Hammock Parties
08-05-2006, 03:24 AM
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/football/nfl/kansas_city_chiefs/15203543.htm+
With fewer distractions, the Chiefs’ Tynes has sights set on building upon solid 2005 season.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
MANKATO, Minn. - | Kickers always operate in the loudest of environments. Their world, from pressure-packed field-goal attempts to the public criticism or praise that follows, is filled with noise.
Even so, the Chiefs’ Lawrence Tynes last year had one of the most deafening of training camps of any kicker ever. Between a bar fight that gave him some notoriety to his lousy kicking that drew public criticism from his head coach, Tynes was in the news for all the wrong reasons.
His world this year is much calmer, which also translates to better. Tynes has stayed out of trouble after work and been much sharper during it. Tynes missed a kick only after camp was a week old.
His numbers last year gained him some consideration for the Pro Bowl. He made 82 percent of his field goals and was second among AFC kickers in scoring.
Tynes didn’t kick Friday night in the Chiefs’ practice against Minnesota at the Vikings training camp. But everything about his training camp so far suggests Tynes will actually get to Hawaii this season.
“He’s ready to take that next step,” special-teams coach Mike Priefer said. “He’s got a great mentality. He’s hard on himself, which is a good trait to have. But he also knows when it’s time to just learn from it and move on. He has very few technique flaws for a young kicker.”
Tynes also has a better relationship with his new head coach, Herm Edwards. Tynes has no harsh words for Dick Vermeil, but he certainly didn’t appreciate his former coach’s penchant for taking to the media his frustration with the kicker.
“(Edwards isn’t) in my ear chiming in if I make one or if I miss one,” Tynes said.
“He leaves me alone. He doesn’t get involved with it. He talks to you, and he’s never negative. Coach Vermeil was never negative with me, but obviously with (the media) he was. That’s (Edwards’) prerogative to say something to you guys if I miss one, but I don’t think he’ll throw me under the bus.”
Edwards, having played for Vermeil years ago with the Eagles, had a front-row seat for his former coach’s handling of kickers.
Vermeil is legendary for his patience with his assistant coaches and other players, but he rarely extended that courtesy to kickers.
“He fired more kickers and punters than anyone,” Edwards said.
“So I leave them alone. At the end of the day, I like to pat them on the back. I understand their dilemma. They’ve got the hardest deal of anyone on this team. They get one play to get it right, and what they’re trying to do isn’t easy.”
In trying to make the world of Tynes and punter Dustin Colquitt a better place, Edwards juggled the practice schedule to accommodate the two.
“The first day of (offseason practice) he came up to us and asked what he could do for us,” Tynes said.
“We’re always out there early, it’s better for us to kick early in practice rather than warming up and then having to wait an hour or so to kick. That just works better for us, and so that’s what we do.”
Tynes rebounded from last year’s training-camp disasters to have a strong season. But at the time, it was unclear whether the Chiefs would even keep Tynes.
They went as far as to import free-agent kickers for a look, which for Tynes was another blow.
“He’s a mentally tough person,” Colquitt said. “All of that stuff he went through did bug him a little bit. But to be a successful kicker, you have to go through some hard times. He will be better because he went through all of that.”
Colquitt was a rookie last season and also new to holding. He’s good enough athletically to do the job well but had no college experience.
He was, by all accounts, a factor in Tynes’ problems last summer but has improved greatly since by refining his holding techniques.
“It’s obvious he trusts me more than he did last year,” Colquitt said.
Tynes now has a coach who blocks the noise rather than create it, a holder he trusts and a reliable deep snapper in veteran Kendall Gammon. If he’s ever going to establish himself as a top kicker, this might have to be the time.
“I’ve hit game-winners and I’ve missed them,” Tynes said.
“I’ve been on both sides of the fence. You have to struggle a little bit. It makes you realize how bad you want it.”
"I've got one thing going for me, though. I'm a stone-cold n1gga from Scotland. You have bled with Wallace, now bleed with me."
