Latest news with #kicking
Daily Mail
29-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Footy great Andrew Johns reveals his conspiracy theory behind Nathan Cleary's shock Origin struggles
Footy wise, Andrew Johns has always been a deep thinker - and the NRL Immortal offered a wild conspiracy theory when it came to Nathan Cleary 's kicking struggles in the Origin series opener at Suncorp Stadium. Despite NSW 's comfortable 18-6 win on Wednesday night, the Blues halfback had a poor night with the boot, missing three conversions and a second half field goal he would normally slot over the black dot with ease. Speaking post game in the sheds, Johns asked Cleary if the Steeden balls were different - or had he just 'f'ed up'. 'The last one I kicked was definitely just an f up,' Cleary said. 'I think I'll reflect on that and I think there was a bit going on in my brain, I had so many things I wanted to do. 'I've thought about being back in this arena so often and so many things I wanted to do and sometimes I need to calm down a bit and go through the processes.' The poor kicking wasn't just limited to Cleary. Fellow Blues sharp-shooter Zac Lomax left footy fans shocked after spraying a simple attempt wide following the match sealing four-pointer from fullback Dylan Edwards. Speaking post game in the sheds, Johns asked Cleary if the Steeden balls were different - or had the halfback just 'f'ed up' after missing three try conversions Cleary admitted 'there was a bit going on in my brain' as he looked to dominate the Origin arena for NSW Meanwhile, triumphant NSW coach Laurie Daley praised the resilience of Payne Haas and Stephen Crichton, who were both immense after entering game one under an injury cloud. Strike centre Crichton completed a fitness test in the team hotel hours before kick-off - and then declared to medical staff he was right to play. 'He (Crichton) was in doubt,' Daley said. 'It was a pretty bad cork, but our physios did an amazing job all week with Payne and Critta. 'Payne's (quad) injury we weren't sure with that either, but they were patient with him. 'Critta was fantastic. He said he was 'mad'. So that's obviously good.' Maroons coach Billy Slater was disappointed with his side's performance - but is adamant they can still turn the series around. 'I've spoken about the discipline side of the game,' he said. 'That's a choice, so there's a shift in that to start I'll look at my preparation as well, so I'm not out of this. 'There's so much more in this footy team. It's a best of three series, you've only got to win two games and that's still alive so we'll be going after it.'
New York Times
28-05-2025
- Business
- New York Times
‘The brutal, honest truth' about the Falcons' international kicking competition
FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. — Younghoe Koo knew his job was up for grabs before the Atlanta Falcons signed Lenny Krieg in March. He knew his job was up for grabs before he had the worst season of his career in 2024. He has known his job was up for grabs since the moment he got it with the Falcons in 2019. 'You're always competing,' Koo said. 'You're always getting evaluated.' Advertisement He knows that because he spent almost two years out of the NFL after getting cut by the Los Angeles Chargers in 2017, when he was trying to do what Krieg is aiming to do now — take one of the league's 32 jobs. 'It's not the first time having a kicker in the locker room with me,' Koo said. 'It's just kind of how it is in the NFL. (Krieg) is a great dude. He works hard. Competition is always good. You're always competing, whether somebody is physically here or not.' The Falcons ranked 31st in the league in field goal percentage last year (70.7), and general manager Terry Fontenot said fixing it was a priority entering the offseason. Koo missed three field goals in a 20-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints in Week 10 and another one in a 17-13 loss to the Chargers in Week 13. After Atlanta placed Koo on injured reserve, Riley Patterson missed a 56-yarder that would have beaten the Washington Commanders in Week 17 and a 52-yarder that would have given the Falcons a lead in the third quarter against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18. 'We missed entirely too many kicks (last) year, that's the brutal, honest truth. That can't happen,' coach Raheem Morris said. 