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Notes: Trade market clearer
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 26, 2007
Green Bay - As the kicking battle between Dave Rayner and Mason Crosby reaches its conclusion, the Green Bay Packers know much more about who will be interested in offering a trade proposal.
The teams most likely to be interested in a kicker appear to be the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys.
The ultimate scenario for the Packers would be if the Giants and Cowboys both decide they want one of Green Bay's two kickers. Getting two teams in the same division to bid against one another could result in the Packers getting far more than they ever thought.
The Giants' situation is the most desperate after their two kickers, Lawrence Tynes and rookie Josh Huston, combined to go 1 for 4 on field-goal attempts Saturday in an exhibition loss to the New York Jets. Coach Tom Coughlin said after the game that he definitely would be exploring the market.
In Dallas, veteran Martin Gramatica pulled a hamstring on a kickoff against Houston Saturday night and his status remains up in the air. Gramatica, who received a $200,000 signing bonus when he re-signed with the team in the off-season, missed one extra point and had an extremely poor kickoff before exiting against the Texans.
His competition, sixth-round pick Nick Folk, has hit all three of his field goals in the exhibition season, including a 52-yarder, and has been consistent. Like Crosby, he has not kicked in a regular-season game and hasn't faced the weekly pressure of performing in the National Football League.
The Cowboys probably would be interested in Rayner, who has a year as a kickoff man and a year as a full-time kicker under his belt, more than they would Crosby. But if Gramatica's hamstring injury isn't serious they'll probably stand pat.
The Falcons are going with veteran Billy Cundiff at this time. Cundiff has been outstanding on field goals, hitting on five of six, but he does not have a strong leg and his average distance on kickoffs (66.2 yards) ranks 30th among kickers in exhibition play.
Opponents are averaging 41.6 yards per return on his five kickoffs.
Rayner beat out Cundiff last year in Packers camp and might appeal to the Falcons if he's available. Rayner ranks first in the NFL in average kickoff distance with a 71.6 mark.
For the summer, Crosby has hit 85% of his field-goal attempts in practice and Rayner has hit 81%. Both kickers are 3 for 3 on field goals in exhibition games.
As for keeping both Rayner and Crosby, the Packers won't rule it out, although coach Mike McCarthy refused to get into the specifics of how that would work.
"We continue to talk about keeping the best 53, and the way those two guys are kicking the football, you could make an argument for that," McCarthy said. "We'll see what happens."
Return engagement: McCarthy did not rule out the return of quarterback Ingle Martin, who was released Friday.
The Packers want to get another look at rookie Paul Thompson and intend to play him starting either in the third or fourth quarters against Tennessee on Thursday night. After the game, the Packers will decide whether to bring back Martin, keep Thompson or go with just Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see Ingle come back," McCarthy said, not specifying whether it would be to the 53-man roster or the practice squadHe also didn't rule out keeping two quarterbacks. "We feel that we have a pretty good grasp on where Ingle is in his development. I do not have those answers for Paul Thompson. That's why we're giving Paul this opportunity."
Game-time decision: There is a possibility that Favre will play against the Titans.
McCarthy is using the game mostly to look at his second- and third-stringers and was thinking about sitting Favre out. But he wants his quarterback to get more time with the offense to improve chemistry and is considering playing him.
"Our quarterback has new players that he doesn't have a lot of reps with," he said. "Those are all factored in. You still want to be smart and cautious."
Looking ahead: Most of the veterans began study of the Philadelphia Eagles this week in preparation of the season opener.
"I spent yesterday, exclusively in the morning, on Philadelphia," McCarthy said. "As a team, our structure is going through a game week to get our time clock back on an in-season schedule and we're working on Tennessee."
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=652363
By TOM SILVERSTEIN
tsilverstein@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 26, 2007
Green Bay - As the kicking battle between Dave Rayner and Mason Crosby reaches its conclusion, the Green Bay Packers know much more about who will be interested in offering a trade proposal.
The teams most likely to be interested in a kicker appear to be the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and Dallas Cowboys.
The ultimate scenario for the Packers would be if the Giants and Cowboys both decide they want one of Green Bay's two kickers. Getting two teams in the same division to bid against one another could result in the Packers getting far more than they ever thought.
The Giants' situation is the most desperate after their two kickers, Lawrence Tynes and rookie Josh Huston, combined to go 1 for 4 on field-goal attempts Saturday in an exhibition loss to the New York Jets. Coach Tom Coughlin said after the game that he definitely would be exploring the market.
In Dallas, veteran Martin Gramatica pulled a hamstring on a kickoff against Houston Saturday night and his status remains up in the air. Gramatica, who received a $200,000 signing bonus when he re-signed with the team in the off-season, missed one extra point and had an extremely poor kickoff before exiting against the Texans.
His competition, sixth-round pick Nick Folk, has hit all three of his field goals in the exhibition season, including a 52-yarder, and has been consistent. Like Crosby, he has not kicked in a regular-season game and hasn't faced the weekly pressure of performing in the National Football League.
The Cowboys probably would be interested in Rayner, who has a year as a kickoff man and a year as a full-time kicker under his belt, more than they would Crosby. But if Gramatica's hamstring injury isn't serious they'll probably stand pat.
The Falcons are going with veteran Billy Cundiff at this time. Cundiff has been outstanding on field goals, hitting on five of six, but he does not have a strong leg and his average distance on kickoffs (66.2 yards) ranks 30th among kickers in exhibition play.
Opponents are averaging 41.6 yards per return on his five kickoffs.
Rayner beat out Cundiff last year in Packers camp and might appeal to the Falcons if he's available. Rayner ranks first in the NFL in average kickoff distance with a 71.6 mark.
For the summer, Crosby has hit 85% of his field-goal attempts in practice and Rayner has hit 81%. Both kickers are 3 for 3 on field goals in exhibition games.
As for keeping both Rayner and Crosby, the Packers won't rule it out, although coach Mike McCarthy refused to get into the specifics of how that would work.
"We continue to talk about keeping the best 53, and the way those two guys are kicking the football, you could make an argument for that," McCarthy said. "We'll see what happens."
Return engagement: McCarthy did not rule out the return of quarterback Ingle Martin, who was released Friday.
The Packers want to get another look at rookie Paul Thompson and intend to play him starting either in the third or fourth quarters against Tennessee on Thursday night. After the game, the Packers will decide whether to bring back Martin, keep Thompson or go with just Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers.
"I wouldn't be surprised to see Ingle come back," McCarthy said, not specifying whether it would be to the 53-man roster or the practice squadHe also didn't rule out keeping two quarterbacks. "We feel that we have a pretty good grasp on where Ingle is in his development. I do not have those answers for Paul Thompson. That's why we're giving Paul this opportunity."
Game-time decision: There is a possibility that Favre will play against the Titans.
McCarthy is using the game mostly to look at his second- and third-stringers and was thinking about sitting Favre out. But he wants his quarterback to get more time with the offense to improve chemistry and is considering playing him.
"Our quarterback has new players that he doesn't have a lot of reps with," he said. "Those are all factored in. You still want to be smart and cautious."
Looking ahead: Most of the veterans began study of the Philadelphia Eagles this week in preparation of the season opener.
"I spent yesterday, exclusively in the morning, on Philadelphia," McCarthy said. "As a team, our structure is going through a game week to get our time clock back on an in-season schedule and we're working on Tennessee."
http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=652363
hboy:Green Bay playing the Boys and Gints against one another for a kicker. 
