Hammock Parties
10-23-2005, 01:17 AM
http://cjonline.com/stories/102305/chi_tynes.shtml
Chiefs' Tynes making good on bold prediction
By Rick Dean
The Capital-Journal
It was a little more than a month ago, back when Dick Vermeil was threatening to find a new kicker, that Lawrence Tynes said something that seemed almost laughable at the time.
"I said I was going to be one of the best kickers in the NFL, and I believe that," Tynes recalled Friday. "I'm not going to back down from what I said."
Quite a statement coming from a kicker in only his second NFL season. A kicker who made 17 of 23 field goals in his rookie year, but only 5 of 10 from 40 or more yards. A kicker whose job status was believed to be on the line at the end of this summer's training camp.
But an NFL kicker without confidence is a kicker without a chance. And Lawrence Tynes will always give himself a chance.
On Friday night, Tynes -- who had kicked a routine 30-yard field goal to put Kansas City ahead of Miami 24-13 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter -- welcomed the chance to attempt a career-long 51-yarder early in the fourth.
After that kick went through, he was even more excited to try a new standard with 52-yard kick that also was good nearly three minutes later.
In hitting both tries of 50-plus in the Chiefs' 30-20 victory at Dolphins Stadium, Tynes became the first Kansas City kicker since Nick Lowery in 1985 to nail two 50-yard field goals in the same game. And Lowery was kicking inside the New Orleans Superdome when he hit his pair of 52-yarders.
But Tynes likewise was excited to be kicking Friday in the muggy, water-soaked air of south Florida. Kicking under almost tropical conditions, he said, took him back to his college days at Troy State in Alabama.
"In college, our punter's dad nicknamed us 'The Swamp Kickers,' so I'm used to this kind of weather," Tynes said. "And I was kicking on the best field I've ever played on, bar none. It's a fairly new surface from what Orlindo (Mare, the Miami kicker) was telling me. The ball set up well on the field, and the plant was good. It was like hitting from the fairway.
"Once you get those things going -- when you've got a good feeling, a good surface -- you're going to have a good night."
It's important for Tynes to keep having such games, as he has done in hitting 12 of 14 field goals this year with 4 of 5 accuracy from 40 yards or more. He is 6 of 7 from 30-39 yards.
Just part of the job for a kicker who would like to someday be considered in a class with New England's Adam Vinitieri, generally acknowledged as the most consistent kicker in the NFL.
"Things are going well right now, but I can't get too high," Tynes said. "It's still a week-to-week thing. I did a good job tonight, but I've got to do it next week and the one after that.
"There are only 32 people in the world doing what I do (at the NFL level)," he added. "I've got to take it as a challenge each week."
Spreading the wealth
Nine different Chiefs caught passes against Miami, and three ran the ball (excluding two Trent Green game-ending kneel-downs). That wasn't necessarily part of the offensive game plan, but Green believes his offensive teammates stayed fresher on a strength-saping night when the workload was passed around.
"We were able to sustain some longer drives (of 7:53, 3:52 and 4:33) in the second half, which was important for us in that their defense was so good, ranked seventh coming in," Green said. "It was important that we used the clock, grind the ball, keep them on the field and try to get their big guys up front tired.
"By spreading the ball around we probably were able to keep everyone a little fresher."
Even blocking tight end Jason Dunn caught two passes for his first multiple-reception game of the season. More importantly, Dunn had both his catches (of 24 and 18) on plays when the Chiefs were facing long-yardage on down-and-distance.
Chiefs' Tynes making good on bold prediction
By Rick Dean
The Capital-Journal
It was a little more than a month ago, back when Dick Vermeil was threatening to find a new kicker, that Lawrence Tynes said something that seemed almost laughable at the time.
"I said I was going to be one of the best kickers in the NFL, and I believe that," Tynes recalled Friday. "I'm not going to back down from what I said."
Quite a statement coming from a kicker in only his second NFL season. A kicker who made 17 of 23 field goals in his rookie year, but only 5 of 10 from 40 or more yards. A kicker whose job status was believed to be on the line at the end of this summer's training camp.
But an NFL kicker without confidence is a kicker without a chance. And Lawrence Tynes will always give himself a chance.
On Friday night, Tynes -- who had kicked a routine 30-yard field goal to put Kansas City ahead of Miami 24-13 with 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the third quarter -- welcomed the chance to attempt a career-long 51-yarder early in the fourth.
After that kick went through, he was even more excited to try a new standard with 52-yard kick that also was good nearly three minutes later.
In hitting both tries of 50-plus in the Chiefs' 30-20 victory at Dolphins Stadium, Tynes became the first Kansas City kicker since Nick Lowery in 1985 to nail two 50-yard field goals in the same game. And Lowery was kicking inside the New Orleans Superdome when he hit his pair of 52-yarders.
But Tynes likewise was excited to be kicking Friday in the muggy, water-soaked air of south Florida. Kicking under almost tropical conditions, he said, took him back to his college days at Troy State in Alabama.
"In college, our punter's dad nicknamed us 'The Swamp Kickers,' so I'm used to this kind of weather," Tynes said. "And I was kicking on the best field I've ever played on, bar none. It's a fairly new surface from what Orlindo (Mare, the Miami kicker) was telling me. The ball set up well on the field, and the plant was good. It was like hitting from the fairway.
"Once you get those things going -- when you've got a good feeling, a good surface -- you're going to have a good night."
It's important for Tynes to keep having such games, as he has done in hitting 12 of 14 field goals this year with 4 of 5 accuracy from 40 yards or more. He is 6 of 7 from 30-39 yards.
Just part of the job for a kicker who would like to someday be considered in a class with New England's Adam Vinitieri, generally acknowledged as the most consistent kicker in the NFL.
"Things are going well right now, but I can't get too high," Tynes said. "It's still a week-to-week thing. I did a good job tonight, but I've got to do it next week and the one after that.
"There are only 32 people in the world doing what I do (at the NFL level)," he added. "I've got to take it as a challenge each week."
Spreading the wealth
Nine different Chiefs caught passes against Miami, and three ran the ball (excluding two Trent Green game-ending kneel-downs). That wasn't necessarily part of the offensive game plan, but Green believes his offensive teammates stayed fresher on a strength-saping night when the workload was passed around.
"We were able to sustain some longer drives (of 7:53, 3:52 and 4:33) in the second half, which was important for us in that their defense was so good, ranked seventh coming in," Green said. "It was important that we used the clock, grind the ball, keep them on the field and try to get their big guys up front tired.
"By spreading the ball around we probably were able to keep everyone a little fresher."
Even blocking tight end Jason Dunn caught two passes for his first multiple-reception game of the season. More importantly, Dunn had both his catches (of 24 and 18) on plays when the Chiefs were facing long-yardage on down-and-distance.