'We have to find a way to make those kicks. That plays into not winning the amount of games you want to win.' Koo is entering the fourth year of a five-year, $24 million deal signed before the 2022 season, which he earned on the strength of the 2019-2021 seasons, when he was the second-most accurate kicker in the league (97-for-104, 93.2 percent) behind only Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens. Last season, Koo was 35th among kickers (73.5 percent) after missing a career-worst nine field goals (25 for 34). Falcons special teams coordinator Marquice Williams said he believes Koo will return to his previous form this year because he never saw Koo's fundamentals or preparation slip last season, despite the lack of results. Advertisement 'I like his process and I know his process and I know how he prepares every single day and every single week,' Williams said. 'He'll put his best foot forward.' Koo spent the final four weeks of last season on IR with a hip muscle injury. 'I have dealt with it before,' he said. 'It was sore for a while, but it wasn't really affecting my swing that much. It just progressively got worse, so I decided to shut it down.' Koo has returned to full health and is on pace with his normal offseason schedule, which includes kicking twice a week this time of year. He plans to attend all Falcons voluntary OTAs this month to work out with his teammates and said he is happy to have Krieg alongside. Krieg is Atlanta's most interesting offseason addition. The 22-year-old German didn't kick a football until 2020 when his older brother, Jaycee, an American football coach in Germany, convinced him to see if he could turn his soccer background into a football future. Mr. Lenny Krieg. 🇪🇺🦵 — European League of Football (@ELF_Official) March 28, 2025 Lenny Krieg kicked for the Berlin Adler of the German Football League in 2021 and was then signed by the Stuttgart Surge of the European League of Football in 2022 and 2023. On most days during those three years, the fields his teams used for practice didn't have uprights, Krieg said, so he kicked over the soccer goals. 'Just imagination,' he said. Krieg's big break came in December 2024 when he was accepted to the NFL's International Player Pathway program, which led to an invitation to the NFL combine. 'It was pretty special,' Krieg said. 'My whole life changed after that call.' Krieg quit school and his real estate job and began to focus all his attention on football. At the combine, he made every kick with Williams on the field watching, which is what first got him on the Falcons' radar. Williams and Falcons special teams assistant Steven King then attended Krieg's pro day at the University of South Florida, and the Falcons signed him to a three-year contract the next day. Advertisement As a member of the IPP program, Krieg can remain on the team without counting against the league's roster limits, so Atlanta is incentivized to keep him around at least through the 2025 season. Whether he can eventually replace Koo is an open question. 'I'm just going to keep working, keep improving, make the most out of it, take it day by day and see where it takes me,' Krieg said. The competition won't just be decided on who makes the most practice kicks, Williams said. 'It's everything,' the coach said. 'It's your preparation, your process, how you operate, how you carry yourself as a professional, your mindset, your fundamentals, your technique. As a kicker, you have to be likable, too, because there is going to be a time you're going to miss a kick. It's going to happen. How are your teammates going to treat you? Are they going to be encouraging you, or are they going to be walking away from you? That's a huge part of it.' Koo didn't need the addition of Krieg to convince him this is an important offseason. 'Last year's performance, whether because of injury or not, was a motivating factor for me, but every season I try to reset and work hard,' Koo said. 'I'm always working on myself and trying to be the best version of myself, and I can live with the result.' (Photo of Younghoe Koo: Kirby Lee / Imagn Images)
New York Times
12-05-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Ryan Fitzgerald brings accuracy and a big leg to the Panthers' kicking competition
