Feely worked out for Bucs

We told you earlier the Bucs conducted a workout today with three kicking prospects.

Turns out, it wasn't the first in recent days. We've learned free agent kicker Jay Feely worked out for team officials several days ago, though no deal appears imminent.

It seems the Bucs are taking an inventory of available options to consider in the event Bryant's struggles continue.

Feely, 32, would certainly be an interesting choice. He converted 91.3 percent of his attempts with the Dolphins last season and has converted 80.8 percent in his career. The Bucs would be attractive to Feely because he has roots in the area.

Comments

[Chebington]

how can they tell who is better?
do they put bryant 1v1 against feeley in a field go comp... or what?

[Gru Jonden]

Are you serious? Even if they did, I don't think Matt Bryant would handle it well. He seems to be off on his mechanics (Chris Simms Disease), pushing kicks wide right. If this keeps up into the regular season, Gruden will have to call run plays to the left side just to have a remote chance of Bryant being able to score.

[bobbyd]

Any information on why he's not with the Dolphins any more? It seems illogical to cut a guy that hits 91% of the time.

[gru jondun]

Bryant's poor performance reminds me of Martin Grammatica's situation a few seasons ago. It was all a big mystery until, after what seemed like a thousand (game losing) missed field goals, Grammatica was said to have been injured.

[Stephen_Holder]

Bobby, you're right. It does sound odd. From what I'm told by Miami media, it appeared to be a personality conflict with Parcells. Remember, Feely is a guy who did a regular segment on ESPN and such and is very vocal. Parcells likes company men. That could have been it. They also are making a concerted effort down there to get younger.

[Jay]

They should be more concerned with winning. The last time Parcells chose a kicker it was Billy Cundiff who was so good we cut him in 2006. Then he chose Jose Cortez who has the accuracy of a blind man with Parkinsons firing a machine gun.

Which is really not very fair to blind men with Parkinsons.

Or machine guns. Even they hit some of the time.

[bobbyd]

Well hell, if he just has a big mouth, sign him up. I honestly can't see what a kicker has to talk about, but if he's hitting the ball through the uprights without giving me a stomach ache, he sounds like the guy for us.

[Tex Mex]

Can Feely kick DR is the @ss?

[Steve]

Stephen, Any take on Feely's ability on kick-offs? Can he get it into the end-zone?

[TankerKevo]

I can remember Feely kicking what I think was a 57 yarder or so back when he was kicking for Jesuit HS in like '93 or '94. At the time it was a Florida HS record or something. I always hoped Tampa would pick him up some day, still hope they do.

[Matt]

Sign him up

[DR]

A kicker shouldn't even be allowed to talk.
For all you cowboy haters, TO was injured yesterday, but walked off the field.

[space coast]

DR, any idea what part of TO was injured. Hopefully it was something important like his jaw.

[Kurt in Charlotte]

Hey look, DR still thinks we want to hear from him! HAHAHAHAHA! Anyway, this does remind me of '03 season when Grammatica nearly single-handedly destroyed a decent season. We went from 8-8/9-7 to 5-11 almost exclusively because we relied on him to win close games. Remember the extra points he missed to lose the Carolina (home opener!) I hate Grammatica to this day for his weasily ways back then!

[bobbyd]

Kicking problems cost us 3 wins in '03 (I went back and looked). I still feel the urge to kick Martin Grammatica in his tiny little nuts to show him my appreciation.

[Jay]

Kurt, do you also remember that Grammatica's injury was from being hit by a tv truck on the sidelines in that same game?

[Kurt]

Jay, I did not remember such an event. Nonetheless, he has stunk ever since (although he did land a job with the Saints this year.) I hope he unravels their season just as he did ours way back then! He is a basket case and his misses weren't due to injury; he was long enough, just couldn't aim. If I recall, it was all in his head and Gruden (being the faithful that he is,) stuck with him until he did us in. Oh well, I forgive Gruden for showing faith in a player, but I'll never forget Grammatica's terrible '03 run!

[rashad]

how come everybody has the bucs to finish third in the division this year? at the beginning of seasons everyone is always on the panthers and saints wagon. the only thing those two have over us is recievers and that is it.

[Jay]

Yeah, he's bounced around to a few different places, even playing for Tony Dungy in Indianapolis after they jettisoned their "idiot kicker". He's been injured a few times, but I agree that there's something in his head keeping him from being consistent.

[DR]

Awwww, Kurt, how special you are. How soon you forget how great a kicker Gramatica was for the Super Bowl team. Typical bandwagon fan. And what a big guy you are wanting to beat up a 110 pound kicker.

[nick]

Guys Guys, lets be real!! Hes not missing them a la Dave Warnke! His two misses were by a few feet!! FEET!! He had a little spiff early 06 but got over it in a few games then was solid and nailed the 62 yarder. In 05 he missed one in Chicago and one vs Atlanta in OT. We won one of those.
Im not that worried ...yet. This is not Gramatica, or Warnke...this is near miss.

I say he works it out. Hes not as superstitious as Gramatica was, who by the way...seems to be back.

