CFL Kicker Sandro DeAngelis to work out for Cowboys Friday

[silverbear]

my fear with Folk is that in camp and practices he was fine...it was game time where he choked...and i would hate to go through camp thinking he is fine letting all other kickers get swooped up only for game time to come around and...."thump" off the left upright

Pal, with all the clutch kicks he made prior to last season, what makes you think he all of a sudden turned into a "choker"??

I think it's far more likely that his problems were physical, that his hip was never quite right... and if that's the case, if he gets that hip back to normal, then he should be as clutch as he ever was...

 

[Beast_from_East]

Any update yet on how he did???

 

[cowboyjoe]

Any update yet on how he did???

i posted an article on it, look in this post; he said that he expects to hear from them this week, and maybe some other teams,

 

[cowboyjoe]

i posted an article on it, look in this post; he said that he expects to hear from them this week, and maybe some other teams,

Big D workout huge kick for DeAngelis
Shot at NFL makes Sandro's day

By WES GILBERTSON, CALGARY SUN

Last Updated: 23rd January 2010, 2:57pm
Email StoryPrintSize A A AReport TypoShare with:
FacebookDiggDel.icio.usGoogleStumble UponNewsvineRedditTechnoratiFeed MeYahooSimpySquidooSpurlBlogmarksNetvouzScuttleSit ejot+ What are these? .Sandro DeAngelis is seeing stars.

And dreaming of sporting one on his helmet next season.

The Calgary Stampeders kicker had a free-agent tryout Friday with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys, stoking his desire to boot field goals on football's biggest stage.

"I think all athletes are daydreamers," DeAngelis said.

"We all sit there and we daydream about winning that championship game or signing that big contract, and I think that's one of the things that motivates athletes is the ability to have that kind of wild imagination.

"Of course, you look at the city and daydream about what it would be like to play there and stuff like that, so, of course your mind wanders a little bit. But at the same time, once you do your best, it's out of your control."

DeAngelis, a five-time West Division all-star and the most accurate kicker in CFL history, worked out at the Cowboys practice facility in Irving, Texas, under the watchful eyes of head coach Wade Phillips, special-teams coach Joe DeCamillis, billionaire owner Jerry Jones and others.

The 28-year-old becomes a CFL free agent next month, although he'd rather be booting field goals south of the border in the fall.

DeAngelis also canvassed for an NFL tryout last off-season but didn't earn any auditions.

"Just to even have an opportunity to kick for an NFL team is living a dream," DeAngelis said.

"I just want to give it my best shot. If I make it to the NFL, great. If I don't, hey that's great too because I'm very happy in the CFL. The thing that I don't want to happen is to have regrets later on in life. Especially now that I'm a dad, how am I going to tell my kid to go chase his dreams if I don't go chase my own?

"As great as it is being in the CFL, as a competitor, you always want to do more. The competitor in me is trying to do more in this case, and I'm just really happy that I had the opportunity."

The Cowboys, who were eliminated from the playoffs last weekend by the Minnesota Vikings, are seeking some stability at the kicking position after Nick Folk and his successor Shaun Suisham made only 64.5% of their field-goal attempts in the regular season.

DeAngelis, who hails from Niagara Falls, Ont., and makes his home in Calgary, nailed 42-of-49 three-point tries in 2009 and boasts an 83.8% accuracy rating in five campaigns with the Stamps.

His agent has had conversations with other NFL squads and DeAngelis is optimistic Friday's tryout won't be his last.

He was satisfied with his performance in the Big D, and expects to hear back from the Cowboys next week.

"I'm pleased with it, but you really have no idea what they're thinking. They don't exactly jump up and down or anything so you don't have a gauge of where you stand," DeAngelis said. "I'll keep my fingers crossed."

WES.GILBERTSON@SUNMEDIA.CA

 

[MapleLeaf]

...the CFL uprights are the same size as the NFL ones in width and height.

The CFL ball has a circumference tolerance of 530 to 537 mm while the NFL ball's specified range is 527 to 540 mm. Anyone who has thrown both balls knows that the NFL ball is typically narrower.

Therefore the plump CFL ball is a friendlier ball for a kicker.

The CFL uprights are at the front of the end zone compared to the NFL which is located at the back. A 40 yard FG is still a 40 yard FG no matter what the league, but a kick to the end of the NFL end zone looks more like a tunnel than what CFL kickers are used to.

With the # of fans located in the back of the NFL endzone it tends to be, in my mind, a more daunting kick with all the fan noise and the distractions. What is a plus for DeAngelis is he kicked while at Nebraska so he's competed at the Division 1 level with all it's rabid fans.

Something to consider about the CFL. The franchises at Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal are covered venues. Every other team plays outdoors. Calgary has the elements to deal with and every outdoor CFL team has to deal with November weather.

Typically a mix of wind, snow and temps around 5 to 20 degrees F. If you want to play in Canada you have to learn to bundle up during the playoffs.

The most ideal situation is to see a kicker come out of the Hamilton franchise. Cold, wet, windy conditions at sea level with high humidity coming off the Great Lakes (heavy air). It would be like getting a kicker from Chicago, Green Bay or Buffalo.

Probably in my mind the greatest difference for a kicker to adjust to in the CFL game is the 51 ft spread from hash mark to hash mark.

On a short kick 25 yards and in the angle is quite severe making the target window narrower than what you would find in the NFL.