Meet New Atlanta Falcons Kicker Matt Bryant
by Dave Choate on Dec 2, 2009 8:00 AM EST
in Falcons News
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PrintThe story of Matt Bryant is one of those tales of ladder-climbing that inspires even the lowliest office drone, or, in this case, me.
Bryant was undrafted out of college and did what most people do when they can't quite hit the job of their dreams on their first try: Work in a pawn shop. Sometime during his adventures in wrangling with customers about pocket watches allegedly belonging to Kaiser Wilhelm, he got a chance to kick with the mighty Frankfurt Galaxy of the now defunct NFL Europa, a stepping stone to the NFL which yielded fruit fairly quickly. Over the course of the next several season, Bryant bounced around the league for a few years before going on to have four mostly successful seasons with the hated Tampa Bay Bucs. Primarily due to an injury, he lost his job this off-season and is now with the Falcons. The end?
Actually, it's interesting to note how utterly inept most teams are when it comes to retaining kickers. Bryant's got an 80+ percent field goal conversion rate for his career, which is pretty damn good, yet he was largely picked up for a few weeks and cut by those teams who had him early in his career. Now he's 34 years old and despite a 62 yard field goal that had the mayor in Tampa declaring October 23, 2006, to be "Matt Bryant Day" (God bless Wikipedia), he's not really a force from outside 50 yards. He's still, from all indications, very competent inside that range, which makes him an automatic upgrade. Just don't expect Bryant to be our new long-term kicker, because he is almost certainly not.
That said, he's a man who has fought his way onto teams and suffered a terrible tragedy when he lost his young son last year. He'll want to prove a lot and is a quality person, so I'd say Falcons fans will welcome him with open arms. Making a few critical field goals, however, is what will really endear him to Atlanta.
Your thoughts?
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Well
I for one am happy that they made a move. Nothing against Elam, but he isnt producing and is having some sort of issue. We need to move on and hopefully Bryant will be more consistent.
Life is a garden. Dig it!
I like to think he will be
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Initially I was on the Coutu/Hauschka bandwagon
But now I think Bryant was the right choice. Other than generally trusting TD, I think the veteran guy is more of a known quantity. They needed to make sure that the K spot was solid (at worst) for the remainder of the year. I’m still hoping for one of the younger guys this (or next) off-season, but for now I’m totally on-board with Bryant.
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
I think they'll both be available
Or at least one, and I hope the Falcons will take a chance after the season. I’m still a big believer in Hauschka’s leg.
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I just like his story ...
I mean, he’s a soccer player, goes to grad school at NC State (with a year of eligibility left), then ends up in the NFL. The guy has almost no football experience, but at least he’s got a leg.
Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?
Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.
He also drilled a 54 yarder last year....
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if he struggles then...
I’d say that maybe the problem would have to be the HOLDER?
Lets hope this change wins a critical game for us this season! Like maybe, he could beat his old team, the bucs, the last game of the year with a last second FG to give us a 9-7 record!!!!! That would be storybook folklore for years to come!!
LETS GO FALCONS!!
L-DAWG
Fair point
Isn’t the holder Koenen?
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Holder
To be fair, I’ve looked at the replay of those kicks he missed to see if it was a bad snap, bad hold or something. Now granted I am not a kicker, but those snap and holds looked pretty damn good. Elam had just lost it at 39. He himself said he had expected to be released last 3 games, so doesn’t seem like he is blaming anyone by himself.
Good luck to the new guy.
I say
keep Bryant for a couple years, and then draft Blair Walsh out of UGA. Kids got a leg.
In Dimitroff we trust
As long as Bryant does well
That’s plenty workable.
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Or
That cat from UF. He seems to hit 60+ with more consistency than any kicker ever should.
Corey Zickefoose: I think they should still be able to play football, regardless. Tennessee is my place. You know, it's my football team.
Reporter: Even after they put a gun in your face, you say let them play football?
Corey Zickefoose: Yeah. It's Tennessee. That's the way it is sometimes.
Welcome to the SEC!
Great story of persistence
You have to pull for a guy who’s been through what he has. Hope we’re all recalling him fondly in 5 years.
Happy about the signing...
but I agree that we should try and find a younger kicker at the beginning of next season, who can be on the team for years to come..
I’ve been wondering why Bryant’s stint with the Frankfurt Galaxy is mentioned as a stepping stone in a lot of places. I followed the Galaxy very closely (I grew up about an hour away from Frankfurt) and if I remember correctly he attempted one FG and missed it.
See, that's why I love my readers
Of course someone out here would know that about the Frankfurt Galaxy! Amazing that he jumped right from there to the Giants….
