Falcons Q & A: Kicker Steve Hauschka, insurance policy

FLOWERY BRANCH -- It's not usually a good thing when you're a player in the NFL and your name and "insurance" is used in the same sentence.

But after what happened last week, kicker Steve Hauschka understands.

Punter Michael Koenen and kicker Matt Bryant suffered injuries against Buffalo and the Falcons ended up with a defensive end (Kroy Biermann) kicking off.

If they'd been in a close game and needed a field goal, things would have been real interesting.

Koenen, who suffered a concussion, was back at practice on Wednesday. Bryant returned to practice Thursday after attending his father's funeral in Texas and the team doesn't know how his hamstring will respond to kicking.

So instead of wondering about their kicker as game time approached, the Falcons signed Hauschka, who kicked for Baltimore this season before a couple of misses led to his release after nine games.

In a conversation with the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hauschka discussed the life of kicker, making adjustments and how he's handling his unique role with the Falcons.

Q: When did you get a call from the Falcons?

A: I got the call Sunday night to come on in and work out.

Q: What were you doing to stay in shape and ready?

A: I had been kicking two or three days a week and I've had quite a few workouts since then. That's kept me ready.

Q: During that time, have you been able to figure out what was going wrong for you earlier in the season?

A: Yeah, definitely. I think it was a small technical thing that I found. I'm just working on keeping my foot open, especially from the left hash (mark).

Q: Is this kind of a strange situation?

A: Yeah, it's a little strange to come in this late in the season, but strange things happen in this game sometimes. I think what's even stranger is what happened in the Falcons game last week. That was pretty unusual.

Q: Did they talk long-term with you?

A: No, they haven't talked about that. I'm just focused on this weekend. I'm going to prepare like I'm going to kick. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm going to prepare as if I'm going to be the kicker this weekend.

Q: At 6 feet 4 and  210 pounds, you don't fit a couple of the stereotypes for kickers. Did you play wide receiver in college and switch over?

A: I'm a little bigger. I played soccer and lacrosse and started kicking during my sophomore year in college at a small college in Vermont.

Q: Which one?

A: Middlebury College, Division III. That's where I started kicking then I went to N.C. State as a grad student and kicked there.

Q: Can you talk about putting kicks behind you. What about the mental approach that you must have to be successful in this league?