Although Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones and head coach Wade Phillips didn't commit to replacing Nick Folk immediately after Saturday's win over New Orleans -- Folk missed a 24-yard field goal that would have iced the game in the fourth quarter -- it was clear the team would re-address its kicking situation.
Folk has missed a field goal in six straight games, including seven of his last 11. And the Cowboys are indeed weighing their options at the position this week. Former Commanders kicker Shaun Suisham is believed to be in line for a tryout, and others could be part of a short list compiled in recent days.
Suisham has had two previous stints with the Cowboys, most recently early in the 2006 season while Mike Vanderjagt was injured. He appeared in six games from 2005-06, making four of six attempts. Despite making 18 of 21 attempts for the Commanders this year, the five-year veteran was released two weeks ago after he missed a 23-yarder --ironically enough -- late in the fourth quarter of a 33-30 overtime loss to the Saints.
The Cowboys have another kicker on the roster, rookie David Buehler, but he has focused mostly on kickoffs and longer-distance field goals this season and Phillips has said he's not comfortable with Buehler's accuracy yet. Folk and Buehler took equal field goal reps in practice last week and Folk retained the job. He did make a 44-yard attempt before halftime against New Orleans, but the 24-yard miss reinforced the Cowboys' growing concerns. They'd previously tried changing holders, from Mat McBriar to Tony Romo.
The situation is a difficult one for the Cowboys because Folk, a sixth-round pick in 2007, made 46 of 53 attempts in his first two seasons. A May hip surgery set back his off-season routine this year, and now his struggles are coming at the most critical part of the season.
-Rob
)
