Monday, November 26, 2001
Rackers blows it in the wind
Beleaguered kicker misses 2 FG tries
By Mark Curnutte
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CLEVELAND — Kicker Neil Rackers missed two field goals in Sunday's 18-0 loss to the Browns, but he was kicking on a day when winds were gusting up to 30 mph.
After the Browns took a 3-0 lead, the Bengals drove 55 yards to the Browns 25-yard line. But Rackers' 43-yard attempt against the wind was caught in a gust and fell short.
In the second quarter, after Cleveland's Phil Dawson made a 27-yarder for a 6-0 lead, Rackers hit the left upright from 47 yards with the wind.
“I hit two perfect balls, but that's part of kicking,” Rackers said. “I didn't play the wind enough.”
He is 9-of-18 on field goal attempts this season. He has made just three of nine from 40-plus yards and is 6-of-9 from 39 yards or closer.
Rackers' job security will become an issue again with fans. He had made three kicks in a row, including a career long 52 yards at Jacksonville.
“See what happens,” he said when asked about his future in Cincinnati. “Keep working.”
The Bengals signed kicker Jaret Holmes to their practice squad Nov.1.
“The kicking didn't lose this game,” said Bengals coach Dick LeBeau, who passed up three field goal attempts inside 50 yards in the first half against Tennessee.
LeBeau checked Rackers' range against the wind before the game and saw him kick a long ball.
“I wanted to see how close we could get,” LeBeau said. “He popped it through there real well. (On the first miss), I don't know whether the wind was gusty or if I just caught a good kick where the wind was a little dull. He just couldn't make it against the wind because it was too strong. Had I realized that, I would have gone for that.”
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Rackers blows it in the wind
