Coakleys Dad
The Re-Birth has begun.
- Messages
- 4,836
- Reaction score
- 10
Gerry Fraley
Archive | E-mail
IRVING – At the start of Organized Team Activities on Monday, the Cowboys had kicker David Buehler perform before the most demanding audience of all.
Teammates, carrying memories of last season's poor performance by the field goal unit, watched and waited for Buehler to impress them. He did, again. For the fourth consecutive OTA practice, Buehler was perfect on his field goal attempts with every eye in the house upon him.
It's a long way from kicking in May to making field goals in the NFL. These sessions have nonetheless been a helpful start in Buehler's campaign to win the trust of the club.
The Cowboys believe in Buehler's powerful leg. The Cowboys so want him to take the job they did not bring in a veteran as competition.
Buehler must show that he has gone from raw clubber to refined kicker.
"I want the coaches to have confidence in me," Buehler said. "I want my teammates to have confidence in me. I want my teammates to expect me to make it every time when I go out there."
The teammates could be skeptical of any kicker. The Cowboys employed two ineffective kickers last season: Nick Folk and Shaun Suisham. They combined for the third-lowest conversion rate (64.5) in the NFL and had 11 misses, tying Houston for the unenviable league lead in the category.
"Any time you get close down there and don't finish the job, it's disappointing," tight end Jason Witten said. "You need [kickers], but we should have done a better job on our own."
And now comes the NFL's version of a long-driving champion.
As a rookie last season, Buehler was the let-it-rip kicker, leading the league in kickoff touchbacks with 29. Kickoffs and field goal attempts are different, sometimes mutually exclusive feats. The last kicker to lead the NFL in touchbacks and make 75 percent of his field goal tries was Neil Rackers with Arizona in 2002.
When the Cowboys matched Buehler and Folk in a late-season kickoff for the job, the rookie was not ready. Buehler was an excitable boy who tried to kick every football as hard as possible. Bad idea on field goals.
Buehler returns with a better technical approach and a fuller grasp of what it takes to kick in the NFL. Buehler is calmer, even if he still wants to make tackles on kickoffs.
The changes started with the addition of Chris Boniol as a kicking consultant.
Boniol spent three years with the Cowboys and six seasons in the NFL. He has two of the four highest single-season success rates in Cowboys history. He understands the mental demands as much as the physical requirements of the position.
"It's not only about how to kick," Boniol said. "There's a mentoring aspect. I've been there. I was successful, and I was not successful at times. You learn what works from what didn't work."
The Cowboys added Boniol in March and made Buehler his No. 1 student. According to Boniol, Buehler at that time was like a golfer with only one club in the bag: a driver, which he would swing as hard a possible.
Boniol helped Buehler incorporate technique changes: more of a crouch at the ready position, elimination of a jab step with the left foot, eyes on the spot where the ball will be placed rather than following the snap.
Boniol also impressed on Buehler the importance of the mental aspect of the job, how the kicker must stay under control. Trying to hit every kick as hard as possible was bad form. Buehler said he listened "and soaked it up like a sponge."
"David has a great attitude and a great work ethic," Boniol said. "He's learning how to be a kicker."
Everyone with the Cowboys is watching.
Archive | E-mail
IRVING – At the start of Organized Team Activities on Monday, the Cowboys had kicker David Buehler perform before the most demanding audience of all.
Teammates, carrying memories of last season's poor performance by the field goal unit, watched and waited for Buehler to impress them. He did, again. For the fourth consecutive OTA practice, Buehler was perfect on his field goal attempts with every eye in the house upon him.
It's a long way from kicking in May to making field goals in the NFL. These sessions have nonetheless been a helpful start in Buehler's campaign to win the trust of the club.
The Cowboys believe in Buehler's powerful leg. The Cowboys so want him to take the job they did not bring in a veteran as competition.
Buehler must show that he has gone from raw clubber to refined kicker.
"I want the coaches to have confidence in me," Buehler said. "I want my teammates to have confidence in me. I want my teammates to expect me to make it every time when I go out there."
The teammates could be skeptical of any kicker. The Cowboys employed two ineffective kickers last season: Nick Folk and Shaun Suisham. They combined for the third-lowest conversion rate (64.5) in the NFL and had 11 misses, tying Houston for the unenviable league lead in the category.
"Any time you get close down there and don't finish the job, it's disappointing," tight end Jason Witten said. "You need [kickers], but we should have done a better job on our own."
And now comes the NFL's version of a long-driving champion.
As a rookie last season, Buehler was the let-it-rip kicker, leading the league in kickoff touchbacks with 29. Kickoffs and field goal attempts are different, sometimes mutually exclusive feats. The last kicker to lead the NFL in touchbacks and make 75 percent of his field goal tries was Neil Rackers with Arizona in 2002.
When the Cowboys matched Buehler and Folk in a late-season kickoff for the job, the rookie was not ready. Buehler was an excitable boy who tried to kick every football as hard as possible. Bad idea on field goals.
Buehler returns with a better technical approach and a fuller grasp of what it takes to kick in the NFL. Buehler is calmer, even if he still wants to make tackles on kickoffs.
The changes started with the addition of Chris Boniol as a kicking consultant.
Boniol spent three years with the Cowboys and six seasons in the NFL. He has two of the four highest single-season success rates in Cowboys history. He understands the mental demands as much as the physical requirements of the position.
"It's not only about how to kick," Boniol said. "There's a mentoring aspect. I've been there. I was successful, and I was not successful at times. You learn what works from what didn't work."
The Cowboys added Boniol in March and made Buehler his No. 1 student. According to Boniol, Buehler at that time was like a golfer with only one club in the bag: a driver, which he would swing as hard a possible.
Boniol helped Buehler incorporate technique changes: more of a crouch at the ready position, elimination of a jab step with the left foot, eyes on the spot where the ball will be placed rather than following the snap.
Boniol also impressed on Buehler the importance of the mental aspect of the job, how the kicker must stay under control. Trying to hit every kick as hard as possible was bad form. Buehler said he listened "and soaked it up like a sponge."
"David has a great attitude and a great work ethic," Boniol said. "He's learning how to be a kicker."
Everyone with the Cowboys is watching.
