Moving ahead with Rayner and Nugent

[oldschooler]

[size="5"][b]Moving ahead with Rayner and Nugent[/b][/size]
Posted by jreedy June 3rd, 2010, 11:23 am


Now that Shayne Graham has signed with the Ravens, the focus begins to intensify a little more on the training camp battle between Dave Rayner and Mike Nugent. Rayner, who had been bothered with a hip injury, returned to the practice field this week and was expected to take part in today’s on-field coaching sesssion.

Special teams coach Darrin Simmons sees the competition similar to 2003, when Graham arrived in Cincinnati.

“We’ve got guys hungry to get their own thing and call it their own,” Simmons said. “They need to perform consistently and I look for both to get there. These are hungry guys who will work their tail off and take advantage.”

Simmons has not seen much of Rayner so far but has been pleased with Nugent. He was with the Jets for four seasons before injuring his Quadricep in the ‘08 opener. The Jets signed Jay Feely, who got hot and Nugent lost his job.

Last year he signed with Tampa Bay but struggled and then was a temporary replacement in Arizona. Nugent is 79 of 100 in his career.

“He was an explosive kicker coming out of college and know he’s trying to translate it to NFL,” Simmons said. “He’s trying to get back to the point where he was before the injury.”



(Click the link below for the entire article)


http://cincinnati.com/blogs/bengals/2010/06/03/moving-ahead-with-rayner-and-nugent/

[Le Tigre]

Ringing endorsements.

[|Lucid|]

[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 01:42 PM' timestamp='1275586971' post='891417']
Ringing endorsements.
[/quote]

Surely there has to be some other dead horse you can beat on for a while.

[Le Tigre]

[quote name='Lucid' date='03 June 2010 - 01:48 PM' timestamp='1275587294' post='891418']
Surely there has to be some other dead horse you can beat on for a while.
[/quote]

The horse is quite alive...as evidenced by the article.

Kickers come and go...I know that. But wouldn't you think there is [b]somebody[/b] else out there with better skills than these two yo-yo's?

[|Lucid|]

[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 02:04 PM' timestamp='1275588246' post='891419']
The horse is quite alive...as evidenced by the article.

Kickers come and go...I know that. But wouldn't you think there is [b]somebody[/b] else out there with better skills than these two yo-yo's?
[/quote]

Who do you suggest?

It just seems like you are always focused on the negative. I guess it's a positive thing that the best you can find to bitch about is the kicker.

[gatorclaws]

There are several teams out there that currently have 2 good kickers on their roster. If the Nuge isn't cutting it through training camp, someone better will be available before the season starts.

[Le Tigre]

[quote name='Lucid' date='03 June 2010 - 02:05 PM' timestamp='1275588322' post='891420']
Who do you suggest?

It just seems like you are always focused on the negative. I guess it's a positive thing that the best you can find to bitch about is the kicker.
[/quote]

Gatorclaws beat me to my answer. Good one.

Excuse me for thinking ahead. Present tense was not my point in terms of final PK selection. I realize they need kickers--even useless ones--on the roster this time of year. The main fear is that they intend to actually use of them during the season.

Hence...there would simply have to be [b]somebody[/b] with better skills than these two available [b]sometime[/b] before the season started.

[DanvilleBengal]

to play devils advocate, one could say that Shayne had better skills overall than Nugent and Raymer, but we all know about the tendency to apparently crack under pressure recently.

I say a kicker's a kicker. We didn't want shayne anymore, and now we have to sleep in our bed.

Nugent should have a strong enough leg for all the bastards that complained that kickoffs weren't all touchbacks or close to it.

[Vol_Bengal]

Well... you can't sign someone else at this time if they're currently on another roster...

When the time comes and a kicker gets cut in TC... and if it is deemed that said kicker is better than what we currently possess I'm quite sure they'll go sign the guy.

But why bitch about kicker now??? Unless you know of a kicker, that is available to be signed NOW, what good does it do? If we get to the opener and Rayner or Nugent are still starting and there are kickers that have been released that are better... then bitch.

[Bengals1181]

[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 01:42 PM' timestamp='1275586971' post='891417']
Ringing endorsements.
[/quote]


bitter, party for one?

[Le Tigre]

Bitter? What for?

Perplexed? Completely.

