Sore Subject : Where are our kickers?

[Earthcat 4]

Last year we had the best kicking tandem in the NCAA. That was a big part of our 11-2 season. So where did they end up? I don't think any were drafted, but how could the NFL scouts miss this talent?

Matt Clark - around 70% TBs

Cody Bliss - a monster punter

John Vaughn- would think he would get a look, remember those two consecutive games with over 50 yarders or am I delusional?

I was hoping the Skins would tag 'em all for camp.

Who do have to fill these big shoes?

[DonCorleone 0]

I always thought John Vaughn was awful but the next thing I know he lead some stat in kicking, anyways Vaughn is at the Titans training camp where he is currently getting beat out by a former Auburn player Rob Bironas.

I always thought Damon Duvall and Jaret Holmes were great.

[Bottomfeeder 244]

Let's hope we don't have to rely on a kicking game this year. Let's go for 2 and lead by two touchdowns (16 points).

[aucanucktiger 1,989]

I was watching a Canadian Football League game a couple nights ago. Damon Duval lined up to kick about a 42 yd field goal, missed it barely to the right, the opposing player fielded the missed FG (a part of the CFL rules) and ran it back for a TD. On the return, a blocker for the opposing team cuffed Damon in the facemask. Damon tackled the guy and tried to beat the crap out of him. The 2 players had to be pulled off each otherand both were thrown out of the game.

Damon's talent level is matched only by his linebacker mentality. I bet he got a HEFTY fine, apparently his team had 1 kicker on the roster.

[Ranger12 53]

I always thought John Vaughn was awful but the next thing I know he lead some stat in kicking

Not just some stat, he is the all time leading scorer at AU now and is also ranked 12 in SEC history in that same category. He also holds the AU record with the most field goals. The only reason you probably thought he was awful, I am just guessing here, is probably for the same reason others thought the same thing...because of his bad luck with LSU. He missed a couple of critical field goals against them on national TV and so a lot of people got that stuck in their mind about him and forget about how he was actually a very reliable kicker.

Link

Former AU kickers battle for position with Titans

By Teresa M. Walker

Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE — Ah, the life of an NFL kicker.

Rob Bironas set a Tennessee record by kicking four game-winning field goals in 2006, including a 60-yarder that beat the Indianapolis Colts in December. That earned him competition in training camp from a strong-legged rookie from Auburn to make sure he doesn't get too comfortable.

Bironas, who has only two years in the NFL with the Titans, understands and actually is glad to have John Vaughn around.

"Definitely I enjoyed taking it off during the second team. Instead of 12 or 10 field goals in a row, it's five or six like how it is during the season. Instead of kicking 18 kickoffs, kicking eight or nine, so definitely it's going to help me maintain my leg a little bit better during camp," Bironas said.

It doesn't hurt that the kicker is John Vaughn who went to Auburn where Bironas spent all but a semester of his college career. Vaughn also is from Brentwood, a suburb south of Nashville.

Coach Jeff Fisher said it's a very competitive situation.

"Very impressed with what John's been able to do with his leg strength and his accuracy. We haven't had this as long as I can remember. We've had two guys who can consistently put the ball through the uprights from way out," Fisher said.

"It's going to be interesting to see how it unfolds."

Bironas won the kicking job in 2005, beating out Ola Kimrin and Jay Taylor in the first competition at placekicker the team had had since moving to Tennessee in 1997. Special teams coach Alan Lowry wanted to bring someone in to compete against Bironas in 2006 but couldn't because of the roster.

The Kentucky native did well enough, converting 22 of 28 field goals and all 32 extra points.

He beat Washington with a 30-yarder with 5:15 left, capped a 21-point comeback against the New York Giants with a 49-yarder with 11 seconds to go and beat Buffalo with his fourth game-winner of the year.

But the highlight was the 60-yarder, a franchise-record long field goal and tied for the fourth-longest field goal in NFL history.

Bironas didn't spend the offseason reveling in his success. He had two surgeries the Titans declined to detail, including one the day after players cleared out their lockers. He renovated a second bathroom in his condo by installing hardwoods. Not exactly the party circuit.

"I like the anonymous kicker," Bironas said.

"Stay under the radar. Do your job and let people talk about when it's good and move on each week doing your job. You expect to make them all whether they're game winners or short ones. That's where my goal is to do the best I can out there and let the crowd enjoy it."

Both kickers are 6-foot, 205 pounds.

Vaughn is Auburn's all-time leading scorer with 312 points, which ranks him 12th in Southeastern Conference history. He set Auburn records with 50 field goals and converted 162 of 163 extra points, and Vaughn said Lowry already has helped straighten out his kick

Vaughn had offers from Detroit, New York and Atlanta but he chose the Titans where his family has had six season tickets since the team's relocation. He has rooted for the team since he was 13.

[DonCorleone 0]

Yep, that would be the one right there ^.... I think my disliking for John Vaughn did start w/ the LSU game I actually went to school with him at Brentwood Academy as well and was happy for him to go to AU but regardless it still doesn't seem like he is the all time leading scorer at Auburn. Best of luck to him I do want him to do well in the NFL.

[chinook 0]

Yep, that would be the one right there ^.... I think my disliking for John Vaughn did start w/ the LSU game I actually went to school with him at Brentwood Academy as well and was happy for him to go to AU but regardless it still doesn't seem like he is the all time leading scorer at Auburn. Best of luck to him I do want him to do well in the NFL.

you make no sense.

[BZ770 2]

Bironas was a ghost until the past two seasons. I have no clue where he hung out before the Titans signed him. Didn't he get kicked off the team some years back?

[Bottomfeeder 244]

That's a big kicker. Kind of like Damon was, but bigger.

The Wes Byrum File:

Year: Freshman

Position: Place-kicker

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 213 pounds

High School: St. Thomas Aquinas (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)

http://www.oanow.com/servlet/Satellite?pag...;path=!news

I think we're gonna be okay. Great players always carry their weakest link. If this is case in 2007, don't expect pressure on this guy. I think our quarterback, offensive linemen, runningbacks and receivers will work extra hard to keep Wes off the field until his confidence level reaches a sustainable level.

[TheDrewYouKnew 3]

Yep, that would be the one right there ^.... I think my disliking for John Vaughn did start w/ the LSU game I actually went to school with him at Brentwood Academy as well and was happy for him to go to AU but regardless it still doesn't seem like he is the all time leading scorer at Auburn. Best of luck to him I do want him to do well in the NFL.

you make no sense.

I agree, and see a pattern in his posts.

[DonCorleone 0]

I am sorry I posted that around 3 A.M. I was tired.

[TexasTiger 15,449]

I am sorry I posted that around 3 A.M. I was tired.

Tough crowd.