Dallas can't count on kicker The Vanderjagt disaster He's good — at hitting goal posts
By Berry Tramel
Published: November 23, 2006
The Dallas Cowboys finished 30th in NFL field-goal percentage last season, so Jerry Jones signed the most accurate kicker in league history, Mike Vanderjagt, to a three-year, $5.5-million contract.
Advertisement
The move paid off. Vanderjagt is tied for 27th in NFL field-goal percentage.
Vanderjagt was the lone downer last Sunday, when the Cowboys knocked the Colts from the unbeaten ranks, no thanks to Vanderjagt, who missed field goals of 43 and 46 yards.
Vanderjagt's body language was not good. His former Colt teammates razzed him after the first miss, and after the second miss, on the final play of the first half, Vanderjagt walked a lonely, lonely road to the locker room.
Missing field goals will get you beat in the NFL. Just ask the Colts, for whom Vanderjagt kicked the previous eight seasons. Vanderjagt sliced a 46-yard try last January, allowing the Steelers to end the Colts' season with a 21-18 upset in the AFC playoffs.
He's not a particularly popular guy in the locker room, anyway. A few years ago, Vanderjagt's antics led Colt quarterback Peyton Manning to refer to Vanderjagt as "our idiot kicker." Last season, after the Steelers flub, Vanderjagt appeared on the Letterman Show, which had to rub raw anyone associated with the Colts.
Vanderjagt is a mere 12-of-17 this season, though he's danged accurate at hitting the goal post, having nailed the anti-target thrice this season.
Cowboy trail boss Bill Parcells says Vanderjagt's job is not in jeopardy but offered no ringing endorsement.
"I don't have another kicker," Parcells said.
"I think he has been a good kicker. But he keeps telling me that I don't have to worry about him. Well, I'm worried about him now."
Parcells has only himself to blame for the mess. Parcells fired kicking coach Steve Hoffman in 2004. Hoffman spent 15 years with the Cowboys, usually finding kickers at bargain-basement prices who could be counted on to deliver. Chris Boniol, Richie Cunningham, Billy Cundiff. None will join Jan Stenerud in Canton, but none cost a $2.5 million signing bonus.
Hoffman was a valuable staff member. Parcells erred when he cut Hoffman loose.
Now Dallas has a high-priced kicker it can't count on.
"I apologize to the team and to the fans," Vanderjagt said. "It's not acceptable to perform like that. In the past, I've made them, and I need to make them again."
Start making them soon, or not even Tony Romo can rescue the Cowboys.
Cheers & Jeers: Dan McCarney and Fox's playing footsy with O.J.
Cheers
To Dan McCarney, who went out a winner with Iowa State's upset of Missouri. The Cyclone brass can search high and low but will not find a coach to be as successful as McCarney.
To Big 12 football officiating. A bogus holding call in the Iowa State-Missouri game, an inadvertent whistle in OSU-Texas Tech. These guys are getting worse before they get better.
To Fox, for its dalliance with the O.J. Simpson interview. Yes, Fox's parent company got around to cancelling the television interview and book publishing, but only after mass public outrage. Some things, you shouldn't have to check which way the wind is blowing.
Dallas Cowboys kicker Mike Vanderjagt has had kicks blocked this season and has had them hit the uprights. He missed field goals of 43 and 46 yards against the Colts this past weekend. Associated press
Related to this story
Articles
The list: Detroit Thanksgiving 11/23/2006 The worst tradition in the NFL is the Detroit Thanksgiving Day game, an institution since 1934. Time's up. The Lions are such a putrid franchise, and it's so...
Now or then: The gambles of Bob Stoops and Pete Carroll 11/23/2006 The gambles of Bob Stoops and Pete Carroll On Nov. 4, Bob Stoops' Sooners faced fourth-and-1 from their 29-yard line, protecting a late 17-16 lead on Texas...
OU-Nebraska forever? 11/23/2006 Time was, Thanksgiving weekend meant Oklahoma-Nebraska. Now, it means lamenting the loss of the Heartland's greatest football series. I'm not that romantic...
Pondering the possibilities of a Stoops Bowl 11/23/2006 Pondering the possibilities of a Stoops Bowl Mike Stoops' Arizona Wildcats have turned the corner. Back-to-back upsets of Cal and Oregon have made Arizona...
