, the all-time NCAA career kicking points leader.

On why The Man keeps holding him down: "I haven't had any NFL looks since last summer with Tampa Bay. It was frustrating but that is just how it is. My lack of kickoff leg strength was the big reason why I haven't had any looks. I had a lot of interest from AFL teams before the league folded this past December and had interest from Edmonton in the CFL until they re-signed their veteran kicker."

linkMINNESOTA

Tweet from this afternoon: "Mehlhaff getting work with first field goal unit in longwell's absence. Made first 5 attempts."

 

[Mike Herman]

CAROLINA

Can't get enough of your favorite English kickoff specialist? Be sure to check out Rhys Lloyd's blog.

 

[Mike Herman]

MATT STOVER, free agent

Matt Stover has come to grips with his life after football. If his phone rings some time in late July or August, he is prepared to continue his career as one of the NFL's best kickers. And if not ... "Then my last kick for the Baltimore Ravens against Tennessee, wow, what a way to go out," Stover said. It was another classic Stover moment. With the outcome of the game in doubt, Stover trotted out on the field before a boisterous crowd of 69,143 at LP Field to kick the game winning 43-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining as the Ravens edged the Titans, 13-10, in the AFC semifinals last season. Stover has always been clutch in big games. In fact, he has 13 game-winning field goals, and is the second most accurate field goal kicker in NFL history. He owns the record for consecutive games with a field goal (38), and is third on the NFL's all-time field goal list with 462, and fifth in all-time scoring with 1,944 points.

Stover's only problem is that he has been too good for too long. Nineteen seasons in the NFL is almost unheard of, and Stover, 41, is at the age when most of his former NFL peers are swallowing painkillers and visiting chiropractors. For a few years now, Stover has shown some signs of age, especially with his distance on kickoffs. Team officials were also a little leery about him connecting on field goals outside of 45 yards. After last season, the Ravens declined to re-sign Stover, and now have two young kickers on the roster in rookie Graham Gano, and second-year player Steve Hauschka. It was a logical decision, but head coach John Harbaugh has been smart enough not to turn his back on Stover.

Harbaugh and Stover have talked a couple of times this off season, once within the past two weeks. And it wasn't about the weather, either. "There has always been great communication between John and me, and I was a great communicator between John and the players," Stover said. "When he wanted to know how the players felt about practices and so forth, I would tell him, and say here is what they're saying, do with it what you want. It worked, because we were all on the same page in what turned out to be a great season last year. "It was a personal phone call, and he wanted to know how I was doing, and if I was still kicking, and if I was staying in shape," Stover said. Harbaugh is no dummy. His eyes are on the future, but his mind is in the past because Stover is a great insurance policy. The Ravens won't know if they have a legitimate replacement for Stover until they perform in preseason games. Until then, Harbaugh has to court Stover at a distance. When asked about Stover's possible return, Harbaugh said: "I can't give you numbers. There is a chance, but we have to give these other kickers a chance."

Stover says he is ready to return to the Ravens. "I would love to come back and play for the Ravens," Stover said. "It's a great organization, with great people." But Stover might not be able to wait. He started working out two weeks ago, six times a week, which is his usual approach for training camp. He says his right ankle, the one severely sprained at the end of last season, is about 95 percent healed, and he is comfortable hitting them from 45 yards. He'll move back to kicking from 50 yards out consistently as his workouts continue. If Stover wasn't on the mark, he wouldn't lie. When it comes to kicking field goals, Stover has always been a stand up guy. He isn't shy about saying that he wants to kick in the NFL again. "I've had a lot of great players tell me that you have to make the NFL take the jersey off your back," Stover said. "I still think I can kick competitively in the NFL. I don't want to be 50, and say I should have given it one more shot. The NFL has a way of letting you know when you're done, and the Lord certainly has a way of letting me know."

Regardless if it's late summer or winter, an NFL team is going to call Stover, who isn't overly concerned. Right now, he's got three children playing lacrosse, and has only one free night a week. He is still very active in the National Football League Players Association, and has sat down with Debbie, his wife, and started planning life with and without football. But he'll be back. Stover is too good, too clutch to leave at home. And too good for the Ravens to leave off their roster.