[|Lucid|]

[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 03:51 PM' timestamp='1275594716' post='891451']
Bitter? What for?

Perplexed? Completely.
[/quote]


What are you perplexed by exactly?

[Le Tigre]

[quote name='Lucid' date='03 June 2010 - 03:54 PM' timestamp='1275594855' post='891453']
What are you perplexed by exactly?
[/quote]

Perplexed by how a front office lets something like this happen. I have read all of the ML spin about how Shayne didn't want to be here even after they supposedly made him some dynamite proposal, chiding to "be a part of the solution", questioning him as to how his mind was too fucked up to continue here..blah/blah. Shayne may have really wanted to go...ML and soP made sure his supposed wants equaled their own.

How did it get to this? Two missed kicks after a career 85.2% FG clip gets you snubbed in favor of Dave Rayner or Mike Nugent? There wouldn't be [b]someone[/b] in that great group of football minds who would say: "Gee, why don't we go and pick up nobody kickers and refuse to substantively deal in good faith with our long-time veteran kicker who has performed better than most around."? But that is what happened. I ask why...but there are no answers. Hence: perplexed.

One positive of all this: there will be ample time to find a real kicker before the season.

[|Lucid|]

[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 04:29 PM' timestamp='1275596987' post='891457']
Perplexed by how a front office lets something like this happen. I have read all of the ML spin about how Shayne didn't want to be here even after they supposedly made him some dynamite proposal, chiding to "be a part of the solution", questioning him as to how his mind was too fucked up to continue here..blah/blah. Shayne may have really wanted to go...ML and soP made sure his supposed wants equaled their own.

How did it get to this? Two missed kicks after a career 85.2% FG clip gets you snubbed in favor of Dave Rayner or Mike Nugent? There wouldn't be [b]someone[/b] in that great group of football minds who would say: "Gee, why don't we go and pick up nobody kickers and refuse to substantively deal in good faith with our long-time veteran kicker who has performed better than most around."? But that is what happened. I ask why...but there are no answers. Hence: perplexed.

One positive of all this: there will be ample time to find a real kicker before the season.
[/quote]

I think you assume too much.. Shayne is a human being, and as such is subject to emotion and will like the rest of us.. Just because the Bengals wanted to resign him doesn't mean it will work out.

Obviously Shayne and the Bengals didn't agree on his value, and that disagreement has been going on for some time.. Even after he screwed the pooch, such a rift existed.

The things is, none of us know what went on behind closed doors, and inside the heads of those involved. The problem I have is the snarky nature of your assumptions and posts that seems to paint the people making these decisions as idiots, while the truth is so obviously apparent to you.

Perhaps when intelligent rational people do things that don't seem to make sense, there are things you don't know about the situation. I always find it helps to start out there.

[oldschooler]

[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 03:29 PM' timestamp='1275596987' post='891457']
Perplexed by how a front office lets something like this happen. I have read all of the ML spin about how Shayne didn't want to be here even after they supposedly made him some dynamite proposal, chiding to "be a part of the solution", questioning him as to how his mind was too fucked up to continue here..blah/blah. Shayne may have really wanted to go...ML and soP made sure his supposed wants equaled their own.

How did it get to this? Two missed kicks after a career 85.2% FG clip gets you snubbed in favor of Dave Rayner or Mike Nugent? There wouldn't be [b]someone[/b] in that great group of football minds who would say: "Gee, why don't we go and pick up nobody kickers and refuse to substantively deal in good faith with our long-time veteran kicker who has performed better than most around."? But that is what happened. I ask why...but there are no answers. Hence: perplexed.

One positive of all this: there will be ample time to find a real kicker before the season.
[/quote]



Shayne was a "scrub" when the Bengals signed him. He wasn't a "real Kicker"
either by your own definition.


Shayne's stats were similar to Rayner's, before he came here. And worse than Nugent's.
Shayne made 73.6% of his kicks before the Bengals signed him. Nugent has made 79% of his Kicks.
And Rayner has made 71.2% of his.


And Shayne was going to get "snubbed" even if he had made the kicks.
The Bengals have tried for a few year to sign him to a long term deal.
He wanted more than they wanted to pay. It happens. Not just here
but with every Franchise. You move on. Shayne has. And now he is the enemy.


I think Nugent will be our Opening Day Kicker. And I have faith Simmons
can help him become at least as good as Shayne was.