[bobbyd]

Nick,
Can you blame us for being a little hair-trigger here? The Bucs win the Superbowl, then go 7 and 9 the following season because of missed kicks. They should have been 10 and 6 that season. It's hard to believe that kicking cost us a playoff spot.

I hope you're right though. I like Bryant. I'm sure there's a post somewhere around here last season where I was talking about how nice it was to not get a stomach ache when he walked out on the field. I'm starting to develop a gurgle again though.

[Kurt]

"Was" is a big word in football DR. If you consider a former water boy, 5 year season ticket holder and attendee to over 100 Buccaneer home games a bandwagoneer, then your ignorance outshines your bliss DR. Besides, no-one here really cares what you think Cowgirl because you allow your hatred of Gruden and Allen to obscure on-field realities and quite basically, you're not part of the Buc fan family, so get lost. I'm just sayin...

[J]

guys firstoff, you can't blame gramatica for losing those games. why? because if the offense was doing its job or the defense was doing its job like the super bowl team did. the games wouldn't have had to come down to a kick. who's to blame? THE TEAM.

[Kurt]

He missed an 1 extra points and 2 field goals in the home game against the Panthers J. You have to "expect" some points from your kicker. The extra point would have won us the game with no time remaining, but instead, it went into overtime and, after Grammatica missed another field goal, Kasay nailed one for Carolina to win it in OT! Sorry J, that's on Grammatica...

[Dave]

Nah - you can blame the kicker. The game breaks down to specific situations - the
winners are successful and the losers go home.

Adam Vinatieri won a Superbowl for the Pats and may very well win one for the Colts.

[Tex Mex]

If TO walked off the field, the only thing that was hurt was his p@ssy.

[DR's Rectum]

SPPPHHHLLLT! Here Donkey, Here Donkey!

[Brandon]

J,

The other members of the team had 60-70 plays to be successful, and if they weren't successful on 3-4 occasions, then that means they were succesful 56-67 X... kickers on the other hand, they have 3-4 opportunities a game, if they miss any of the opportunities it can be bad, if they miss on 3-4 opportunities like Grammatica did, then they have to go.

Kickers have one major job, to make their kicks and they either make them or they don't, there are no circumstantial variables that effect their relative success or failure on what they do like other players, they just have to make kicks... and if they can't do that, then the team needs to get somebody in that can.

That being said, I'm all for giving Bryant the benefit of the doubt going into the regular season, but if he can't get it straightened out, bring on Feely, these games are too important to lose them because one team's 170 lb non-athlete is way better than ours.

[Jay]

Brandon,

Be careful the way you throw around that "non-athlete" title. You know very well it's nearly impossible for the average person to nail a football through the uprights from 30 yards away, let alone from 62. It requires a great deal of talent, physical conditioning, and skill to do that. Just because he's not out there bustin' chops doesn't mean he's not an athlete.

Besides, do you remember Steve Christy? The guy could bench press 335lbs when he played for the Bucs. Most WR's can't even do that.

[DR]

Anybody that blames the kicker for losses is just a whining baby that wants to blame anything for a loss. You might as well blame the cheerleaders too, they weren't cheering hard enough.
Anybody to blame in '03, you might as well blame the defense. The defense didn't put the offense on their shoulders again. They didn't create the turnovers and put the offense in great field position all year, and especially the playoffs, like they did in '02. Gruden's futile offense couldn't be the reason to blame, could it? Oh yeah, it's the can't do wrong Gruden factor. His high powered west coast of Africa offense is the best! Gruden paid his best offensive player to sit out 6 games to stop mocking the way he runs the offense.
Great teams and coaches never blame the kicker for losses, they blame themselves. It's terrible watching teams run the clock out to "settle" for FG range to win or tie a game. There is nothing worse than putting your hard work on the shoulders of a guy who is on the field for the least amount of plays. If the offense doesn't put the ball in the endzone, than blame the offense. That is the goal.

[DR]

Waterboy, on field realities? I obscure them? HAHA! You guys praise a coach and GM that have not had consecutive winning seasons here. That's flat out sad. All you do is make excuses. The Bucs could go 6-10 this year and you losers will call it a rebuilding year. And you losers will mock far better teams that "choked" despite the fact that the biggest choke ever was the Pats last year. If the Bucs have a losing season this year, they must cut their ties with Gruallen.

[STIXX]

Nice to see DR is back with his COWBOYS outlook on the BUCCANEERS all season long AGAIN.........

[STIXX]

DR are you always on buc`em cause Blogging With the Boys sounds stupid?

[Yoshi]

You're right DR we cant blame it on the kicker.... After all it was Tony who couldnt get the ball down LOL.

[DR]

You guys need to listen to experts, like a Bill Parcells, Bill Walsh, Bill Cowher. Those guys don't blame kickers for their offensive failures. I watched Parcells tell the OC to F-off when the opportunity came to kick a late FG to put points on the board against your beloved Bucs a few years ago. Gruden would have kicked a meaningless FG to save face and blame his own player for doing so.
Parcells is the one who made the comment that I am referring to in the previous post. If that sissy Gramatica made an attempt to block the player instead of crying like the sissy he is, Romo could have gotten a first down. Gramatica would have probably missed the FG anyways, Romo took the heat instead.