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Before he signed with the Carolina Panthers on Friday, Ryan Fitzgerald already had a favorite barbecue spot in Charlotte and a private gym where he worked out alongside Luke Kuechly and current Panthers players Andy Dalton and Chandler Zavala this past winter. Besides a strong leg and an accurate aim, Fitzgerald brings a comfort level to the Panthers' kicking competition. Advertisement 'I love it so far,' he said. Fitzgerald was in Charlotte from January through March, training with his kicking coach, Dan Orner, a former North Carolina kicker who has worked with a number of former and current NFL players, including new Panthers punter Sam Martin. Fitzgerald ate barbecue at Mac's Speed Shop five or six times, lived in an apartment within walking distance of Quail Hollow Club, site of this week's PGA Championship, kicked at local high schools and on the Charlotte 49ers' fields, and bumped into Kuechly on occasion at the gym. But none of that played a role in the Panthers' decision to sign the Florida State standout as an undrafted free agent and have him compete with veteran Matthew Wright for Eddy Pineiro's old job. 'First of all, accuracy. But then there's a lot of power in his leg,' head coach Dave Canales said when asked what the Panthers saw in Fitzgerald. 'The ball jumps off of his foot. When we're evaluating the kickers, just looking for the guys that have a process. And he certainly has a plan, certainly has a process.' Fitzgerald's process changed during a rough 2022 season in which he made only 12 of 20 field goals for the Seminoles. After trying out a new leg swing that year, Fitzgerald switched back to his previous form and got back on track with a 19-of-21 success rate in 2023. The 5-foot-11, 193-pound Fitzgerald went 13-of-13 last fall to tie Charlotte's Stephen Rusnak as the FBS leader in field goal percentage. Fitzgerald, whose six-year career at FSU included the COVID-shortened season of 2020, was 5-for-5 on field goals of 50-plus yards in 2024, including a 59-yarder that was the third-longest in ACC history. 'Going into 2022, I changed my swing and started off terrible,' Fitzgerald said. 'So I changed it back and I've been money ever since.' Advertisement Pineiro was money for most of his time in Carolina, making 88.9 percent of his field goals to climb into the third spot on the all-time field goal percentage list (at 88.1) behind Justin Tucker and Harrison Butker. But the Panthers didn't have much faith in Pineiro's leg strength, evidenced by his 11 attempts from 50-plus over the past three years. So they signed Wright in February, chose not to re-sign Pineiro (who remains a free agent) and brought in Fitzgerald after the draft. Wright has made 87.3 percent of his field goals since entering the league in 2020. But he's never found an NFL home, playing for six teams over five years. Fitzgerald has kicked in Bank of America Stadium once previously, hitting three field goals — including two in the fourth quarter — to help Florida State beat Louisville 16-6 in the 2023 ACC Championship Game. The Panthers won't wait until training camp to get the competition underway. 'We'll start kicking now. And we'll give those guys opportunities,' Canales said. 'Places I've been in the past in Tampa and Seattle, there was fun things at the end of practice. It's like, 'All right, let's put the guys up. Let's get the team around them and just create a competitive moment.'' Fitzgerald welcomes it. 'I think at this level, every year, regardless of the team, it's gonna be a competition. I love that. I'm a competitor,' he said. 'But the key to that is just focus on myself. It's me versus the uprights, not me versus another guy. I'm sure that's the same for Matt's mindset as well. Just excited to get to work with the guys.' Those uprights were a little skinnier than what Fitzgerald was used to when he joined special teams coach Tracy Smith for some pre-practice kicks Friday at rookie camp. The Panthers have a practice goal post with uprights that are nine feet apart, the Arena League standard that is about half the 18.5-feet width on NFL goal posts. Advertisement 'I kicked pretty good on them. I only missed a couple on the tiny ones, which would've been good on the big ones,' Fitzgerald said. 'It was a pretty solid day.' Fitzgerald has become a pretty solid golfer after he began playing in college. He said there's a similar motion between swinging a golf club and swinging his leg through a kick. 'You can think of the club face as your foot and your path. If you're gonna hit a draw or a fade with a football as well. I typically hit about a 1-yard draw if there's no wind. So it's kind of similar to that,' he said. 'I also draw it on the golf course, too, when I hit it well.' Fitzgerald, a 9-handicap, said he's looking forward to playing with Martin, the former Buffalo Bills punter who is also an avid golfer. Fitzgerald, who grew up in south Georgia an hour north of Tallahassee, Fla., is planning to attend the PGA Championship this week. Told that Panthers owner David Tepper is a Quail Hollow member who could get him on the course to play a round, Fitzgerald laughed and said: 'I'll have to see about that.'
