woodbuck27
05-08-2007, 02:07 PM
http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/teamReport?categoryId=67046&type=InsideSlant
Team Report: Crosby to challenge Rayner.
Baseball has the big boppers. The lead-up to the 2007 football season for the Packers will feature the sturdy strikers.
Out of its 11 picks in the recent draft, the club might have reaped its best value with the last of three selections in the sixth round.
Colorado's Mason Crosby was generally rated as the best kicker coming out of college but tumbled from a possible first-day choice to being the third kicker taken.
The Packers had last used a draft pick on a kicker in 1997, when they chose Brett Conway in the third round. Although they were pleased with Dave Rayner's first year of handling all place-kicking duties as a pro, team officials expect Crosby to challenge the incumbent for the job.
"It's all about competition," special teams coordinator Mike Stock said.
Rayner and Crosby are in the same mold. They're able to boom away on kickoffs and field goals with powerful right legs, though they're erratic with accuracy.
What's more, both were taken in the sixth round -- Rayner going to the Colts in 2005, when he served as their kickoff specialist before being released when Adam Vinatieri was signed last year.
Crosby probably has better range than Rayner does, having benefited from kicking in the thin air at Colorado. He connected from 71 yards in warm-ups before a game but also nailed a 58-yarder in a game at Miami, the longest at sea level in NCAA Division I-A history without using a kicking tee.
"In a game, I feel confident I can make one from 65," Crosby said.
As the first step toward outperforming Rayner in the coming months, Crosby will have to regain his confidence.
He made only 19 of 28 field-goal tries last year, including 2-for-9 accuracy from 50-plus yards. Crosby subsequently struggled in pre-draft auditions for scouts.
Rayner, meanwhile, will have to win back the trust of the Green Bay coaching staff. He tailed off the second half of last season, making just 14 of 20 field-goal attempts. Five of the six misses in those last eight games were from 40 yards and closer.
"I thought he could have done a little bit better," Stock said of Rayner's field-goal percentage of 74.3, which was 26th in the league.
Team Report: Crosby to challenge Rayner.
Baseball has the big boppers. The lead-up to the 2007 football season for the Packers will feature the sturdy strikers.
Out of its 11 picks in the recent draft, the club might have reaped its best value with the last of three selections in the sixth round.
Colorado's Mason Crosby was generally rated as the best kicker coming out of college but tumbled from a possible first-day choice to being the third kicker taken.
The Packers had last used a draft pick on a kicker in 1997, when they chose Brett Conway in the third round. Although they were pleased with Dave Rayner's first year of handling all place-kicking duties as a pro, team officials expect Crosby to challenge the incumbent for the job.
"It's all about competition," special teams coordinator Mike Stock said.
Rayner and Crosby are in the same mold. They're able to boom away on kickoffs and field goals with powerful right legs, though they're erratic with accuracy.
What's more, both were taken in the sixth round -- Rayner going to the Colts in 2005, when he served as their kickoff specialist before being released when Adam Vinatieri was signed last year.
Crosby probably has better range than Rayner does, having benefited from kicking in the thin air at Colorado. He connected from 71 yards in warm-ups before a game but also nailed a 58-yarder in a game at Miami, the longest at sea level in NCAA Division I-A history without using a kicking tee.
"In a game, I feel confident I can make one from 65," Crosby said.
As the first step toward outperforming Rayner in the coming months, Crosby will have to regain his confidence.
He made only 19 of 28 field-goal tries last year, including 2-for-9 accuracy from 50-plus yards. Crosby subsequently struggled in pre-draft auditions for scouts.
Rayner, meanwhile, will have to win back the trust of the Green Bay coaching staff. He tailed off the second half of last season, making just 14 of 20 field-goal attempts. Five of the six misses in those last eight games were from 40 yards and closer.
"I thought he could have done a little bit better," Stock said of Rayner's field-goal percentage of 74.3, which was 26th in the league.