*** DOLPHINS NEWS ***
Aug 12, 1997: -- Nedney to be Waived --
According to a report in this morning's Miami Herald, newcomer
Olindo Mare has won the Dolphins kicking duel. Kevin Ding,
sportswriter for the Herald has reported that Joe Nedney was informed
yesterday that he would be waived today and that Olindo has beaten him
out for the job of kicking for the Dolphins this year.
Apparently, in the wake of the Sunday game and a kicking duel
that has been going on for weeks, Mare has graded out higher than
Nedney and JJ decided yesterday to let Nedney go.
Last year, Nedney was the best kicker in the league at getting
the ball deep on kickoffs, but had one of the lowest percentages on
field goals. This year, JJ brought in Mare, who attended Cooper City
High in South Florida, to challenge Nedney.
Nedney had changed his kicking style this year to be more
accurate on field goals and had hoped that the addition of kicking
coach Doug Blevins would help him become more accurate.
However, he has been having trouble with accuracy in the
preseason and that has made him a casualty of the preseason.
My Comments:
I thought that it was unlikely that Mare would be beaten out
by Nedney, but Joe was inconsistent throughout camp and Mare has been
able to duplicate Nedney's kickoff distance while being more accurate
on field goals.
The only thing that concerns me is that Mare hasn't really
been tested on the field. He's made one field goal of 41 yards in the
preseason and that doesn't exactly make a brilliant record.
More than anyone else, kickers are subject to the strain of
being on the spot. Many of them are great in practice, but can't hit
the broad side of a barn in a real game. Last summer, Nedney had a
great camp, but was not that great during the season. Will Mare have
similar problems? Only time will tell.
Personally, I would have liked to have seen both of them kick
more during the preseason games before cutting one of them. With the
stat of kickers in this league, Nedney won't have any trouble getting
signed in a hurry and almost certainly won't be available later on if
Mare starts to choke.
Still, in Jimmy we trust - if only because we have no choice.
Related Info:
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Curt Fennell,
curt@phins.com, DOLFAN in New Rochelle (almost)
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