Was Jason Elam's 63-Yarder Really Longer Than Dempsey's?

Here is the video of Jason Elam's officially record-tying 63-yard field goal:



As found on SportSpotLive, what I love most is the following comment:

If you look carefully at both Dempsey and Elam’s “63″ yard field goals you will see that Elam’s kick is placed right in front of the hashmark, 1-2 inches from the paint. In the Dempsey video it appears to be about a football width further from the hashmark, so about 5-7 inches in front of the hashmark. So according to the NFL they are ties, but in actual non-rounded distance Elam’s kick is 5-7 inches further (in my estimation). In any event the difference is enough to be noticeable.

Got to admit the guy has a point.

Ten Million Dollars for the Foot of Kris Brown

Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The Houston Texans are making sure they have a solid place kicker in place for the foreseeable future, resigning Kris Brown to a 4-year deal worth a possible $10 million.

Brown, 32, hit 29-of-33 field goals last season (87.9 percent), a career-best conversion rate and the second straight season he had set a new personal standard for accuracy. In his career, Brown has connected on 231-of-294 field goals (78.6 percent).

Considering just how many games are decided by three points or less, it isn't surprising that the Texans are putting up this kind of dough for Brown.  One wonders just how much the pay increase ratchets up the pressure on Kris to perform.

Dallas Cowboys Kick Out Place Kicker Suisham

Image via Wikipedia

The Dallas Cowboys had some major place kicking problems last season with Shaun Suishman making only one of three field goal attempts in their loss to the Vikings in the playoffs.

Cowboy fans were betting that there would be some changes at kicker in Valley Ranch, and now that we have found out that there have kind of been some changes. This week the Cowboys released place-kicker Connor Hughes, which means that the job of Cowboys’ place kicker will go to second-year man David Buehler. (via)

Now we will have to see if Buehler can handle the pressure but that's nothing new in the  world of the Place Kicker.

Freshman Punters Fight it Out in Alabama

The Crimson Tide looks like it will be counting on a couple of Freshman when it comes to getting the ball downfield on 4th down:

The performance of the various punters that Alabama trotted out during spring practice was nothing short of horrific. The good news, though, like I wrote following the game, was that in reality none of those punters were likely ever going to see the field this Fall. For better or for worse, it was always going to be a battle between two true freshmen, Jay Williams and Cody Mandell.

It's amazing that a big team like Alabama finds themselves counting on Freshmen for punting duties.  One would think they could have developed a few veterans.

High School Place Kicker Audition Tape

Seeing more and more of these videos being used as recruitment tools for high school football players.  Below is the "audition" tape for Niklas Sade of Wakefield High School in North Carolina (via).  I wonder how many college recruiters out there are seeing videos like this and if they are making any impact on their decisions.

Britton Colquitt Sole Bronco's Punter... For Now.

Carrying on the tradition of punters with unusual names, the Denver Bronco's have released punter A.J. Trapasso, leaving just Britton Colquitt to punt for the team.

As the Denver Post said:

Nevermind his Victorian-era novel name. Colquitt is the man now. For now. Of course it’s still mid-June. There’s plenty of time for the Broncos to find another leg.

Colquitt had a little early trouble back in college at Tennessee, suspended in his freshman year for underaged drinking, but things seem to have straightened out for the young man and we'll see if he can hold onto his spot  through the pre-season.

60 Yard Field Goal By High School Senior

According to this post, below is a video of a high school student kicking a 60-yard field goal in an attempt to attract college recruiters.

The commenters on the post are having a field day coming up with various reasons this is either fake or otherwise invalid but I do think that this is just one more way smart kids are using the internet to advance their careers in a sport that can often overlook players not at marquis schools.

Pro-Bowl Bound!

Congratulations to the kickers in this year's Pro-Bowl.

AFC

Brian Moorman, Punter - Buffalo Bills

Nate Kaeding, Placekicker - San Diego Chargers








NFC

Mat McBriar, Punter - Dallas Cowboys










Robbie Gould, Placekicker - Chicago Bears

On LT's scoring record

Lots of good talk out there about San Diego Charger LaDainian Tomlinson breaking Paul Hornung's single-season NFL scoring record. I especially like Yellow Chair Sport's thoughts, including:

Obviously, star running backs kicking field goals would never fly today, but I'd like to think that Tomlinson, had he played back then, would have had the foresight not to use the most lumpy and angular part of his foot in kicking for accuracy. Hell, given his ability to throw pretty spirals, I'm guessing he could strap on the kicking shoes tomorrow and hit better than 54%.

I dunno, maybe RB's should kick field goals. Also, let's remember that Hornung played on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field while LT plays in sunny San Diego. Just sayin'...

After a Brief Pause...

Hi to my few but loyal readers out there - had a little bump in the road made me pause the blog for a moment but I'm back, baby!

Some good news for the Redskins (who are out of it for this year but can still play spoiler). From Tandler's Redskin's Blog:

Shaun Suisham has made seven straight field goals. That’s not a Moseley-like streak by any means, but it is possible that the Redskins have a young leg that can stick around for a few years. Nobody will be completely sold until he makes a game-winner in December, but the early signs are good.

Ya gotta look for that silver lining when your team is in a rebuilding phase. As a long-time Celtic's basketball fan, I know that can be a long phase...

Not Just Any Hall of Fame

No Siree. Sean Landeta is being inducted into the Collegiate Division II Football Hall of Fame tomorrow.

He didn't end up kicking last week for the Giants so at least this will give him something to talk about on the bench on Sunday.

Congrats Sean. Div II Hall o' Fame baby! Yeah!

Donnie Jones' Little Black Book

According to an article in the Miami Herald, the secret to Dolphins' punter Donnie Jones' success - as shown with 3 boots that left New England pinned down inside their own 5 last week - has a lot to do with a small black leather notebook that he uses to jot down small quotes to keep him focused before heading out for a kick.

'I keep a little journal, things I remember when I go out,'' Jones said. ``There's so much stuff that goes into my thoughts, and if you start thinking about everything, it's too much.''

Sunday's entry: ``Catch, get it out, finish the kick.''

Certainly seems to be working for Donnie