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Wednesday, August 2, 2006
Cheap approach to kickers will be costly
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
Flowery Branch — Surely this is a joke. No way the Falcons are preparing to do the ridiculous in the modern NFL (as in parity, as in a slew of close games) by going into this season depending on some wide-eyed dude’s unproven foot.
Guess pigs do fly, and chickens actually have lips, because the No. 1 kicker listed on the depth chart on the Falcons’ Web site is undrafted rookie Tony Yelk, and get this: He mostly punted at Iowa State between attempting a rare kick or three. The others challenging Yelk in training camp are Carlos Martinez from the forgettable Arena Football League and Michael Koenen, the Falcons’ punter who was used last year for an occasional field-goal try from long range when the game wasn’t on the line.
Yeah, this makes sense, but only if you don’t believe the Falcons have lost their minds for the sake of saving a few nickels under the salary cap. Let’s just say that none of these kickers is likely to become the next Mick Luckhurst, Greg Davis, Morten Andersen, Norm Johnson, Jay Feely or even Lou Kirouac in Falcons lore.
Rich McKay disagrees, of course. According to the Falcons general manager, who discussed this silliness on Wednesday while watching practice under the relentless sun, “We’ve never wavered from our plan since probably February or March, and I realize that makes it hard for the fan, because he’s sitting there saying, ‘I want a name [kicker], and I want to know that he’s going to make [the game-winner] against Carolina [in the first game of the season].’ Well, so do we. We just think that we’ve got plenty of time for that to be determined. So we’re not as nervous about it.”
They should be, even though they claim they’ll still have time to snatch a veteran from somewhere near the end of camp if one of their projects doesn’t work out.
Last season, 46 percent of the NFL’s 256 games were decided by a touchdown or less, and 23 percent were decided by a field goal or less. Among them were the four games the Falcons lost by a field goal along the way to missing the playoffs at 8-8. They eventually fired kicker Todd Peterson for botching a game-winning try at Tampa down the stretch of the season and for blowing an attempt earlier at New Orleans, although he converted after getting another chance seconds later in that game.
The Peterson move was justified, but here’s the thing: If you wish to play deep into January, and if you decide to increase your chances by getting rid of a kicker that you know isn’t clutch, then you better replace that kicker with somebody who showed that he is clutch at least somewhere during his NFL career.
Gone are those old days in the league when coaches took such a cavalier approach to kicking that they would have a Lou Groza swinging his legs for points one moment and blocking for a teammate the next. With games becoming tighter, Vince Lombardi even shelved Paul Hornung from double duty in the mid-1960s and acquired Don Chandler to help kick the Green Bay Packers further into their dynasty.
Then came the generation of Garo Yepremian, Jan Stenerud and Roy Gerela that gave an extra kick to NFL powerhouses from Miami to Kansas City to Pittsburgh. More recently, the New England Patriots won their three Super Bowls in four years courtesy of Adam Vinatieri providing the winning kick each time.
Still, despite those examples, the Dallas Cowboys decided in recent years to take the Falcons’ gambling approach by grabbing anybody off the street who could breathe and kick a little. In fact, Steve Hoffman spent 16 years with the Cowboys coaching seven rookies or first-year free-agent kickers to help the franchise operate on the cheap to spend money elsewhere. I mention this, because the Falcons hired Hoffman this year to implement the Cowboys’ philosophy regarding kickers.
It was the Cowboys’ old philosophy regarding kickers. That philosophy cost the Cowboys three games last season after miscues in the kicking game. So, with the already fragile combination of Jerry Jones and Bill Parcells entering its fourth season without a playoff victory, they got the veteran Mike Vanderjagt.
Just thought the Falcons might want to know.
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Richt’s new contract a puzzle
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Terence Moore
What’s up with these new-fangled (translated: needlessly convoluted) contracts for college football coaches? I still have a headache from reading the particulars of Mark Richt’s new deal with the University of Georgia.
Let’s see. In addition to Richt’s base salary of $270,000, he gets another $800,000 from television and radio, $530,000 through his shoe deal, $25,000 for winning the SEC East, $75,000 for winning the SEC championship, $25,000 for making a non-BCS bowl, $75,0000 for making a BCS bowl, $50,000 for finishing in the nation’s top five and $150,000 for winning a national title.
Oh, and Richt gets $50,000 for each year his team is ranked in the top 33 percent of the conference in graduation success rate and academic progress rate.
What. No bonus to Richt for each time Uga VI barks at midnight on Vince Dooley’s birthday?
Permalink | Comments (35) | Categories: Quick Hit, Terence Moore
