Sunday, June 30, 2002
Giants' Pochman has big shoes to fill
NFL insider
Enquirer wire services
The New York Giants' practices all but stop when Owen Pochman comes onto the field to attempt field goals, the linemen and linebackers and others standing and watching and catching their breath. The ball is snapped, there is a thump, and Pochman's kick tumbles into almost complete silence.
Sometimes Pochman gets a tap on the helmet if the ball goes through the uprights, and if he misses a couple, Giants coach Jim Fassel crosses his arms and turns away. Nobody really says anything, because there really is nothing to say.
Pochman is at ease among teammates in the locker room, joking with Michael Strahan, conversing with offensive linemen about how to turn the laces of a football. But Pochman, who will attempt to replace Morten Andersen as the team's place-kicker in training camp, which opens July25, understands the kicker's equation is simple.
“If you make your kicks, everybody is going to like you,” Pochman said.
If you miss — well, you won't be around long.
“I plan on being here for a while,” Pochman said. “I don't doubt myself. I feel very ready and very prepared.”
Pochman turns 25 in August, and there is no doubt, Fassel said, he has the tools to be an excellent kicker in the NFL. Pochman hammers the ball through the end zone in practices and regularly dissects the uprights on his field goal attempts. Giants general manager Ernie Accorsi thinks Pochman possesses a strong mental makeup, the sort of confidence needed to boot a game-winner in the last minute after missing an earlier attempt.
But Pochman has two field goal attempts in his 10-game career — he missed twice on long kicks last season — and by Sept.5, when the Giants open their season against San Francisco, his potential will mean almost nothing and his results will mean everything.
“He's young and he's a talented guy,” Fassel said. “But it's like anybody else — he's going to have to go out and prove to me and his teammates he can make kicks.”
Fassel used him to kick off in most of the Giants' games last season, with mixed results. Despite the promise he demonstrated in practice, he generated two touchbacks in 44 kickoffs, and the return average against him, 24.5 yards, was the sixth-worst in the NFL, a statistic that could be blamed on the Giants' poor coverage.
Nobody expected Pochman to convert the 63-yard field goal attempt against Denver in the first game of the season; he missed badly.
When Pochman was asked to punt in place of the injured Rodney Williams on Nov.11, Fassel acknowledged how difficult the circumstances were for a rookie — and indeed, Pochman struggled, averaging 29.2 yards on five punts. Pochman's only other field-goal attempt was a 55-yarder in the last game of the season, a tough assignment, and Pochman hit the ball wide to the left.
Pochman probably did not diminish his own standing in those instances while missing the opportunity to create a bank of credibility with the coaching staff and his teammates. Yet Pochman feels fortunate for the experience he gleaned this early in his career as a kicker.
Pochman played soccer throughout high school, and after taking a football to England one summer — he aimed his kicks at trees, in lieu of uprights — he played in seven prep games. Still not sure of what he wanted to do or where he would attend college, Pochman took his football to Brigham Young, where his brother Ethan was the kicker, and worked out informally with the team. At the time, Pochman had thoughts of enrolling at the University of Washington or at Brown.
Drafted by New England last season, he worked alongside veteran kicker Adam Vinatieri in training camp, coming to admire and learn from Vinatieri's competitiveness; Vinatieri never backed down from anyone or any situation, Pochman thought.
The Patriots cut Pochman, and the Giants — who had been awed by him in an exhibition game — picked him up. The left-footed Pochman spent hours with the left-footed Andersen, who had been his idol. Pochman kicked into the wind of the Meadowlands, coming to learn that even if the swirls were at his back on one end of Giants Stadium, they might work against him downfield, knocking down the ball.
“Sometimes you try to get a little too perfect, aiming the ball and worrying about the wind,” Pochman said. “If you do what you do, you're better off.”
Pochman is working with a new special teams coach, Bruce Read, and it appears quarterback Jesse Palmer will be the holder.
Read has tried several different snappers. There is a certain rhythm needed in kicking field goals, Pochman said, a needed symbiosis among the snapper, holder and kicker: The snap must be on target, the holder must catch the ball softly, drop and spin it so the laces face the uprights just as the kicker hits it.
But most of his teammates will not care about those subtleties once the games begin, only that Pochman makes his kicks and passes a stark test.
LIONS: Detroit signed free agent cornerback Eric Davis and released safety Kourtney Young. Davis, who played for Denver last season, played for the 49ers until 1995 and was with Carolina from 1996 to 2000. He played in all 16 games in 2001, mainly on special teams. Davis had 11 tackles, one pass defended and one fumble recovery.
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Giants' Pochman has big shoes to fill