[CougarQuest]

[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 04:29 PM' timestamp='1275596987' post='891457']
Perplexed by how a front office lets something like this happen. I have read all of the ML spin about how Shayne didn't want to be here even after they supposedly made him some dynamite proposal, chiding to "be a part of the solution", questioning him as to how his mind was too fucked up to continue here..blah/blah. Shayne may have really wanted to go...ML and soP made sure his supposed wants equaled their own.

[/quote]

Shayne made the same comments that Marvin did about the situation. I think you're perplexed by squares, circles and triangles, if this perplexes you.

[Le Tigre]

Whatever. Toss all the insults you want.

You get what you pay for...or don't in situations like this.

First kick Nugie sails "just a little outside" and really loses a game...you all will be pissing in his face too. And wondering where that "real kicker" is who might help us.

[oldschooler]

[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 05:37 PM' timestamp='1275604670' post='891472']
[b]First kick Nugie sails "just a little outside" and really loses a game[/b]...[/quote]




So, you're saying it will be like Shayne never left?


Yeah. I'm still hatin'.

[Le Tigre]

[quote name='oldschooler' date='03 June 2010 - 06:40 PM' timestamp='1275604803' post='891473']
So, you're saying it will be like Shayne never left?


Yeah. I'm still hatin'.
[/quote]

Touche.

Score touchdowns and we won't have to worry I suppose.

[JC]

Not sold on Nuge or Rayner either.

But I wasn't when Shayne came our way either.

Hopefully..whoever it is can stay healthy. With Nuge having a injury history with the Jets and Rayner currently injured, it's hard to be confident right now anyways. Shayne missed like what..2 games?

[Inigo Montoya]

Anyone who doubts that this was a mutual parting of ways between Shayne and the Bengals is delusional. The two sides have literally never agreed on his value, even though the Bengals made him one of the league's best paid kickers in 2004 and used the franchise tag on him in 2009. It's clear Shayne didn't want to return and substantially overvalued himself, judging by the fact that he went unsigned until June and only received a one-year deal with a base salary far below the franchise tag amount. While his career accuracy is stellar (85.2%), those numbers drop dramatically from beyond 40 yards (73.8%, 66/84). Then there's also the fact that his three biggest misses (two in the playoffs against the Jets in 2009, one that cost us the playoffs against the Steelers in 2006) were all from less than 40 yards.

[Abu-Zayd]

it may not be a bad thing to 'think' we have a bad kicker... bengals have had a problem, especially from the stealers game on, to settle or even aim for field goals... knowing the fg is a risk, perhaps they'll aim for td's instead.

[Since 87]

[quote name='oldschooler' date='03 June 2010 - 12:35 PM' timestamp='1275582935' post='891395']
Nugent is 79 of 100 in his career.


[/quote]


[quote name='Le Tigre' date='03 June 2010 - 04:29 PM' timestamp='1275596987' post='891457']
Two missed kicks after a career 85.2% FG clip gets you snubbed in favor of Dave Rayner or Mike Nugent?
[/quote]


I'm no mathologist but 79 seems close to 85. .6 FG difference for every 10? Obviously that's not as good since it IS a lesser number but from earlier debates I assumed Nugent was in the 50s or 60s.

[oldschooler]

[b][size="5"]Kickers and demons[/size][/b]
By GEOFF HOBSON

Posted 24 minutes ago

On Thursday in Baltimore, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh welcomed Shayne Graham by calling him "the fourth-most accurate kicker in NFL history. He's a veteran. He knows how to handle pressure situations."

On Thursday in Cincinnati, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said good-bye to Graham's demons spawned in one of those pressure situations. One named 35-yard wide left and the other 28-yard right. The way Lewis sees it, Graham made his decision to move on because those ghosts are still rattling around Paul Brown Stadium chained to that 24-14 AFC Wild Card loss to the Jets last Jan. 9.

The 35-yarder that went left and would have cut the Jets' lead to 14-10 with 6:29 left in the third quarter. And the 28-yarder that went right with 3:44 left in the game that would have cut it to 24-17.

