San Francisco Chronicle (Tuesday, 10/28/03)

That could be LD's off-day job... very interesting...

 

Don't know about accuracy, but I've been very impressed with the leg on Pat Onstad. That guy can get some air and distance on his punts! If they're ever looking for a punter...

 

Well, landon would be adept at drawing roughing the kicker penalties that could help out the niners in a critical situation.

 

This is further evidence that Jeff Garcia, for a pointy ball player, is a relatively cool guy. At least he has some awareness, and, apparently, some respect for soccer. I guess it doesn't hurt that the teams play at a place he's pretty familiar with.

 

Fortunately, Jeff was just joking, but why not Onstad, as Quaker points out? He's big enough to take a hit, can probably put kickoffs out of the end zone, and seems more accurate than Pochman. Even as a discount employee of the Niners, he'd probably make more $$$ than he does from MLS.

 

For players who might actually work as field goal kickers, I think Richard Mulrooney or Ronnie Ekelund could do the job. Both can kick the heck out of the ball...

But I do remember Tony Meola's tryout with the Jets after the 94 World Cup- they called him "Hooker" if I remember rightly.

 

Forget the kicker. Replace Garcia with Conway, and you won't have to worry about getting field goals. You only need someone to kick extra points.

 

Converting soccer players to the gridiron is a project at best. At the least, it's some PR for the Quakes and the game.

Only Chris and Matt Bahr have made the switch from soccer to kicking field goals. No telling what would have been had Tony Meola stuck with the Jets. He did look scrawny in pads and a green helmet compared to his goalie threads.

Right now, we can suggest the Canuck Onstad who tends to have these booming goal kicks--or maybe Conway who can use the leg exercise--if both can do the same thing with an oblong shaped sphere. Or, use them as a quarterback on trick plays.

Cheers!

 

I looked it up. This year, the minimum salary for a rookie in the NFL is $225,000. With one season under your belt, you're making at least $300,000. Those are right around the (official) MLS league maximum salary. Yeah, I think he'd be looking at a raise...

 

But is it a placekicker or a punter that they need? Two different animals there. I'd say for the punter, go with Onstad. But as a placekicker, I'd go with Donovan.

 

I'm surprised that Goodsport didn't highlight this as well (maybe he's not old enough), but the 49ers went this route in 1969 when they signed Momcilo "Gabbo" Gavric as their kicker...and he was awful.

I used to kid him about having seen him play for the 49ers (last game of the '69 season at Kezar vs. Philadelphia...SF 14:13 PHL)...and he admitted he was rotten as an NFL kicker, but he was still proud of his accomplishments (as the first to go from NASL to NFL).

The mechanics of placekicking in the NFL as opposed to just kicking a soccer ball are completely different. As Tony Meola found out, placekicking is more than just kicking a ball as far as you can. A placement kick must go the required distance, yes, but it also must be lifted quickly to get over the onrushing defenders, then must stay on line over the length of the kick to go over the crossbar and between 2 narrow posts...much more narrow than a soccer goal.

It's the rapid lift on a football kick that makes its mechanics much different than a soccer kick, where the premium is placed on keeping the ball low and in play.

 

Garcia is familiar with Mark McLoughlin from his time with the Calgary Stampeders. A very good soccer player who gave up footy for football at the college level and went on to be a placekicker in the CFL.

 

I'm sure there are more placekickers that have a primarily soccer background than just Chris and Matt Bahr. For example, former Miami Dolphin Garo Yepremian (showing my age here) came from Europe where he was a soccer player (though I don't think he played professionally there). I'm sure there are more. Obviously, though, it's not an easy conversion.

 

Placekicker, and I'd like to believe most people (especially the Niners' management) know the difference. Nobody was talking about any Quakes being the punter.

No evidence to me that Donovan could nail a 50 yarder, either. And he makes more $$$ from MLS and endorsement deals than the Niners would ever consider paying a kicker.

Matt and Chris Bahr grew up playing both sports, no real "conversion" to football player. I remember seeing a piece about them on TV before.

Let's see...

The Bahrs and Yepremian as aforementioned
Jan Stenerud
Morten Andersen
Martin and Billy Gramatica (they have a brother playing in college, too)
Sebastian Janikowski
Doug Brien (played soccer at De La Salle and Cal)

So, although the Gavric and Meola experiments didn't go well...there have been and still are NFL placekickers with soccer histories. And will be in the future, too. Perhaps just not convertees from pro soccer. LOTS of soccer players play football in HS, too (at least in places where the two sports aren't concurrent).

But we're straying from the point, which was obviously a joke by Garcia that showed awareness of another Bay Area team, that's all.

 

Janikowski!!? I don't doubt it, but man, he must have fallen hard off the fitness wagon a long time ago. He's a blob.

 

Steve Christie of the Bills and currently the Chargers grew up playing soccer.

 

Re: Re: San Francisco Chronicle (Tuesday, 10/28/03)

Not just an awareness of any Bay Area team, but awareness of the local SOCCER team.

<tongue firmly in cheek>
Soccer has truly made it in this country.
<tongue firmly released from previous position >

 

Continuing to stray from the point here, but it wasn't that long ago that most or all NFL placekickers kicked the ball straight-on with their toe. Then when people like Yepremian started kicking with the side of their foot, they were called "soccer style" kickers. I think all NFL kickers kick "soccer style" now, whether they actually have a background in soccer or not. But as Spartacus points out, the kicking requirements for NFL placekicking are quite a bit different from soccer.

 

Oh, I'm fully aware it was a joke by Garcia...and it was also my feeble attempt at a joke myself.

I'm just glad Garcia is aware of the Quakes and soccer.

 

I must be wrong above, because I thought about it and cannot figure how Doug Brien could've played football and soccer at Cal since they're concurrent (he DID play both at De La Salle). I mean, sometimes people can pull that off in HS, but I'm not even sure it's within NCAA rules. I seem to remember that the TV announcers said he played at Cal the day (as Niners' kicker) he made that slide tackle to save an opposing TD on a kickoff return.

Yeah, it was definitely the 70s where the metamorphosis started. Since I was around then, I like your thinking that 30 years "wasn't that long ago."

 

He used to play rugby. The first time someone ran at him, he knocked the guy on his @$$.