EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — When the Giants and the New Orleans Saints play Monday night, there will be at least 20 players in the Superdome who weigh more than 300 pounds. There will be fleshy linemen and muscle-bound pass rushers battling to be proved the stoutest.
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And yet, despite this impressive collection of tape-measure biceps and unending necks, the strongest players on the field may well be the teams’ punters — the two players who, if things go right, will not have to knock down anyone at all.
Punters and kickers are, at least stereotypically, “the soft,” “wimpy” type, Giants punter Steve Weatherford said. But according to many of Weatherford’s teammates, Weatherford — at 210 pounds — is pound for pound the strongest player in the Giants’ weight room. He proudly works to maintain what defensive end Justin Tuck called (with only a hint of envy) a “total beach body.”
In fact, Weatherford’s build is so remarkable that he is featured in the December issue of Men’s Fitness magazine, a rare honor for an N.F.L. specialist and one that is not lost on one of his occasional training partners — Saints punter Thomas Morstead.
“His physique is just ridiculous,” said Morstead, who is 6 feet 4 inches and weighs 225 pounds himself. “He makes us look good even though none of us look as good as him.”
Continue reading the main storyWeatherford, a seven-year veteran who has played with four other teams, readily admits that he is blessed with “some pretty good genetics.” But that does not fully explain his 5 ½ percent body fat or the fact that he regularly lifts as much weight as the Giants’ linebackers.
A few weeks ago, Weatherford was unable to do his daily workout at the usual time — he typically works when offensive and defensive players are in meetings — so he found himself lifting later in the day, when more of his teammates were around.
As Weatherford went through his progression, he noticed several players pointing at him. Then, as he went to replace the 100-pound dumbbells he was using, center David Baas — who is 6-4 and 312 pounds — stopped him. Baas was impressed.
“Why are you so strong?” Baas asked Weatherford. “You don’t even need it.”
Weatherford had a simple answer: longevity. During the off-season, he often trains with John Carney, the former kicker who is a mentor to Weatherford and Morstead. Carney retired in 2010 after playing for seven teams, including the Giants, during a career that spanned 23 seasons.
“Kicking and punting is very similar to being a golfer — you can often get to a point where you’re in a slump because something changed in your routine,” Weatherford said. “I want to keep my routine the same and I want to try and do that for a long time, just like John did.”
To that end, Weatherford can be maniacal. He works out twice a day on Wednesdays and Thursdays. On Mondays, he does a leg-intensive program (so he has six full days to recover before punting on Sundays), and he does at least three days a week of heavy cardio (usually involving a variety of sprints).
He sleeps seven to nine hours a night — with special thanks to his wife, Laura, since they have two children — and takes a two-hour nap on Fridays (almost always from 3 to 5 p.m.) to help him be in top shape for the weekend’s game.
Weatherford’s diet, too, is a study in precision. He eats about 200 grams of protein a day (the Food and Drug Adminstration’s daily recommendation is 50 for a 2,000-calorie diet), loading up on scrambled egg whites, bunless turkey burgers and lean-ground-beef lasagna. If he and his wife go to a swanky restaurant in Manhattan, he often eats beforehand, then has a salad, “while my wife — who is 5-7, 110 pounds and works out like twice a year — crushes a steak,” Weatherford said. “She’s amazing.”
Weatherford’s discipline, though — and his ability to avoid his biggest temptation, a loaded hamburger from Red Robin — has been rewarded. At the end of his off-season program, Weatherford was able to leg-press 1,000 pounds 12 times; he could squat 475 pounds; he could bench-press nearly 400 pounds. The totals are particularly remarkable when you consider that Weatherford had surgery last year to correct an irregular heartbeat.
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While other Giants players may be able to lift more — defensive tackle Linval Joseph and right guard Chris Snee are generally regarded as the leaders in that category — there seems to be a consensus among the team that no player does more in his weight class than Weatherford.
“Have I ever seen a punter work out like him?” Tuck said, repeating a question. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a player work out like him.”
Morstead, although slightly bigger, is similarly focused. A third-year punter, he doesn’t “run like a gazelle” the way Weatherford does, he said, but his weight loads may be even more impressive: he routinely bench-presses 400 pounds and integrates Olympic-style lifts, like the power clean, into his workout.
“We’re just gym rats,” Morstead said. “Just because you’re a punter doesn’t mean you can’t be a gym rat, too.”