Such is the NFL, where second chances, fresh starts, and new environments sprout on the waiver wire like ivy. For not only are [url="http://www.bengals.com/team/roster/mike-nugent/44701177-8bcb-4bb1-a348-e81af4d4583a/"][color="#f04e23"]Mike Nugent[img]http://www.bengals.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif[/img][/color][/url] and [url="http://www.bengals.com/team/roster/dave-rayner/a525fd69-d4ad-40ab-aab4-b1e60d2b4203/"][color="#f04e23"]Dave Rayner[img]http://www.bengals.com/assets/nflimg/icon-article-link.gif[/img][/color][/url] now officially in a training camp competition for Graham's job in Cincinnati, but the Bengals' most accurate kicker of all time finds himself in competition in Baltimore with Billy Cundiff.

And pardon Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons, who pulled Graham off the waiver wire the week of Lewis' NFL head coaching debut in 2003 in the wake of the injury to Neil Rackers in the preseason finale, if he sees some similarities.

Nugent, who has been with three teams, has made 79 percent of his 100 field-goal tries. Rayner, who has been with five teams, has made 71.2 percent of his 59 tries.

"That sounds like Shayne Graham to me in 2002 and 2003," said Simmons, who coached Graham in Carolina in '02. "That happens with a lot of kickers in this league. They're out on the street and it re-kindles that hunger a little bit. Competition brings out the best in everybody. Both of these guys are hungry."

Look at how close the numbers are.

When Graham arrived in '03, he was a 73.1-percent kicker, and he had only tried 26 NFL field goals. Rayner, 27, is back kicking after missing much of the spring with a hip flexor. Nugent, 28, made all six of his field goal tries last week two days after he was 4-for-6. After Thursday's practice, Simmons says he likes the way both guys are hitting the ball. He had just watched them hit a bunch of 20-yard chippies while the line was getting worked on, but he wants to make sure he doesn't overwork them, particularly Rayner.

Rayner has been here before. He was in a competition in Washington last training camp and lost it to a ripped muscle.

"We want to make sure we don't kick him too much that he decreases his ability to compete," Simmons said.

Rayner, for one, was relieved that Graham had finally made the move. The Bengals never really quite officially shut off the Graham option until this week. But after he turned them down early in free agency they didn't exactly embrace him, either.

"It's a little different mindset. Now there's a job to win. You never knew," Rayner said. "With Darrin, he didn't really give us any knowledge of what was going. Not that he should. It's none of our business."

Simmons tried to talk to Graham as much as he could with texts and calls and figures it was like a regular offseason that way. But it's not like he had any top-secret information. The Bengals and agent David Dunn had an odd mating season for this one. The sense was that both sides felt the other was apathetic about a deal.

They were both right.The Bengals knew they had a fan base and a locker room smarting from the misses. Graham knew it, too.

Lewis hinted Thursday that the offers in the two towns weren't all that far apart.

"He had an opportunity to probably regain what he had here," Lewis said. "Unfortunately for him, he's got the demons of his last kicks here with us. He didn't make them. He's got to overcome those demons and I think that was a lot of it. Whether or not he could come back here in this locker room. That was going to be difficult to overcome those demons. Missing the kicks. Unfortunately that's what the fans remember around here are the kicks that he missed. That's the way that it goes. I wish him good luck

"He had a good opportunity to come back here. The guy that got Shayne going was his coach here," Lewis said of Simmons. "He had an opportunity to say, 'Hey look, Coach, I just want to get this done and be a part of the team, 'and I don't think that's what he wanted to do. So it worked out way he wanted to work out."

When he met with the Ravens media Thursday, Graham didn't deny the chance to return was there.

"I had the opportunity to go back there," he said. "There's really no true motivation or any type of spite. They were very good to me. I love the organization. You move on and you make changes in life. This is where it's brought me, and I'm happy to be here. When I play there, I'll have friends in the stands and across the sidelines. Other than that, every kick is just as important than the next."

Graham knows the Paul Brown Stadium fans are going to get on him.

"I always enjoy that. It'll be different being in a stadium that was home for me so long," he said. "I've always enjoyed that feeling when you walk into a hostile situation where the fans are booing your whole team and you. It'll be a little different when it's a team that used to cheer for me."

Now they may be cheering Nugent or Rayner, guys that Simmons says are refreshingly "hungry."

Graham insisted Thursday in Baltimore that he's hungry, too.