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There's enough quality options in free agency
That we shouldn’t have to, in my opinion.
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Not only that
we shouldn’t waste a pick on a kicker in the draft, but in case you hadn’t noticed by now, our secondary is pretty non-existent. We need to draft a cornerback, maybe even two.
It's all relative ...
TD isn’t going to pull the trigger on a kicker unless it’s for value. If there’s a six or seventh round K available with a huge upside, I’d be all for it. He’ll likely nab a CB in the first or second round I imagine. Late round CBs aren’t going to alleviate our pass coverage issues.
Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?
Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.
Yeah
I seem to remember TD drafting two Cornerbacks last year…
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
That Middleton pick still irks me ... but all things consider, TD has our personnel needs to lock down IMO
Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?
Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.
needs to = needs on
Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?
Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.
noooo
never draft a kicker. too many available every year that do not get drafted who can do a good job for you.
Life is a garden. Dig it!
On the surface, I agree
But this got me to thinking so I looked up the top current kickers in the NFL. Turns out 3 of the top 5 were drafted. Although 1 & 2 (Akers, Tynes were undrafted). I didn’t have the energy to go past #5 but I think it goes to show, drafting a kicker in the late rounds is a sound strategy because position players in the late rounds will usually be no more than role players. Still, its hard to deny FA is also a good route to take when you absolutely can’t spend the pick on a kicker. I guess it just depends on need and from my point of view, taking a kicker with solid credentials in the 6th would well worth it. Drafting early like Janikowski and Nugent doesn’t seem to pan out.
Kaeding – SD
Gostowski – NE
Crosby – GB
Unless...
Unless it’s Ted Nugent. Drafting Ted Nugent in the early rounds is always a sound strategy in my book.
Corey Zickefoose: I think they should still be able to play football, regardless. Tennessee is my place. You know, it's my football team.
Reporter: Even after they put a gun in your face, you say let them play football?
Corey Zickefoose: Yeah. It's Tennessee. That's the way it is sometimes.
Welcome to the SEC!
Can't play him against teams with animals names, though
Or he’ll gun them down in cold blood.
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He's a crazy mother
Ted Nugent spit beer all over my friends and I at a nightclub once. Thankfully no one got disemboweled, though.
The Bills would have to draft him
He could continue to call himself “The Great White Buffalo”.
by NeedATicketToTheGame on Dec 3, 2009 12:01 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Drafting a kicker late wouldn't break MY heart either
If he’s a bona fide prospect to fill the position for 10-15 years, a late pick can be a great value in the long run.
yeah
very late…
Life is a garden. Dig it!
by Hardcore Falcon on Dec 3, 2009 10:46 AM EST up reply actions
I'm not sure why
we haven’t had Koenen kick any field goals this year. If you recall back when Morten Anderson was our kicker, we had Koenen kick field goals greater than 45 yards, and he did a great job. Nothing against Matt Bryant, but I feel we should at least try out Koenen for the job. He has proven to be a very reliable punter this year, and also leads the league in touchbacks on kickoffs.
Not me!
Koener hasn’t volunteered to kick because then everybody would know he’s the reason for our kicking problems! The holder would be the reason for our failures.
A new kicker will hopefully be something for the troops to rally around. It certainly can’t hurt our chances. Now if only we could find some cornerbacks at Walmart!
by Gjmoody on Dec 2, 2009 7:54 PM EST via mobile up reply actions
Wasn't he holding some this year too?
Hasn’t he held some this year?
Thats what I was referring too.
Been there ... done that
Koenen had double duty two years ago, and it did not work well. He’s got a leg, and he can certainly knock ‘em down from way out, but he’s about as accurate from 50+ as Bryant.
In general, he’s not very accurate, that’s what it comes down to.
Reporter: How will you address all of the dropped passes?
Mike Smith: I don’t think that we were as sharp as we have been catching the football. It’s something that is very fixable. It’s VERY fixable.
by FrankyWren on Dec 2, 2009 7:59 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
dude
seriuously…
Life is a garden. Dig it!
by Hardcore Falcon on Dec 3, 2009 3:14 PM EST up reply actions
I'd rather he spend his day kicking PAT's
And not have it come down to a “game winner”…
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
That's true
With our “D”, he could spend all day kicking PAT’s, and still have a pressure kick at the end of the game…
"Statistics are like bikinis. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they conceal is vital." - Aaron Levenstein
Anyone else upset
That two teams in the playoff hunt have a big game this weekend, with a plethora of big players injured on both sides (Matt Ryan, Michael Turner, Brian Westbrook, DeSean Jackson, Sam Baker, etc.) and all I hear about is:
“Will Vick get booed?”
Seems like this game should be a bit more interesting than the sideshow.
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