1. Welcome to SportsJournalists.com, a friendly forum for discussing all things sports and journalism.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register for a free account to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Access to private conversations with other members.
    • Fewer ads.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Do they really believe they're that good?

Discussion in 'Sports and News' started by micke77, Mar 14, 2009.

  1. RossLT

    RossLT Guest

    How many teams have a backup kicker?
     
  2. micke77

    micke77 Member

    A backup kicker in the NFL would be ideal.
     
  3. RossLT

    RossLT Guest

    I think it was either Denver or New York that had one guy to kick FG's and the other to do kickoffs some years back. IIRC one of the guys was Brad Daluiso.
     
  4. Batman

    Batman Well-Known Member

    A number of teams do that, especially if one of the kickers is older. The Giants did it this past season with John Carney and Lawrence Tynes.
     
  5. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member


    Both Jets and Giants had two kickers on their rosters this year after injuries.

    Book I recommend is Stefan Fatsis' "A Few Seconds of Panic." (I think that's the title). Part I found funny was when Jason Elam's workout was described: "He kicks 20 balls, then goes and plays golf."

    Nice work if you can get it.
     
  6. Mark2010

    Mark2010 Active Member

    If the player is a senior, I have no problem with it. Why not? You've finished your collegiate eligibility and if you want to keep playing, give it a shot. What have you got to lose?

    Underclassmen, different story. Seen too many guys come out erly, hire an agent (the point of no return) and bomb out when they MIGHT, with another year or two of college, made themselves into legit prospects. At the very least, they could stay in college, keep playing the sport they love, get their education paid for. Too many guys rushing it and wanting to be the next big thing and instead wind up as the next Maurice Clarett.

    On a related note, I once did a story on a small private reform school that had an 8-man football team and a tiny basketball team. Asked one senior what he planned to do after graduation (he was the first in his family to so much as graduate from high school). He said "enter the NBA draft". We both had a good laugh, but later when I thought about it, I realized "why not?". It's either that or go to work at McDonald's, cause Harvard isn't holding a spot for the guy. (For the record, I did NOT use that part of the interview in the story.)

    Sometimes you chase a dream when you have nothing better to do.
     
  7. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    Football players have a different situation than basketball. Football players' careers can end on any single play. That's why I can fully understand why underclassmen want to turn pro. There's no guarantee that they won't get hurt playing their senior year and sacrifice their chance for a six-figure income while 'Ol State U. reaps its cash from its Bumfuck.com Bowl appearance.

    Now, in the world that the NCAA doesn't live in, students can leave school, get jobs, and go back to school when they're ready and participate in any extracurricular activities they choose to. Of course, the NCAA likes to live in its own world.
     
  8. crusoes

    crusoes Active Member

    The job has to exist. How many backup kickers can you name in the NFL? I thought so.
     
  9. RickStain

    RickStain Well-Known Member

    http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2008189130_hawknotes19.html
     
  10. albert77

    albert77 Well-Known Member

    College sometimes isn't a true reflection of a player's potential. Someone mentioned Matt Cassel, and while that's an exception, it does prove that it can happen.

    It's even more so in baseball, and I have an example that just leaps off the page. Back around 1990 or so, Southern Miss had a guy on their pitching staff who couldn't get anybody out. They called him The Arsonist, and not because he could throw hard. He was a blown save waiting to happen.

    So imagine the shock when the Giants drafted him in the 13th round of the amateur draft following his last pitch for Southern. The prevailing thinking was, "did they watch this guy pitch?"

    Well, guess what? A year and a half later, Pat Rapp was in the bigs and he ended up having a decent career. He bounced around for about 10 years, won 70-some games and finished with a career ERA of around 4. Not shabby at all.
     
  11. Baron Scicluna

    Baron Scicluna Well-Known Member

    As an NFL example, take a look at Mike Leach. Does double-duty as a tight end and punter for a DI-AA school (William and Mary, I don't quite remember). Goes to Titans training camp as essentially a camp leg to spell the punter and do some scout team duty at tight end. Starts snapping the ball back to the punter to help out in a drill and the special teams coach tells him that there's more of a need for longsnappers than there is for tight end/punter combo players.

    Leach has played 7 or 8 years, and he just signed a three-year deal with the Cards.
     
  12. txsportsscribe

    txsportsscribe Active Member

    sadly, we all apparently can say this.
     
Draft saved Draft deleted

Share This Page