Weatherford surely agrees. Fitness is just a constant part of his life, he said, and one of the more recent examples came last July, when Weatherford was in Chicago for the wedding of a college teammate at Illinois, defensive back Kyle Kleckner.
The day before the wedding, Weatherford, Kleckner and a group of other friends were lounging around the pool. There was suddenly a discussion — “I’m not even sure how it came up,” Weatherford said — about whether the spry and nimble Weatherford could replicate the famous Jean-Claude Van Damme stretch in which he did the splits, with his legs splayed out on chairs.
“I’m game, so I tried it,” Weatherford said. “When I didn’t blow out my groin, I thought, ‘This could be pretty cool to do in the magazine.’ So I did it again for the photo shoot.”
Morstead, who said he hoped to work out again with Carney and Weatherford next off-season, just laughed when he saw the magazine photo.
“I may be able to lift similar to Steve, but I can’t do that,” he said. “If some magazine wants to make me an offer, I’d be happy to hear it, but I sure won’t be in the shredded issue the way Steve was. He’s just crazy.”
EXTRA POINTS
Linebacker Michael Boley (hamstring), running back Ahmad Bradshaw (foot), tackle Will Beatty (eye) and safety Derrick Martin (hamstring) are out for Monday’s game.
An amateur placekicker attempts to kick a field goal.
Placekicker, or simply kicker (PK or K), is the player in gridiron football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals and extra points. In many cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist or punter as well.
- 2Salary and team standing
Specialized role of kicker (versus punter)[edit]
The kicker initially was not a specialized role. Prior to the 1934 standardization of the prolate spheroid shape of the ball, drop kicking was the prevalent method of kicking field goals and conversions, but even after its replacement by place kicking, until the 1960s the kicker almost always doubled at another position on the roster. George Blanda, Frank Gifford and Paul Hornung are prominent examples of players who were stars at other positions as well as being known for their kicking abilities. When the one-platoon system was abolished in the 1940s, the era of 'two-way' players gave way to increased specialization, teams would employ a specialist at the punter or kicker position. Ben Agajanian, who started his professional career in 1945, was the first confirmed place-kicking specialist in the NFL, kicking for ten teams.[1] (There is some evidence that Ken Strong and Phil Martinovich, both in 1939, and Mose Kelsch, in 1933 and 1934, may have preceded Agajanian as players who spent their seasons doing nothing but kicking.)[2]
Mason Crosby playing in 2007.
Because of the difference in techniques needed, to avoid leg fatigue, and to reduce the risk of injury, on the professional level most teams employ separate players to handle the jobs. The placekicker usually will only punt when the punter is injured, and vice versa. (One player often handles both jobs in the Canadian Football League, which has smaller active rosters than in the NFL.) A professional team will occasionally even have a kickoff specialist who handles only the kickoffs and serves as a backup to the kicker who handles field goals and extra points. This is typically done to further protect a premier point-scoring kicker from injury or if he, while accurate, does not have sufficient distance on kickoffs.
Amateur teams (e.g., college or high school) often do not differentiate between placekickers and punters, have different players assume different placekicking duties (for example, one person handles kicking off, another kicks long field goals, and another kicks from shorter distances), or have regular position players handle kicking duties. The last option is quite common on high school teams, when the best athletes are often the best kickers. Before the modern era of pro football, this was also the case for professional teams, particularly when most placekicks were still made in the 'straight on' style outlined below.
Although kickers are protected from direct physical contact on field goal attempts, this is not generally true on kickoffs, and a kicker can see significant contact during a kick return. Kicker Björn Nittmo notably suffered severe brain damage from a hit he sustained on a kickoff in 1997.[3]
Still, due to their lack of plays in games and lack of contact compared to other positions, the top kickers in the NFL have often had extremely long careers, far beyond that of a typical NFL player. Place kicker is one of the few positions where it is not uncommon for players to be beyond the age of 40. Of the eight players in NFL history who have played beyond the age of 45, six of them are kickers: Morten Andersen, Gary Anderson, John Carney, Ben Agajanian, Adam Vinatieri, and George Blanda. Blanda was the oldest player in NFL history, playing until the age of 48.[4]
Salary and team standing[edit]
Placekickers and punters are often the lowest paid starters on professional teams, although proven placekickers sometimes earn over $1 million per year in salary.