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[Hoss_Cartwright]

I don't believe FBGs is very high on Gould this year, but I sure am. I look for him to have a year like he had a few years ago, and having Cutler in town doesn't hurt.

 

[Mike Herman]

INDIANAPOLIS

Kicker Adam Vinatieri recently had surgery on his right hip to alleviate a nagging injury, but the Indianapolis Colts anticipate he will be ready for the season, the team announced Friday. "The condition, which had existed for more than a year, became more bothersome recently," the team said in a statement. "After consultation with our doctors and others, the surgical procedure was deemed the most effective course of action at this time." Dr. Marc Phillipon, who recently operated on New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, performed Vinatieri's surgery in Vail, Colo. "[Phillipon] said [Vinatieri] will be available for the season, so that's what we anticipate and are counting on," coach Jim Caldwell said. "We're following his lead in that regard." Vinatieri was an All-Pro and was named to the Pro Bowl in 2002 and 2004 while playing with New England. The Colts don't have another kicker on their roster, but Caldwell said two rookie punters, Pat McAfee and Tim Masthay, may be able to fill in some. It's unclear what the Colts will do if Vinatieri is out for preseason games. "We do have obviously two young guys that have done it all in terms of kicking off, placekicking and punting, but we anticipate obviously looking at our options at some point in time and moving on from there," Caldwell said.

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[Mike Herman]

DALLAS

Not long after the draft, kicker Nick Folk had hip surgery that will keep him out until training camp. I ran into Folk at the Poker for Pets event Thursday and he said he is feeling great and ready to do some light - extremely light - running on Monday. Renowned surgeon Dr. Marc Philippon performed Folk's surgery in Vail, Colo., and said Folk should come back stronger and never have an issue with the labrum again. Folk said he should be able to start kicking a volleyball in mid- to late June. Why a volleyball? It's lighter and offers less resistance. And he will move up from there. He talked with Olindo Mare, Seattle's kicker, who had the same surgery not too long ago about what to do and what not to do in his rehab. And it's interesting to note Indianapolis' Adam Vinatieri recently had hip surgery too.

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[Mike Herman]

KANSAS CITY

Field goal unit: Connor Barth vs. Ryan Succop... Barth was 5/6 in attempts from 28-36 yards while Succop was 7/7. Even though it's only June, it appears Succop has the lead in this battle. He was a draft pick so you have to think he's got a leg up on Barth already.

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[Hoss_Cartwright]

I don't believe FBGs is very high on Gould this year, but I sure am. I look for him to have a year like he had a few years ago, and having Cutler in town doesn't hurt.

No opinions on Gould?

 

[Mike Herman]

I don't believe FBGs is very high on Gould this year, but I sure am. I look for him to have a year like he had a few years ago, and having Cutler in town doesn't hurt.

No opinions on Gould?

Sorry I didn't reply sooner... sometimes I'm a slacker. I currently have him ranked 11th, which appears to be a few slots higher than some of my co-workers. Following is the write-up from FBG's Gould page

Best Case

When the Bears were looking for a replacement for Doug Brien several games into the 2005 season, Gould impressed them in tryouts over four other kickers, including veterans Martin Gramatica and Steve Christie. The undrafted free agent out of Penn State had spent the preseason under the tutelage of Adam Vinatieri in New England. In his 13 games played, he was 21 of 27 on Field goals (77.8%), and added 19 of 20 on PATs. In 2006 he surprised many with a huge year. He was 32 of 36 on field goals (88.9%), and perfect on 47 PATs. In 2007 he did nearly as well on field goals hitting 31 of 36 (86.1%), however PATs dropped down to 33. The Bears rewarded Gould following that season with a five year contract extension that made him the highest paid kicker at the time. Not relaxing with his money, last year was his most accurate year to date, as he hit 89.7% (26 of 29) on field goals. Heading into this year, the Bears made some big off-season acquisitions in hopes of improving the offense. If they pay off and if Gould continues to make nearly all his kicks, they could return to the top ten in kicker scoring.

