Bengals’ Graham sets high standard
Aspiring NFL placekickers and their agents see opportunity in imperfection. It is why the phone in Darrin Simmons’ office at Paul Brown Stadium rings if Bengals kicker Shayne Graham misses a field-goal attempt.
“They just see that we missed a field goal and think we’re going to replace a guy,” said Simmons, the Bengals’ special teams coach. “They haven’t done their homework to know the history of what he’s meant to this place as far as field-goal production is concerned. It’s funny to me.”
In the performance-driven world of NFL kickers, where points and percentages determine success and longevity, an impressive body of work has afforded Graham a measure of job security.
All that separates the 27-year-old from coronation as the most accurate kicker in team history are his next two field-goal attempts, which could come Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
“A lot of it is maturity,” said Graham, who joined the Bengals in September 2003 and received a five-year, $6.5 million contract this offseason. “Darrin’s coaching is good, because he knows what he’s talking about when we do our drills. A lot of it is confidence.”
Doug Pelfrey established the team’s field-goal accuracy mark with a 77.3 percent success rate on 198 field-goal attempts from 1993 to 1999.
Graham has made 63 of 73 field-goal attempts (86.3 percent) in 39 games with the Bengals. The team requires a minimum of 75 attempts to qualify for the record.
“Anytime he goes out on the field, you feel good that we’re going to come away with three points,” Simmons said. “The past couple of weeks don’t really suggest that, but the one thing he can’t do is panic. He knows what things have got him here.”
The 60 points scored by Graham this season — a sum that ranks fourth among the league’s scoring leaders and has him on pace to break a team scoring record (122) he established last season — have come on 14 made field goals and 18 extra-point attempts.
His three missed field goals, including a 30-yard try against Pittsburgh on Sunday, are one fewer than he had all of last season.
“I realize I’ve got to hunker down and do a little better job than I’ve done,” Graham said. “There’s a standard in this league, a standard I hold for myself and a standard that the coaches have for me that I feel I need to perform.
“I don’t feel I’m doing that. It’s my job to fix that and get it where it needs to be.”
Kevin Kelly writes for The Cincinnati Enquirer. E-mail him at kkelly@enquirer.com
“They just see that we missed a field goal and think we’re going to replace a guy,” said Simmons, the Bengals’ special teams coach. “They haven’t done their homework to know the history of what he’s meant to this place as far as field-goal production is concerned. It’s funny to me.”
In the performance-driven world of NFL kickers, where points and percentages determine success and longevity, an impressive body of work has afforded Graham a measure of job security.
All that separates the 27-year-old from coronation as the most accurate kicker in team history are his next two field-goal attempts, which could come Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
“A lot of it is maturity,” said Graham, who joined the Bengals in September 2003 and received a five-year, $6.5 million contract this offseason. “Darrin’s coaching is good, because he knows what he’s talking about when we do our drills. A lot of it is confidence.”
Doug Pelfrey established the team’s field-goal accuracy mark with a 77.3 percent success rate on 198 field-goal attempts from 1993 to 1999.
Graham has made 63 of 73 field-goal attempts (86.3 percent) in 39 games with the Bengals. The team requires a minimum of 75 attempts to qualify for the record.
“Anytime he goes out on the field, you feel good that we’re going to come away with three points,” Simmons said. “The past couple of weeks don’t really suggest that, but the one thing he can’t do is panic. He knows what things have got him here.”
The 60 points scored by Graham this season — a sum that ranks fourth among the league’s scoring leaders and has him on pace to break a team scoring record (122) he established last season — have come on 14 made field goals and 18 extra-point attempts.
His three missed field goals, including a 30-yard try against Pittsburgh on Sunday, are one fewer than he had all of last season.
“I realize I’ve got to hunker down and do a little better job than I’ve done,” Graham said. “There’s a standard in this league, a standard I hold for myself and a standard that the coaches have for me that I feel I need to perform.
“I don’t feel I’m doing that. It’s my job to fix that and get it where it needs to be.”
Kevin Kelly writes for The Cincinnati Enquirer. E-mail him at kkelly@enquirer.com
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