Saints’ Mare keeps his foot in the door

By Darrell Laurant  |   Thursday, October 11, 2007  |  Comments( 1 )

New Orleans Saints
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New Orleans place-kicker Olindo Mare heard footsteps this week. Lots of footsteps.

The feet belonged to Mike Vanderjagt, Martin Grammatica, Billy Cundiff, Josh Huston, Seth Marler, Shane Andrus and Brandon Pace, all cycled through the Saints' practice facility to audition for Mare's job.

Amazing how quickly a kicker can plummet from penthouse to outhouse. Vanderjagt, for instance, was a Pro Bowler not long ago, while Cundiff and Grammatica both won some games for NFL teams. Now, they're reduced to trying out like extras for a Broadway play.

As for Mare, he made 19 of 20 field goals as a Miami Dolphin in 2001, 18 of 21 a year earlier. He connected on 26 of 36 last season, but hit his last nine in a row. He also holds the league record for percentage of touchbacks on kickoffs. So it seemed to make perfect sense for the Saints to drop the aging John Carney and acquire Mare from the Dolphins.

The problem was, Mare lost his confidence somewhere between South Beach and Bourbon Street. He missed all three of his field goals during the preseason, and he's 3 of 7 now that the games are for real. In a 16-13 loss to Carolina last week, he hooked a 54-yarder that would have won the game and had a 19-yard chip shot blocked. The Panthers' John Kasay then rubbed it in by nailing a 56-yard game winner.

Mare's leg strength is still there, but the accuracy has gone haywire.

Despite that, though, and the small army of outside kickers put through their paces last week, Saints coach Sean Payton decided to keep the veteran from Syracuse around, at least for another week.

The company line was that Mare kicked well in practice, and maybe that's true. Besides, he's been playing with a minor groin injury.

It may also be true, though, that the Saints are planning a rewind to last season. Carney, filling in for the injured Josh Scobee, has made 6 of 7 field goals for Jacksonville this season. When Scobee comes back, Carney might be the next hired foot to be brought in.
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