Worst Case

Although Gould has proven to be very accurate he still really hasn't been tested from long range. In his four years in the NFL, he has attempted only two field goal attempts from 50+ yards. Both were in 2007 and both were misses. If the changes in offense don't pan out or take time to gel, Gould could be looking at some longer attempts which could pull down his accuracy. Even worse, if they really struggle, then his opportunities and point production would drop.

Outlook

Gould's 85.94% career field goal percentage puts him at third on the all-time accuracy list, behind only Nate Kaeding and Mike Vanderjagt. His one weakness is inconsistency from year-to-year on kickoffs. Last year was one of the good years as he averaged 65.0 yards and had 9 touchbacks. Gould remains an integral part of the team. In the words of head coach Lovie Smith, "Robbie's one of the guys. A lot of times kickers aren't. He has earned his respect a few different ways." The Bears vaulted from 28th in kicker scoring in 2005 to first in 2006. In 2007 they avoided the huge drop-off that many teams experience after a big year. They remained in the top ten finishing 7th. In 2008 they dropped to 15th, as the number of field goals dropped and the number of PATs increased to a more typical distribution. It wouldn't be surprising to see something similar to that again this year, rather than the field goal heavy scoring that led to Gould's two previous top ten years.

Following is an interesting article that I tweeted the other day. Gould had a chance to talk shop with some visiting rugby players. The commonalities are not surprising, since American football grew out of rugby in the late 1800's. Unfortunately, the article did not get into any aspects of fantasy rugby.

Former world record points scorer and current national squad backs coach Neil Jenkins and two of Wales’ top kickers Nicky Robinson and Dan Bigger were invited by one of their sponsors, Under Armour, to attend a Chicago Bears pre-season training sessions this week. “The two sports have plenty in common in the sense that the ball is the same shape and we are looking to achieve similar aims when we kick it, but there is also a great deal of difference between what is required of each of the kickers,” said Robinson. “We both use spiral kicks for example to achieve distance and clear our lines and the conversion kicking drills are similar, but the big difference for me is that kicking is very specialist in the American game and those players don’t have to stay on the pitch and tackle the big forwards like we do in between the kicks.”

Chicago Bears kicker Robbie Gould and punt specialist Brad Maynard were the two players most interested in the kicking side of the game in rugby union. “We have all kinds of different kicks we use during a game, the high hopper, the squib kick which is harder for the opposition to collect, you are basically trying to make the opposition drop the ball,” said Gould. “Or we have the chop kick or the one where you just smash the ball into the ground or try to disrupt the timing of the opposition pod by just varying what you do with the ball. We have the new trend for end over end kicking which is supposed to give you more accuracy to you distance kicks, but I tend to stick to the spiral myself.”

Once the players got used to the different terms used in the two sports, they all soon found they were on common ground and also talked about the kind of footwear they prefer, with many of the Wales players trying out the new Under Armour boot. “It’s been a great honour for us to come here, a real learning experience for both the coaches and the players and we hope to do much more of this kind of thing and with Under Armour so keen on improving the partnerships across the different countries in which they are involved there should be more to come,” added Jenkins. “This really is a very professionally run outfit and it gives you an insight into the kind of standards we must constantly be trying to reach in order to keep ourselves right at the very top of our own game.”

 

[Mike Herman]

KANSAS CITY

I said yesterday that Ryan Succop, who hasn't missed in offseason work, has to be considered the leader in the clubhouse for the team's placekicking duties. On Saturday, both he and Connor Barth connected on all four kicks from 32, 39, 43 and 45 yards. For the weekend, that puts Succop at 11/11 and Barth at 9/10.

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[Mike Herman]

INDIANAPOLIS

The Colts spent a lot of time working with the punt teams, and for those that never played football, that's actually a fairly common activity for football practices, particularly in a training camp-type environment. With Hunter Smith gone to Washington, fans got their first look at new punters Pat McAfee and Tim Mastay. The team used a draft pick on McAfee so it would seem he's got the inside track for the job. It looked to me like McAfee had the better overall leg — as in, his punts traveled farther — but Masthay appeared to have the edge in hangtime. One of the knocks on Smith was that he didn't get much hangtime on his punts, and the team's punt coverage struggled because of it because the gunners couldn't get down the field in time to stop the returner from getting a head of steam. So, if the coaching staff decides to value hangtime over pure distance, perhaps Mastay could have an edge in that area. On the other hand, McAfee also can kick field goals and kick off, and with Adam Vinatieri aging and recovering from hip surgery, the Colts may need McAfee as a fill-in if Vinatieri isn't ready to start the season.