With fewer distractions, the Chiefs’ Tynes has sights set on building upon solid 2005 season.
By ADAM TEICHER
The Kansas City Star
MANKATO, Minn. - | Kickers always operate in the loudest of environments. Their world, from pressure-packed field-goal attempts to the public criticism or praise that follows, is filled with noise.
Even so, the Chiefs’ Lawrence Tynes last year had one of the most deafening of training camps of any kicker ever. Between a bar fight that gave him some notoriety to his lousy kicking that drew public criticism from his head coach, Tynes was in the news for all the wrong reasons.
His world this year is much calmer, which also translates to better. Tynes has stayed out of trouble after work and been much sharper during it. Tynes missed a kick only after camp was a week old.
His numbers last year gained him some consideration for the Pro Bowl. He made 82 percent of his field goals and was second among AFC kickers in scoring.
Tynes didn’t kick Friday night in the Chiefs’ practice against Minnesota at the Vikings training camp. But everything about his training camp so far suggests Tynes will actually get to Hawaii this season.
“He’s ready to take that next step,” special-teams coach Mike Priefer said. “He’s got a great mentality. He’s hard on himself, which is a good trait to have. But he also knows when it’s time to just learn from it and move on. He has very few technique flaws for a young kicker.”
Tynes also has a better relationship with his new head coach, Herm Edwards. Tynes has no harsh words for Dick Vermeil, but he certainly didn’t appreciate his former coach’s penchant for taking to the media his frustration with the kicker.
“(Edwards isn’t) in my ear chiming in if I make one or if I miss one,” Tynes said.
“He leaves me alone. He doesn’t get involved with it. He talks to you, and he’s never negative. Coach Vermeil was never negative with me, but obviously with (the media) he was. That’s (Edwards’) prerogative to say something to you guys if I miss one, but I don’t think he’ll throw me under the bus.”
Edwards, having played for Vermeil years ago with the Eagles, had a front-row seat for his former coach’s handling of kickers.
Vermeil is legendary for his patience with his assistant coaches and other players, but he rarely extended that courtesy to kickers.
“He fired more kickers and punters than anyone,” Edwards said.
“So I leave them alone. At the end of the day, I like to pat them on the back. I understand their dilemma. They’ve got the hardest deal of anyone on this team. They get one play to get it right, and what they’re trying to do isn’t easy.”
In trying to make the world of Tynes and punter Dustin Colquitt a better place, Edwards juggled the practice schedule to accommodate the two.
“The first day of (offseason practice) he came up to us and asked what he could do for us,” Tynes said.
“We’re always out there early, it’s better for us to kick early in practice rather than warming up and then having to wait an hour or so to kick. That just works better for us, and so that’s what we do.”
Tynes rebounded from last year’s training-camp disasters to have a strong season. But at the time, it was unclear whether the Chiefs would even keep Tynes.
They went as far as to import free-agent kickers for a look, which for Tynes was another blow.
“He’s a mentally tough person,” Colquitt said. “All of that stuff he went through did bug him a little bit. But to be a successful kicker, you have to go through some hard times. He will be better because he went through all of that.”
Colquitt was a rookie last season and also new to holding. He’s good enough athletically to do the job well but had no college experience.
He was, by all accounts, a factor in Tynes’ problems last summer but has improved greatly since by refining his holding techniques.
“It’s obvious he trusts me more than he did last year,” Colquitt said.
Tynes now has a coach who blocks the noise rather than create it, a holder he trusts and a reliable deep snapper in veteran Kendall Gammon. If he’s ever going to establish himself as a top kicker, this might have to be the time.
“I’ve hit game-winners and I’ve missed them,” Tynes said.
“I’ve been on both sides of the fence. You have to struggle a little bit. It makes you realize how bad you want it.”
"I've got one thing going for me, though. I'm a stone-cold n1gga from Scotland. You have bled with Wallace, now bleed with me."