Sebastian JaniWOWski
Oakland Raider’s kicker Sebastian Janikowski is a happy man today. I doubt he was bummed anyway, but the Raiders have seen fit to make him the highest paid kicker since King David kicked butt in the Old Testament.
Janikowski is coming off the best season of his 10-year career. He made 26 of 29 field goals, with his only misses coming from 45, 57 and 66 yards. He made six kicks of at least 50 yards, including a 61-yarder that was the fourth longest in NFL history(click).
That ain’t bad folks.
Some will question why the Raiders would go to these lengths to keep their free agent kicker. Well, the answer is as simple as looking at some of the top teams in the NFL. Just when you think you are poised to make a run for the Super Bowl, the kicking game lets you down.
Oakland is not that far from San Diego(click).
Fragile
Pronounced- Fra-jeel-ay…must be Italian. Hopefully you get the reference from the movie classic “A Christmas Story”. The word fragile comes to mind quite often these days as I watch game after game with kickers struggling in bowl games and the NFL playoffs. All in all, it’s been a horrible year for kickers.
Even going back into the regular season, some of the best kickers in history hit a wall. Jason Elam with the Falcons and Nick Folk with the Cowboys are two of the best examples. What’s so strange is, the kicker who replaced Folk, Sean Suisham, has had his struggles as well. He was cut from the Washington Redskins just a few short weeks before joining the Cowboys. In fact, a short miss versus the Cowboys is what got him cut from the Redskin roster in the first place.
The worst case scenario just happened Sunday with Nate Kaeding of the San Diego Chargers going 0-3 versus the New York Jets. Two of the misses should have been automatic. Jim Nance had just gotten the words out of his mouth and I KNEW it was a jinx coming. Kaeding had made 67 in a row inside 40 yards. Sunday he started another streak, missing two. The final score of 17-14 makes it a big deal. The fact that similar games have happened in the playoffs before, makes Charger fans crazy.
When a negative precedent is set, a molehill can become a mountain pretty quickly, and almost impossible to get over. I’ve been there. I have mentioned the 1978 Astro Bluebonnet Bowl before. Without doubt my worst game as a Georgia Bulldog. It was a game played on turf, in a dome. The next time I had a chance to play on turf, in a dome was the Sugar Bowl for the national championship. I would have been fine, but all week reporters reminded me of my earlier failure and asked me if it would happen again.
This constant negative input was very difficult to push aside. As you have seen this year, when a kicker has any doubts in a pressure situation, the results are less than stellar. The reporters questions actually ruined that week for me, because all I could think about was not letting a replay of the Bluebonnet Bowl take place. As it turned out I had a solid game, not perfect, but solid.
When doubt creeps in, that chink in the armor can kill you. As a golfer, a pitcher or hitter in baseball, and especially a kicker, confidence is key. Phill Simms really impressed me with his understanding of the position Sunday. A regular player is instinctive, reacting to the flow of the game. Kickers are on the sideline, stagnant and come in for one play to either succeed or fail. It’s not easy, but it is the nature of the position.
A kicker has to do his part, or suffer the consequences.
Esteban Ocho Cinco es Magnifico en Futbol, Si o No?
Will wonders never cease? I knew I felt an affinity towards the artist formerly known as Chad Johnson, but I never knew why. Now I do. Chad grew up a soccer player and still considers soccer his favorite sport. The Cincinnati Bengals needed help last night with kicker Shane Graham nursing a sore goin, Chad filled in admirably. His PAT turned out to be the difference in a 7-6 game against the Patriots. If you have not seen the highlights, you must. His PAT looked as good as any NFL kicker you will ever see. Pretty amazing. His performance does not diminish the difficulty of kicking, it demonstrates his superior athletic abilities. Hehe.
Tell me what you really think!