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[Mike Herman]

INDIANAPOLIS

The Indianapolis Colts have re-signed place-kicker Shane Andrus. The move comes less than a week after veteran place-kicker Adam Vinatieri underwent surgery on his right hip. Although Vinatieri’s availability for training camp is uncertain, the team expects him to be ready for the start of the regular season. Andrus, 28 and a product of Murray State University, spent time with the Colts during the 2006 and ’07 preseasons.

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[Mike Herman]

TAMPA BAY

Matt Bryant, the most accurate kicker in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history, returned to the team's practice field Tuesday and sounded conflicted about his chances of retaining his starting job in 2009. The Bucs signed 27-year-old free agent Mike Nugent from the Jets to compete against Bryant, who turned 34 last month. Bryant set a franchise record with 131 points last season while converting 32-of-38 FG attempts, including all 27 of his tries from inside the 40. Nugent, a second-round pick out of Ohio State in 2005, is considered to have a stronger leg, especially on kickoffs.

Bryant has missed Tampa Bay's voluntary workouts while attending to a family medical issue in Texas. He returned to the Bay area Monday evening and participated in Tuesday's practice session. "I still need to talk to other people about what's going on,'' Bryant said. "Once I talk to the people I need to talk to, then I can talk more to you guys. You can have more of a story once I talk to other people.'' Bryant apparently is concerned Nugent will have a leg up in their matchup when training camp opens Aug. 1. New coach Raheem Morris is stressing open competition at all positions. Special teams coach Rich Bisaccia said the Bucs will go with their best option at kicker coming out of camp.

Bryant kicked three game-winning field goals in 2008 and he inspired his teammates in Week 4, when he made all three of his field goal attempts in a victory against Green Bay just one day after the funeral of his infant son, Tryson. Bryant's 83 percent success rate on field goal attempts for the Bucs (98-118) is the best in franchise annals and only three kickers converted more field goals than Bryant last season, his fourth year with Tampa Bay.

"I got in last night and (punter/holder) Josh Bidwell came in, so I knew there would be a chance to get some work in with a snapper and holder,'' said Bryant. "It went OK today, but it's an ongoing process between the three of us.'' Bryant, whose walk-off, 62-yard field goal against the Eagles in 2006 is the third-longest kick in NFL history, said he plans on attending next week's mandatory mini-camp. "Yeah, I'm not going to let anyone take any money from me," he said.

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[Mike Herman]

CLEVELAND

Transcript of Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini press conference

On if Phil Dawson looked rusty and if it is good to have him back

“He looked good in the field goal drill that we had there at the end. I don’t think he had any misses there. Yeah, it’s good to have everybody back; it’s good to be operating with a full group. It’s always a positive weekend when you can get a lot done and really set the table for training camp.”

On if there are any issues that could linger into training camp with Dawson

“I’m really happy with the things that Phil did and I’m happy to have him back. I look forward to moving into training camp with a full group.”

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[Pickle Rody]

CLEVELAND

Transcript of Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini press conference

On if Phil Dawson looked rusty and if it is good to have him back

“He looked good in the field goal drill that we had there at the end. I don’t think he had any misses there. Yeah, it’s good to have everybody back; it’s good to be operating with a full group. It’s always a positive weekend when you can get a lot done and really set the table for training camp.”

On if there are any issues that could linger into training camp with Dawson

“I’m really happy with the things that Phil did and I’m happy to have him back. I look forward to moving into training camp with a full group.”

link

Wow, that's a ringing endorsement for Dawson there from Coach M. He'll be kicking somewhere else come the start of the season, me thinks.

 

[Mike Herman]

It's finally here, the PFR blog post we've all been waiting for (or at least that I have been waiting for)...

The Greatest Field Goal Kickers Ever, Part I - by Chase Stuart