"I don't think I would put so much pressure on it to have to prove anything, but that is motivation for myself that I know I'm better than that," he told the media. "Even the best have bad days. That's what I feel has made me better over my career, is when I've had things not go my way, I never folded and just walked away from it. I kind of came back and kept trying and kept fighting. Really, that's what I've based everything on.
" I've been cut several times before I ever played for Cincinnati, and it's all those times that you feel like things are hard that you kind of appreciate what you have a little bit more, and you want to fight for it a little harder," he said. "I think that's something that will give me an edge when I come into camp here. I feel like I'm not proving anything, but I'm fighting for something and I'm hungry."

In this all-you-can-eat buffet of kickers, Nugent is the intriguing local guy out of Centerville, Ohio, and Ohio State, a second-round draft pick of the Jets in 2005 who drilled 81 percent of his tries for them during three seasons before he got hurt. And, yes, he's hit all three of his playoff tries.

Even one from 28.

But he could only get eight attempts and four made last year with two clubs. The big question for him is his kickoffs. He doesn't think his high draft pick has given him problems. He could only get eight attempts and four made last year with two clubs

"You have to realize that it wasn't you that picked you in the second round," Nugent said. "All you could do was put yourself in that position to get drafted that high and I was lucky enough to get picked."

If it sounds like Nugent has a clue, he does. Even though he knew he and Rayner could get cut if Graham came back to the table Tuesday, he sounds like a guy who lost his job in 2008 because of injury.

"I've started to learn you just can't worry about things that are beyond your control," Nugent said. "I think that messes with guys' minds. You might let that affect you. I was thinking I have an opportunity to win this job. That's the only thing I was focused on . I knew it would be a possibility Shayne could re-sign, but I (was thinking) how can I make the ball go straighter?"

Simmons has been working on Nugent with minor mechanics ("We're not re-inventing the wheel," Nugent said), such as his stance and "the way I'm coming through it and try to get straighter through than wrapping around it."

Rayner, out of Michigan State, says he and Nugent are good friends. They both came out of the Big Ten in 2005. They both are Midwest guys. The newlywed Rayner is from Detroit, just four hours away, and would love to get a job so close to home.

"The first part is just getting the opportunity," Rayner said. "It has to be the right spot and things need to fall into place.

"Everyone has a spot. Hopefully this is my spot."

It does not appear to be a spot for demons.



[url="http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Kickers-and-demons/50f01d3b-22d1-4550-941a-2ad9dcf5939a"]http://www.bengals.com/news/article-1/Kickers-and-demons/50f01d3b-22d1-4550-941a-2ad9dcf5939a[/url]

[oldschooler]

[size="5"][b]Graham's Gone. Here's The Kicker[/b][/size]
[b]By Marc Hardin[/b]Publisher
Posted Jun 3, 2010

[b]Nugent and Rayner remain to fill Shayne's domain. But Graham, if he's golden in Baltimore, can squash dreams of a Bengals Super Bowl season with one swing of his leg. The possibility was just set in motion.

[/b]
Former Bengal Shayne Graham has an NFL career field goal conversion rate of 85.2 percent (196 of 230), with a long of 53 yards. It's one of the best marks in NFL history. At 86.8 percent (177 of 204) in seven Cincinnati seasons, he is the most accurate field goal kicker in Bengals history.

Current Bengal Mike Nugent has converted 79 percent (79 of 100), with a long field goal of 54 yards. That is not one of the best marks in league history.

Current Bengal Dave Rayner's career field goal conversion rate is 71.2 percent (42 of 59), with a long of 54 yards. That is one of the lowest rates belonging to an active kicker.

And people are happy that Graham is no longer a Bengal?

During Graham's last full season, which was just last year in Cincinnati, he made 82.1 percent (23 of 28) on field goals.

During Nugent's last full season, which was three years ago, he made 80.6 percent (29 of 36) on field goals.

During Rayner's last complete season, fully four years ago, he made 74.3 percent (26 of 35) on field goals.

And people are happy that Graham is a goner?

Graham's average kickoff distance in his NFL career is 61.8 yards. But it was 63.3 last year and 55.0 his rookie year in 2001, representing an improvement of 8.3 yards per kickoff from his first year to his most recent.

Nugent's average kickoff distance is 60.2 yards. But it was 59.3 last year and it was 59.4 his rookie year of 2005, for no improvement.

