Despite converting nine of 11 field goal attempts in the first five games of the 2006 season, the job of Washington Redskins veteran kicker John Hall is in jeopardy, ESPN.com has learned through league and team sources. The Redskins, 2-3 after Sunday's road loss to the New York Giants, will audition potential replacements on Tuesday at their complex. One candidate to replace Hall is 12-year veteran Todd Peterson, who converted 23 of 25 field goal attempts for the Atlanta Falcons in 2005, but was not re-signed. It is believed former Maryland kicker Nick Novak, who was in training camp with the Arizona Cardinals this summer, is among the candidates invited to Redskins Park as well.
Hall, 32, joined the Redskins in 2003 as an unrestricted free agent, after spending the first six seasons of his career with the New York Jets. But the 10th-year veteran is frequently injured and only once since signing with the Redskins, during the 2003 season, as Hall been able to kick in all 16 games. Because of injuries, Hall appeared in a total of just 18 games in 2004-2005.
Sources agreed that, because some team officials feel they can't always depend on Hall from a physical standpoint, a change could be coming.
The veteran kicker did not appear on the Redskins' injury report following Sunday's game. But in the past, Washington officials have been frustrated by Hall's lack of availability because of injuries. He suffered a hamstring injury that limited him to eight games in 2004 and in 2005 played in just 10 games because of a quadriceps injury.
Coach Joe Gibbs said that, on Saturday, Hall informed him that he was "a little bit tired with his leg." That prompted the Redskins to use punter Derrick Frost on kickoffs, a chore he has handled in the past. Hall hit one of two field goal tries, missing from 42 yards. In addition to his nine field goal conversions, Hall has made all nine of his extra point tries in 2006.
For his career, Hall has connected on 203 of 272 field goals and 280 of 286 extra points.
Peterson, 36, is believed to be the most veteran kicker who will take part in Tuesday's audition. He has converted 235 of 296 field goals and all but three of his 341 extra point attempts, for 1,043 points. He has scored over 100 points six times in his career.
Senior writer Len Pasquarelli covers the NFL for ESPN.com.
Finally someone is realizing a problem. 1 FG over 45 yards since 2003 and it was this year, a whopping 46 yarder. Good call on giving him 2 mil a year.
Comment:
Peterson is set to enter his 12th NFL season. He has spent time with Arizona, Seattle, Kansas City and Pittsburgh before joining San Francisco in 2003. He has a 78.2-percent conversion rate on his FGAs over his career and was a solid 18-for-22 last season. He makes good contact with the ball, has a strong leg and shows the ability to hit from beyond 50-yards. He has had bouts with inconsistency in the past but he has improved his accuracy over the last two seasons. Peterson has a smooth approach to the ball and his mechanics are sound. His kickoffs were also excellent but he needs to be surrounded by better players on the coverage team to be truly effective. Overall, Peterson is getting older (34 years old), but he proved last year that he is still capable of handling the job.
Novak has a ton of accuracy... but he doesn't even have the leg to try for long FG's.
I think Peterson is a safer bet.
I'm also still sketchy on Frost, he is pretty middle of the road in all the punting stats.
"Guess [Ryan Kerrigan] really does have a good motor. And is relentless. And never quits on a play. And just keeps coming. And probably eats Wheaties and drinks Apple Pie smoothies and shaves with Valvoline." -Dan Steinberg DC Sports Bog
finally, lets forget Hall. Lets bring back Novack.
"Never get less than 12 hours sleep, never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city, and never go near a lady with a tattoo of a dagger on her hand. Now you stick with that, and everything else is cream cheese." - Teen Wolf
Novak hit at least one 50+ yarder in the preseason, the good thing about him is he has the potential to be good in the league for a long time, which would be great for us. However it would be nice to find a kicker who can not only kick FG's, but can also kickoff into the endzone once or twice a year.
"This is a very simple defensive approach. They want you to attack, and be explosive. It's like this: straight ahead and attack." Andre Carter
"Guess [Ryan Kerrigan] really does have a good motor. And is relentless. And never quits on a play. And just keeps coming. And probably eats Wheaties and drinks Apple Pie smoothies and shaves with Valvoline." -Dan Steinberg DC Sports Bog
I have no big problem with this move, but the timing could be better. We lose by 16, and you get ready to fire the kicker, the only guy who actually put points on the board?!? Sure, he missed one too, and I'm not going to miss him if he goes, but they ought to be bringing in some defensive backs if they really want to send a message. This game wasn't John Hall's fault, and the beating we took in Dallas wasn't his fault either.
Hall is done...we have nursed him for too many years. His field goal kicking is mediocre at best and tell me the last time he put a kickoff in the end zone? I commend him for wanting to lay a helmet on someone but his leg has gone out to pasture, no it's been out to pasture...this is another example of Gibbs not wanting to let go.
Are they going to cut Hall? Because if they are going to keep him around, this problem will just come back again. They should have never signed him in the first place. Fatigue...pssshhhh...whatever.
About time. What good is a kicker who gets sore and tired when he's only asked to kick field goals? Our punter ends almost every drive and you don't see him complaining. Heh.
Exactly...can't you all see it....it's all Hall's fault that the OL did not block well and the RB didn't get any yardage. It's definitly his fault that the CB's suck this year and can't cover to save their life.
Althought alot of games are won by kickers and kicking is an important staple of the game we were not going to win the Giants game by kicking. I can only hope that if they are bringing in other kickers to evaluate then I hope they are bringing in other CB to evaluate also. Maybe some DL's also so we can muster some pressure and not give the pass away.
According to the Post, the Redskins are poised to sign our good friend Nick Novak:
The Washington Redskins appear to have picked Nick Novak as the replacement for injured kicker John Hall. After a 90-minute workout, the former University of Maryland kicker left Redskins Park to take a physical and he is expected to sign with the team if he passes.
"I'm the guy," Novak said. "I just have to pass the physical."
It also says we tried out Jose Cortez. Needless to say, I died a little bit inside.
Hopefully we groom Novak to be our guy because Hall is done. He's a 10 year vet, he is only gonna deteriorate from here. Cut ties and lets move on...he's not the only kicker in the world.