It is not uncommon for placekickers to be some of the smallest members of their team. However, The New York Times in 2011 wrote that NFL kickers had adopted year-round weight training and strict diets.[5]Sebastian Janikowski that year was a 6-foot-2-inch (1.88 m) and 250-pound (110 kg) kicker. Kicker Rob Bironas, who was 6 feet (1.8 m) and 205 pounds (93 kg), noted, 'I might be bigger than some wide receivers and cornerbacks.'[5]
The presence of foreign born-and-raised players in the highest levels of gridiron football has largely been limited to placekickers, and more recently to punters from Australia as well. Occasionally, these players come from outside the traditional American high school or college football systems—and all but one of the women to have played men's American football at the college level were placekickers while the lone exception was a placekick holder. Notably Tom Landry recruited several soccer players from Latin America, such as Efren Herrera and Raphael Septien, to compete for the job of placekicker for the Dallas Cowboys. Cypriot Garo Yepremian was renowned as much for his kicking proficiency as he was for his complete lack of awareness of the sport early in his career. British-born kicker Mick Luckhurst was one of the first UK players in the NFL to have a long career, playing 7 seasons for the Atlanta Falcons during the 1980s and retiring as Atlanta's all time leading scorer. Mexican kicker Raul Allegre played 9 seasons in the NFL and won a Super Bowl in 1986. These anecdotes increase the perception of the placekicker as an outsider.
As of 2017, only four kickers have been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame: George Blanda, Lou Groza, Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen, and among them, Stenerud and Andersen are the only ones who did not also play another position. There is only one special teams player (including punters, return specialists and long snappers) to ever win the NFL's MVP – Mark Moseley in 1982.
Nevertheless, due to their duties in kicking both field goals and extra points placekickers are usually responsible for scoring more points than any other player on a team, and very often entire football games may come down to a single kick.[6] The top 25 players in NFL history in career scoring are all placekickers.[7]
Numbering[edit]
In the NFL, placekickers, along with punters and quarterbacks, are among the only players allowed to wear single-digit uniform numbers; kickers can also wear numbers between 10 and 19.
In college and high school football, kickers can wear any number and usually wear one of an eligible receiver (1 to 49 or 80 to 99). Because kickers are generally less prominent on team rosters, and low uniform numbers are much more widely used among other positions at those levels, kickers are often given high jersey numbers that go unused by other players (such as numbers in the 40s or 90s). The two players in documented football history to have worn the uniform number 100, Chuck Kinder and Bill Bell, were both placekickers.
Kicking style[edit]
Rian Lindell of the Buffalo Bills prepares for a practice field goal kick
Placekickers today are predominantly 'soccer-style' kickers, approaching the ball from several steps to the left of it [for a right-footed kicker, or vice versa] and several steps behind, striking the ball with the instep of the foot; all current National Football League kickers use this style. This method of kicking was introduced in 1957 by Fred Bednarski[8][9] and popularized in the 1960s by kickers like Pete Gogolak and his younger brother Charlie, the first placekicker to be drafted in the first round.[10]
Previously, most placekickers used a 'straight on' style, which required the use of a special shoe that is extremely rigid and has a flattened and slightly upturned toe.[11] In the straight on style, also known as 'straight-toe' style, the kicker approaches the ball from directly behind, rather than from the side, and strikes the ball with the toe. The last full-time straight on placekicker in the NFL was Mark Moseley who retired from the Cleveland Browns after the 1986 season; The last straight on kicker drafted into the NFL was Manny Matsakis from Capital University by the Philadelphia Eagles who went on to become a successful college and CFL Coach.
Straight on kickers are relatively uncommon in major college football due to the control and power disadvantages, but straight-on kickers are still seen on high school, small-college, semi-pro and amateur teams. However, both of college football's top awards for kickers are named after former conventional kickers Fred Mitchell and Lou Groza even though the winners are soccer style players.
There are variations between soccer style kicking in fact, many of the early soccer style NFL kickers look somewhat different then most of all today's soccer style kickers and there is a difference between the college / preps vs most of the preps taught between kicking schools. Kicking Coach Paul Assad started teaching in the early 2000's what is termed 'The Power X System' method used by most all of his over 51 NFL starting Specialist students such as noteworthy, NFL greats like (Mason Crosby, Sebastian Janikowski, Matt Bryant among others) where there is a notable, differentials of leg alignment, foot position at impact, upper body positioning and sequence as well as 'Plant Foot' positioning.