Rayner's kickoff average is 64.3 yards. It was 66.8 in 2008 and 61.5 his rookie season, for an improvement of 7.3 yards per kickoff.

And people are willing to wink at Rayner's field goal misses so they might enjoy his kickoff length?

If Bengals fans were willing to wink at a few field goal misses here and there, there would not be such a whoopty-do over the fact that Graham has signed a one-year deal with the Baltimore Ravens, clinching his exit from Cincinnati.

Anyone who says they're glad to see Graham gone because they won't have to see as many field goal misses and short kickoffs in Cincinnati any more hasn't looked at Nugent and Rayner close enough and compared them to Graham.

Graham averaged 9 touchbacks a year on kickoffs over the last four years, all full seasons, with a high of 13 touchbacks in 2006 and 8 last year. He was never below 8 touchbacks those four seasons while averaging 73 kickoffs (or about 1 touchback every 8 kickoffs).

Nugent averaged 67 kickoffs and 4 touchbacks (or about 1 touchback every 17 kickoffs) over his last three full seasons from 2005-07, with a high of 9 touchbacks in 2007. It's the only year in his career Nugent has had more than 3 touchbacks.

From 2005-07, Rayner averaged 65 kickoffs and 5 touchbacks per season (or 1 touchback every 13 kickoffs) with a high of 11 touchbacks in 2006, the only season in his career he's had more than 3 touchbacks.

And Cincinnati fans are celebrating someone new in Shayne's domain?

Give it time.

In a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately world, people in Bengaldom may eventually wind up unhappy that Graham is a Raven and equally as displeased that his replacement is a Bengal.

Graham could have as many as three shots to kick back at the Bengals and their fans: Here in Cincinnati Week 2, the rematch in Baltimore, and quite possibly in the AFC playoffs, a place where Graham's departure from the Bengals was hastened last season with two critical misses during the Wild Card playoff loss to the New York Jets.

His excellent career rates notwithstanding, Graham has carved a reputation in Cincinnati for missing clutch field goals, and extra points, something that is pretty hard to live down, especially when kickers seem to be a dime-a-dozen in the league.

That Bengals fans conveniently forget the big picture with Graham, and all his successes, while remembering his few big misses is like a girl breaking up with her boyfriend because he left the toilet seat up a second time one day.

[i]"Hey, I was 7-for-7 one day remembering to put it down!"[/i]

[i]"But you screwed up twice today, dude. Move out!"[/i] Baltimore may very well have Graham's 85-percent field goal conversion rate at its disposal and the law of averages on his side come playoff time, against the Bengals.

Who will be kicking for the Bengals in the playoffs, should they qualify for next January's proceedings?

Rayner?

Nugent?

Neither?

Take your pick.

The very same people who cursed Graham and hit his butt with the door on the way out of town, could be doing the same thing five months from now if Nugent and or Rayner start missing with any kind of regularity, which is entirely possible given their career percentages.

Some may argue Graham's averages went up when he became a Bengal, which very likely could be an indication of better coaching in Cincinnati. Those same people may also argue that Nugent and or Rayner may experience the same kind of boost under the guidance of Bengals special teams coach Darrin Simmons, who should be given some credit for Graham's success.

Valid points.

Also valid is the point the Bengals were not going to give Graham a raise after the way he ended the 2009 season in the Wild Card round. That's what the Ravens are willing to do after inking him to a reported $2.5 million incentive-based contract one year after the Bengals tagged Graham the "franchise player" and paid him $2.483 million.

Graham still has to beat out Billy Cundiff to win the job in Baltimore before he can kick into gear any revenge scenario against the Bengals and sudden depression among the Cincy denizens.

If Graham feels like he paid too steep a price with Cincinnati fans for missed field goals after making so many with such regularity, imagine how Bengals fans and Nugent and or Rayner are going to feel if the field goal misses keep coming while they rarely happen in Baltimore with one-aqain-golden Graham kicking.

It can happen.

In fact, Graham can beat the Bengals with one boot. He can end their year with a single kick. He can squash dreams of a Cincinnati Super Bowl season with one swing of his leg.

The possibility was just set in motion on Thursday.

Many Bengals fans wanted this. And they may live to regret what they wished for.




[url="http://cin.scout.com/2/974723.html"]http://cin.scout.com/2/974723.html[/url]