Post by prossman on Dec 21, 2009 17:36:50 GMT -7
Kicking The Tires
Shaun Suisham Signs; Cowboys Let Go Of Nick Folk
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Josh Ellis - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
December 21, 2009 5:58 PM Change Font Size A A A A
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IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys signed kicker Shaun Suisham Monday evening, and released the slumping Nick Folk.
Suisham, a 27-year old in his fourth NFL season, was 18-of-21 for the Redskins this year, but was waived by Washington after a missed 23-yarder cost the team an upset of the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 6. Suisham had big misses on Nov. 22 as well, in the one-point loss to the Cowboys, with kicks sailing wide from 39 and 50 yards out.
Folk had missed at least one field goal in six straight games. After the first five, he received at least a slight vote of confidence from Wade Phillips, but not after the sixth, a 24-yarder he bounced off the upright late in the fourth quarter of Saturday night's win in New Orleans. The miss, reminiscent of Suisham's versus the same team, could have cost the Cowboys the game, and maybe the season. On Monday the Cowboys auditioned several free agent kickers, and discussed their options at the position before settling on the former Bowling Green kicker, Suisham.
Suisham actually broke into the NFL with the Cowboys in 2005, spending much of the season of the team's practice squad. He made three of four kicks in the final three games that year, and spent three more weeks on the roster the next season.
Suisham had been with the Redskins since Dec. 2, 2006, and made 81 of his 101 field goal tries with Washington. He was replaced by rookie Graham Gano, who kicked for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League in his first season out of Florida State. He also had an extra point blocked against the Buccaneers in Week 4.
With preparation for Sunday night's game against Washington beginning with practice Tuesday afternoon, the Cowboys needed to have their kicker in place by then, to get him as many repetitions as possible.
Folk, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2007 and was 20-of-22 on his attempts in 2008, had been given the benefit of the doubt for several weeks. First the Cowboys replaced Mat McBriar as his holder following a couple of misses at New York, inserting Tony Romo. They held an open competition between he and rookie kickoff specialist David Buehler last week, with Folk the winner.
The team had also been hesitant to switch from Folk because any free-agent kicker with NFL experience comes with some imperfection of his own.
Now the Cowboys have to hope Suisham is able to shake the inconsistency that put him on the street to begin with.
"I've been in this league long enough to know that a change sometimes helps those guys," Phillips said. "I've seen a lot of them change teams and be successful. So it can happen."
A sixth-round pick of the Cowboys' in 2007, Folk was 18-of-28 on the year.
"It's kind of been a mystery to us," Phillips said of the drop off for the once ice-cold Folk. "We have tried to work it out in a lot of different ways. We obviously went with a different holder. We tried a kicking competition. We have tried a lot of different things. Now it's come to this point."
On Monday morning, Cowboys players, including Folk, were visiting local children's hospitals
One name often linked to the Cowboys recently was Jason Elam, because he was drafted by Wade Phillips in 1993. The former Broncos and Falcons kicker has been dealing with a hamstring issue for much of the fall, however, and the Cowboys would probably be hesitant to bring in a veteran who is already injured.
Folk's problems this year may have started with hip surgery he was forced to undergo late in the off-season, causing him to miss much of his regular kicking schedule as he rehabbed. Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS
Shaun Suisham Signs; Cowboys Let Go Of Nick Folk
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Josh Ellis - Email
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
December 21, 2009 5:58 PM Change Font Size A A A A
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
IRVING, Texas - The Cowboys signed kicker Shaun Suisham Monday evening, and released the slumping Nick Folk.
Suisham, a 27-year old in his fourth NFL season, was 18-of-21 for the Redskins this year, but was waived by Washington after a missed 23-yarder cost the team an upset of the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 6. Suisham had big misses on Nov. 22 as well, in the one-point loss to the Cowboys, with kicks sailing wide from 39 and 50 yards out.
Folk had missed at least one field goal in six straight games. After the first five, he received at least a slight vote of confidence from Wade Phillips, but not after the sixth, a 24-yarder he bounced off the upright late in the fourth quarter of Saturday night's win in New Orleans. The miss, reminiscent of Suisham's versus the same team, could have cost the Cowboys the game, and maybe the season. On Monday the Cowboys auditioned several free agent kickers, and discussed their options at the position before settling on the former Bowling Green kicker, Suisham.
Suisham actually broke into the NFL with the Cowboys in 2005, spending much of the season of the team's practice squad. He made three of four kicks in the final three games that year, and spent three more weeks on the roster the next season.
Suisham had been with the Redskins since Dec. 2, 2006, and made 81 of his 101 field goal tries with Washington. He was replaced by rookie Graham Gano, who kicked for the Las Vegas Locomotives of the United Football League in his first season out of Florida State. He also had an extra point blocked against the Buccaneers in Week 4.
With preparation for Sunday night's game against Washington beginning with practice Tuesday afternoon, the Cowboys needed to have their kicker in place by then, to get him as many repetitions as possible.
Folk, who made the Pro Bowl as a rookie in 2007 and was 20-of-22 on his attempts in 2008, had been given the benefit of the doubt for several weeks. First the Cowboys replaced Mat McBriar as his holder following a couple of misses at New York, inserting Tony Romo. They held an open competition between he and rookie kickoff specialist David Buehler last week, with Folk the winner.
The team had also been hesitant to switch from Folk because any free-agent kicker with NFL experience comes with some imperfection of his own.
Now the Cowboys have to hope Suisham is able to shake the inconsistency that put him on the street to begin with.
"I've been in this league long enough to know that a change sometimes helps those guys," Phillips said. "I've seen a lot of them change teams and be successful. So it can happen."
A sixth-round pick of the Cowboys' in 2007, Folk was 18-of-28 on the year.
"It's kind of been a mystery to us," Phillips said of the drop off for the once ice-cold Folk. "We have tried to work it out in a lot of different ways. We obviously went with a different holder. We tried a kicking competition. We have tried a lot of different things. Now it's come to this point."
On Monday morning, Cowboys players, including Folk, were visiting local children's hospitals
One name often linked to the Cowboys recently was Jason Elam, because he was drafted by Wade Phillips in 1993. The former Broncos and Falcons kicker has been dealing with a hamstring issue for much of the fall, however, and the Cowboys would probably be hesitant to bring in a veteran who is already injured.
Folk's problems this year may have started with hip surgery he was forced to undergo late in the off-season, causing him to miss much of his regular kicking schedule as he rehabbed. Home | Email | Print | Register for New Alerts | RSS