It’s one thing to drill kicks in practice. Most kickers don’t have a problem doing that. But in a game — with their job on the line — is a little different.
“We want to see who can execute under pressure,” said special teams coach Danny Smith.
And Thursday provides the first opportunity to do that when the Redskins play at Baltimore. Shaun Suisham will handle the kicking duties in the first half and Dave Rayner will take over in the second.
Though Suisham would appear to have an edge simply because he made 82.9 percent of his kicks in 2007, Smith insists the competition is tight.
“It’s wide open,” he said. “I keep getting that question and I don’t know why people don’t believe me, but it is a real deal competition.”
Smith knows how Suisham will handle tense situations; he does not know the same about Rayner, which has to be a factor if it’s close. But Rayner showed a big leg during Tuesday’s practice on kicks from 50 yards or more; his kicks hit higher up in the net between the uprights.
Suisham slumped to a 72.2 percent success rate last season and was 18 of 25 on field goals between 30 and 49 yards. However, Rayner has made just 71.2 percent of 59 his career field goal attempts. And his best season came in 2006 when he made 74.3 percent of his kicks in 16 games for Green Bay.
The competition could come down to simple math: whoever has the best percentage wins. But other factors will enter in, such as hangtime on kickoffs. If it’s close, that could be a clincher for one of them.
“If a guy goes out and blows it, it’ll make it easy for me,” Smith said. “I don’t expect that.”
