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Show Page 40 - .1 '!!! i THE HERALD, Provo, Utah, Football Section, Wednesday, August ' : 26, 1992 Kicker's psyche may be key to handling pressure "sw ing" many kickers liken the a to golfer's preparation process By BARRY WILNER AP Sports Writer Do you stroke them w hen their stroke is off? Do you kiek them when they are kicking poorly? Do you ignore them when another avenue, regardless how small it might be. presents itself? Usually, if you are an NFL coach, you simply pat the encouragingly, send him placc-kick- er onto the field and pray. "I want a guy out there who has been t i ugh it and knows just what ik as to do." says Bill loig noted as a strong supporter o: veteran kickers when he I Par-cell- s, the New York was coaching Giants. " I want a guy who blocks out everything except kicking that ball through the uprights and getting out of there." Parcells had several such kickers, particularly Raui Allegre and Matt Bahr. who helped him win Super Bowls. Throughout the NFL. you will find them: Nick Lowery. Gary Anderson. Morten Andersen. Jeff Jaeger. Norm Johnson. Tony Zcndejas. Reliability is their calling card, which is why they are called upon with such regularity w ith games on the line. How do they do it? How do they handle the pressure of decisive field goals? How do so last they long in a position so insecure? last-seco- "Maybe you have to be a little says strange and Lowery. Kansas City's kicker for a dozen seasons. Lowery is the NFL's alltimc field goal percentage leader at 79.33. well ahead of Andersen and Anderson. "People forget about you until it's fourth down and you're running out there to kick with the game on the line." Every placekicker has his own way of preparing for such critical off-center- ." spots. Some pace the sideline, not watching the action on the field. Others endlessly practice their AVOID: (Continued from Page 38) sacks." Sacks used to be the trademark But as Lawrof the Giants ence Taylor ages and the defensive line sti enates. New York has become si. onger on offense than de- (8-8- ). tense. Coach Ray Handley. who took over when Bill Parcells suddenly quit in May. 1991, promises to play his own style rather than emulate Parcells' conservatism again. n ofThat means a more fense under Jeff Hostetler. again given the job over Phil Simms, who will be 37 in November. The weapons are there. The offensive line can be one of the best wide-ope- in the league and Rqdney Hampton ran for 1,059 yards last season, third to Smith and Barry Sanders in the NFC. Add Dave Meggett and rookie tight end Derek Brown and the Giants should score. But will they stop anybody? Taylor, at 33, isn't the force he once was and Leonard Marshall is for a big shot, thus the repeated reference to a "sw ing." Some arc constantly into the game, rooting along with their teammates, listening in on coaching strategy. Generally, though, they want to be alone when their turn is ap- proaching. "You have to be prepared com- pletely before you go out there." says Bahr. whose kicking was crucial to the Giants' run lo the 1990 title. "You have to establish a routine, whether it means pacing the sideline and envisioning the kick or just practicing or whatever. You have to make yourself comfortable in what can be a very uncomfortable situation. "And you have to be confi- When Scott Norwood's most important and memorable kick was done, at the end of the Super Bow l two years ago, he had plenty to think about. All bad. How does a kicker handle that? Norwood still might be wondering because he had a rough year in '9 and subsequently was released by Buffalo. "There was pressure this time, but you handle it the same way. You don't think about the negatives, or what it means. You think about the adjustments you need, about concentrating and making the kick." You don't think tix much. But 1 you do think. "You think about the wind and the weather conditions and maybe the field condition." Lowery says. "But you never think about what the kick means until you're done." When Norwood slumped last season, hisroblems were magnified because he was the goat of the Super Bowl, the manufacturer of The Miss. It got so bad that the Bills sought to bar the media from asking about The Miss. "Scott wants to concentrate on the future, not the past." Bills coach Marv Levy said. Now, Norwood can contemplate the future all he wants while he hopes the call from another team soon comes. The worst part, you see. is not botching the kick. It's not getting the chance to kick at all . (?)i3io(m dent." Sometimes, that confidence is nearly impossible to hold onto. Allegre was out of football last December, back home in Texas and contemplating graduate school. That's when the Jets called because Pat Leahy, the NFL's oldest player, was out with sciatica, a condition that would force Leahy's retirement this year. ld "I always felt someone would call, so I stayed in shape and I practiced," he said. "You have to believe that some team will need a kicker at some time. It happens that way every year and you have to stay ready for that call." Days later, the call came twice for Allegre. His field goal at the end of regulation time lifted the Jets into a tie with Miami. Then he won the game in overtime and sent the Jets into the playoffs. "I've kicked a lot of big field goals." Allegre said at the time. "I kicked a against the Redskins for the Giants in the first game in 1989. kicked in the Super Bowl. er your present heating and air conditioning system isn't performing like it should, call now. We offer professional service on all makesQuickly! Reliably, Dependably! We're as close as your phone. If 1 the only solid pass rusher up front. Other than Mark Collins, the corners are shaky and linebackers Pepper Johnson and Carl Banks, and safeties Greg Jackson and Myron Guyton, fell off last" year Bowl letdown, perhaps post-Supnot. perhaps . FURNACE L GLEANC CHECK er And then there's Phoenix which could probably approach .500 in another division. (4-12- ), Sharpe is the only constant on an offensive line being rebuilt by coach Joe Bugel and he's 32. But the key is how well quarterback Timm Rosenbach. who was starting to emerge in 1990, recovers after tearing up a knee and missing last season. The omens are he started the exhibition good season completing his first 6 passes. There are quality players at linebacker (Ken Harvey and Eric Hill), at running back (Johnnie Johnson and Leonard Thompson) and in the secondary (Tim McDonald). But in this division, you need 1 depth. Prediction: skins Giants (10-6(8-8- ); ); Eagles (10-6- ); Cowboys Cards (6-10- ). 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