Shoes[edit]
Placekickers in the modern game usually wear specialized shoes (soccer boots), but in very rare circumstances some prefer to kick barefoot. Tony Franklin was one such barefoot kicker, who played in Super Bowls for the Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots. Another was Rich Karlis, who once shared two kicking records - the record for longest field goal in Super Bowl history, kicking a 47-yard field goal in Super Bowl XXI and also for the most field goals in a game, seven for Minnesota in 1989, tying Jim Bakken's record of the time, a record since broken by Rob Bironas.[12][13][14]EnglishmanRob Hart kicked barefoot during his 7-year NFL Europe career. John Baker also used the style in the 1990s in the Canadian Football League, as did José Cortéz in the XFL. The last person to kick barefoot in an NFL game was Jeff Wilkins in 2002.
A unique shoe was worn by New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey; Dempsey had a deformed kicking foot that left him with a flat kicking surface at the front of his foot, and he wore a shoe that accommodated it. After Dempsey kicked a record-setting 63-yard field goal using the special shoe, the league instituted a rule change establishing standards for kicking shoes. This eventually ended Dempsey's kicking career.
Barefoot kickers are banned in the vast majority of high school games, due to a rule by the National Federation of State High School Associations, which requires all players to wear shoes. Massachusetts and Texas play by NCAA rules,[15] and therefore barefoot kickers are legal in those two states.[citation needed]
Media[edit]
In an effort to bring more attention to placekickers, people have created sports media companies such as The Kicker Report.[16][17] The Kicker Report focuses only on placekickers of American and Canadian football leagues as well as college and high school placekickers.
References[edit]
- ^JIM MURRAY (December 15, 1994). 'Agajanian Kicked Football Into Age of Specialization - Los Angeles Times'. Articles.latimes.com. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
- ^Hogrogian, John (2000). 'Twelve Interesting Things About The 1939 NFL Season'(PDF). Coffin Corner. Professional Football Researchers Association. 22 (3): 1–5.
- ^Graham, Tim (January 27, 2017). 'Finding Nittmo: Answers, finally, from the NFL kicker who disappeared'. The Buffalo News.
- ^http://www.oldest.org/sports/nfl-players-america/
- ^ abBattista, Judy (November 6, 2011). 'Kickers Are Becoming Can't-Miss Performers'. The New York Times. p. SP4. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014.
- ^'A Life After Wide Right'. cnn.com.
- ^'NFL Scoring Leaders'. pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved December 17, 2008.
- ^Sherrington, Kevin (December 8, 2012). 'Often overlooked, Texas' Bednarski is the true pioneer of soccer-style kick'. The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
- ^The Washington Times. 'Going sideways into history'. The Washington Times. Retrieved January 3, 2015.
- ^'Charlie and Pete Gogolak'. Football Foundation. 2015. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^http://www.wizardkicking.com/images/ACF2C08.jpgArchived July 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^Klosterman, Chuck (June 10, 2016). 'A brilliant idea! (For now)'. Page 2. ESPN. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^'Most Field Goals in a Game'. Pro Football Hall of Fame. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^Bena, John (February 10, 2011). 'Denver Broncos Greats... By The Numbers - Rich Karlis'. Mile High Report. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
- ^'Massachusetts rules'(PDF). miaa.net.
- ^'THE KICKER REPORT'. THE KICKER REPORT. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
- ^Laughlin, Peter. 'Letters: Let's hear it for football kickers'. The Advocate. Retrieved May 13, 2019.
Positions in American football and Canadian football | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Offense (Skill position) | Defense | Special teams | |||||
Linemen | Guard, Tackle, Center | Linemen | Tackle, End | Kicking players | Placekicker, Punter, Kickoff specialist | ||
Quarterback (Dual-threat, Game manager, System) | Linebacker | Snapping | Long snapper, Holder | ||||
Backs | Halfback/Tailback (Triple-threat), Fullback, H-back, Wingback | Backs | Cornerback, Safety, Halfback, Nickelback, Dimeback | Returning | Punt returner, Kick returner, Jammer, Upman | ||
Receivers | Wide receiver (Eligible), Tight end, Slotback, End | Tackling | Gunner, Upback, Utility | ||||
Formations(List) — Nomenclature — Strategy |
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