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A Leg Up
Rob Phillips
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - The last time David Buehler kicked against the Redskins was Week 1, his NFL debut as a field goal guy. It didn't go as planned.
After making 10-of-11 in five exhibition games, including a 31-yard winner in the finale against Miami, Buehler missed a 34-yard attempt in the second quarter of a bizarre 13-7 defeat to Washington at FedEx Field.
Three points lost in a six-point loss. Not the way to start a job many outsiders had already met with skepticism, even after that stellar preseason.
Buehler has been up and down since the opener, but with three games remaining he is starting to reward the Cowboys' patience in the 23-year-old with the bionic leg but relatively little experience entering the year.
We've talked a lot about developing young players during what has become a lost season. Play this guy, find out about that guy. They've been able to do that with Buehler all year long after he led the NFL with 29 touchbacks in 2009 as a rookie kickoff specialist.
The results as the full-time guy: 18-of-24 on field goals. That 75-percent conversion rate ranks 32nd overall and 18th among kickers with at least 20 attempts.
Not ideal. The Cowboys would probably like something in at least the low-to-mid-80s from their kicker, especially considering they have the option for at least eight indoor games (sterile weather conditions) per season at Cowboys Stadium.
But to me, this is what they should have and probably did expect from Buehler. He was going to have growing pains. He only had 33 attempts at USC, making 26 for a 79-percent ratio, and he didn't even really practice field goals last year until Nick Folk's kicking had dipped past the patience line by December, leading to his release.
Fans rightfully have been frustrated with the position's maddening inconsistency over the last several years. Just when they thought Folk was the answer - he made 86.8 percent of his tries in 2007 and 2008 - he clearly never fully recovered from offseason hip surgery in '09 (possibly the result of a weakened plant leg, as much as anything) and the Cowboys had to let him go at the end of their NFC East title run.
Entering this season, six Cowboys kickers (Jose Cortez, Billy Cundiff, Shaun Suisham, Mike Vanderjagt, Martin Gramatica, Nick Folk) were a combined 106-of-140 on field goals since 2005. That's 75.7 percent.
Buehler's at 75 percent. Right now, it looks like a push.
But it shouldn't be viewed as a lack of progress. Not if the Cowboys believe they're getting a return on their investment now.
They didn't want to carry two kickers this season, and they didn't want to lose Buehler's kickoff leg. So they gave him every chance to prove he could shoulder both duties in training camp and preseason, and he delivered.
He does have two misses between 30-39 yards. He does have some misses in earlier losses that would have tied or taken the lead.
But he has made five straight field goals, including a 53-yarder just before halftime against the Saints and the game-winner against the Colts a week later. He had seen that kick in his mind a thousand times: kicking coach Chris Boniol is big on visualization, and his guidance has factored heavily into Buehler's continued development.
"It was one of those things when you play golf and you hit a good drive," Buehler recalled. "It's almost effortless. And that's how it was."
Before his five-kick streak started, he narrowly missed a 59-yarder that would have sent the Thanksgiving Day game into overtime. Even in a failed kick, he displayed the rare leg strength that intrigued the Cowboys to begin with.
As punter/holder Mat McBriar told me in training camp, the ball makes a different noise when it comes off his foot. Few veteran free agents out there possess that God-given skill.
His touchbacks have risen dramatically in the last month, too, now up to 17, tied for fifth-most in the league. Now, if he can just continue to improve his accuracy between the pipes.
Kickers are often an enigma. Just when you think they're ice, they go ice cold. Folk is an example, both with the Cowboys and the Jets. After making 15 of his first 17 attempts in New York this season, he has missed 7 of his last 17.
Buehler just has to take it kick by kick the way Boniol preaches, and he could fully harness his natural ability the way the Cowboys have hoped.
Rob Phillips
DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
IRVING, Texas - The last time David Buehler kicked against the Redskins was Week 1, his NFL debut as a field goal guy. It didn't go as planned.
After making 10-of-11 in five exhibition games, including a 31-yard winner in the finale against Miami, Buehler missed a 34-yard attempt in the second quarter of a bizarre 13-7 defeat to Washington at FedEx Field.
Three points lost in a six-point loss. Not the way to start a job many outsiders had already met with skepticism, even after that stellar preseason.
Buehler has been up and down since the opener, but with three games remaining he is starting to reward the Cowboys' patience in the 23-year-old with the bionic leg but relatively little experience entering the year.
We've talked a lot about developing young players during what has become a lost season. Play this guy, find out about that guy. They've been able to do that with Buehler all year long after he led the NFL with 29 touchbacks in 2009 as a rookie kickoff specialist.
The results as the full-time guy: 18-of-24 on field goals. That 75-percent conversion rate ranks 32nd overall and 18th among kickers with at least 20 attempts.
Not ideal. The Cowboys would probably like something in at least the low-to-mid-80s from their kicker, especially considering they have the option for at least eight indoor games (sterile weather conditions) per season at Cowboys Stadium.
But to me, this is what they should have and probably did expect from Buehler. He was going to have growing pains. He only had 33 attempts at USC, making 26 for a 79-percent ratio, and he didn't even really practice field goals last year until Nick Folk's kicking had dipped past the patience line by December, leading to his release.
Fans rightfully have been frustrated with the position's maddening inconsistency over the last several years. Just when they thought Folk was the answer - he made 86.8 percent of his tries in 2007 and 2008 - he clearly never fully recovered from offseason hip surgery in '09 (possibly the result of a weakened plant leg, as much as anything) and the Cowboys had to let him go at the end of their NFC East title run.
Entering this season, six Cowboys kickers (Jose Cortez, Billy Cundiff, Shaun Suisham, Mike Vanderjagt, Martin Gramatica, Nick Folk) were a combined 106-of-140 on field goals since 2005. That's 75.7 percent.
Buehler's at 75 percent. Right now, it looks like a push.
But it shouldn't be viewed as a lack of progress. Not if the Cowboys believe they're getting a return on their investment now.
They didn't want to carry two kickers this season, and they didn't want to lose Buehler's kickoff leg. So they gave him every chance to prove he could shoulder both duties in training camp and preseason, and he delivered.
He does have two misses between 30-39 yards. He does have some misses in earlier losses that would have tied or taken the lead.
But he has made five straight field goals, including a 53-yarder just before halftime against the Saints and the game-winner against the Colts a week later. He had seen that kick in his mind a thousand times: kicking coach Chris Boniol is big on visualization, and his guidance has factored heavily into Buehler's continued development.
"It was one of those things when you play golf and you hit a good drive," Buehler recalled. "It's almost effortless. And that's how it was."
Before his five-kick streak started, he narrowly missed a 59-yarder that would have sent the Thanksgiving Day game into overtime. Even in a failed kick, he displayed the rare leg strength that intrigued the Cowboys to begin with.
As punter/holder Mat McBriar told me in training camp, the ball makes a different noise when it comes off his foot. Few veteran free agents out there possess that God-given skill.
His touchbacks have risen dramatically in the last month, too, now up to 17, tied for fifth-most in the league. Now, if he can just continue to improve his accuracy between the pipes.
Kickers are often an enigma. Just when you think they're ice, they go ice cold. Folk is an example, both with the Cowboys and the Jets. After making 15 of his first 17 attempts in New York this season, he has missed 7 of his last 17.
Buehler just has to take it kick by kick the way Boniol preaches, and he could fully harness his natural ability the way the Cowboys have hoped.