Pelfrey

        Thwack. The football flew Wednesday morning off the right foot of Doug Pelfrey and sailed through the muggy air at Nippert Stadium and between the yellow uprights.

        Time after time, Pelfrey booted field goals, from 23 yards, 34, 41, 51 and 56 yards.

        Three tries from 60 yards were long enough, but wide.

        Thwack.

        Thwack.

        Thwack.

        It's the drumbeat of Pelfrey's comeback attempt.

        A year ago this month, the Bengals drafted kicker Neil Rackers in the sixth round, and Pelfrey's career in Cincinnati was essentially over.

        The end officially came in August, when the Bengals released their second-leading career scorer after seven seasons.

        Five times, Pelfrey tried out for other teams last season. Three other visits were canceled at the last minute.

        But Pelfrey's dream of kicking again in the NFL won't die.

        He drives from his Northern Kentucky home at least three times a week to the University of Cincinnati campus. His workout buddy is Pat Pidgeon, the former Conner High School and Penn State punter who's also trying to get a kicking job.

        Pelfrey tosses snaps to Pidgeon. Pidgeon holds on Pelfrey's field goal attempts. They take turns kicking off.

        The Bengals, when they cut him, said Pelfrey no longer could kick off deep enough. On Wednesday, eight of Pelfrey's nine kickoffs dropped inside the 5-yard line. Five of those landed in the end zone. They weren't line drives. They were lazy fly balls, exactly what he wanted.

        “It's frustrating, because I know which kickers are out there, and I've kicked with a lot of them,” Pelfrey said after his 90-minute workout. “And I know they don't have

        any stronger leg than I do.

        “I feel like I'm more than what I was the last year, year and a half, because of all the holders and snappers. I never tried to make a big deal about it, but I feel like I was hung out to dry.”

        The Bengals employed four long snappers and three holders in 1999, which affected Pelfrey's timing, if not his confidence. He was 18-for-27 (67 percent) on field goals and had 81 points.

        Rackers had the luxury of working with one holder (Daniel Pope) and one long snapper (Brad St.Louis) all season in 2000, but fared worse than Pelfrey, going 12-for-21 (57 percent) on field goals and scoring 57 points. Rackers missed four times from 39 yards or closer.

        Pelfrey, who turned 30 in September, is one of the most popular players in Bengals history. His charity, Kicks for Kids, has raised more than $600,000 to help at-risk children. Pelfrey expects it to pass $1 million within two years.

        His popularity has outlasted his playing days in Cincinnati. At Nippert, where he kicks with the permission of UC athletic director Bob Goin, Pelfrey draws a crowd some days. Everybody seems to like him, except for university police, who've given him four parking tickets.

        On Wednesday, an older fan, wearing a Bengals baseball cap, stopped by on his regular walk through the stadium to remind Pelfrey the Bengals had better not let another player wear his former No.9. A UC student, 20-year-old Bill McNulty, chased down Pelfrey's kickoffs and field goals.

        “The first day he was here, I said, "You look like Doug Pelfrey,'” McNulty said, “and he said, "I am Doug Pelfrey.' This gives me a little workout.”

        When Pelfrey reached the 41 - a 51-yard attempt - five UC students watched from the grandstand. Each time the ball dropped over the crossbar, the students let out a chorus of “Good!”

        “Some days, you get 10 people out here to help,” he said. “Some days, you're by yourself.”

        Pelfrey stays busy. He and his wife have a daughter, who's now 1. He's starting a business he declined to disclose.

        When he talked about having to buy his NFL footballs, Pelfrey was asked if he deducts the balls as a business expense from his taxes.

        “What deduction? I don't have a job,” he said with a laugh. “I'm the busiest guy in America not getting paid.”

        Pelfrey will give his dream time, but he won't linger.

        “I'm not going to be one of those guys who hangs on for 10 years trying to convince myself I'm a kicker,” he said.

        Even if he never kicks again in the league, he has tried to return. To him, that's a victory.

        “A lot of times, the journey is more valuable than your destination,” said Pelfrey, unlacing his kicking shoes and replacing them with cross-trainers. “Even if I don't get a job, I've grown through this journey.”

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