Ravens cut kicker Hauschka
Written by footballfan on November 18th, 2009
Ravens kicker Steve Hauschka was cut by the Ravens on Wednesday, one day after missing a 36-yard field goal and getting an extra-point blocked in a 16-0 win over the Cleveland Browns.
General manager Ozzie Newsome said the team will sign a new kicker — possibly Mike Nugent or Billy Cundiff — before Wednesday’s practice.
“I’m definitely disappointed,” Hauschka told The Baltimore Sun about a half-hour after the team made the announcement. “I appreciate the opportunity that they gave me here. I wish I had done better with a couple of the kicks there. But I don’t have any regrets. I’m just going to keep playing and working hard, and I think I’ll be on a team sooner or later.”
Not re-signing Matt Stover will likely mark the first misstep in the John Harbaugh era.
The Ravens decided to replace Stover, the only placekicker in the team’s history, because they wanted a younger kicker who could also kick off (which allowed the Ravens to use only one roster spot on a kicker).
In his first season as a full-time NFL kicker, Hauschka finished 9-for-13 on field goals, missing three of his final seven kicks.
Stover, who returns to M&T Bank Stadium Sunday as a member of the Indianapolis Colts, declined comment on Hauschka’s release. He has often referred to Hauschka as “a friend.”
“We entered the season knowing that we would have to go through some growing pains with Steve,” Newsome said in a statement. “That happens with most new kickers in the NFL. But, for where we are as a team today, we need more consistent production from our kicker. Every one of our players has to step up to a Ravens’ level of play and that was not happening for Steve right now.”
The Ravens haven’t immediately signed a replacement. The team worked out Nugent and Cundiff last week. It was Nugent’s second tryout with the Ravens.
“While we do believe Steve will kick successfully in the league eventually, we need better right now,” Newsome said. “The string of important games coming up that are likely to be close, tough battles and his lack of production are reasons we needed to make this move now.”
Hauschka met Tuesday with Harbaugh, Newsome and special teams coordinator Jerry Rosburg before leaving Ravens headquarters.
“[Harbaugh] said he still saw confidence in me and told me that I could be a kicker in this league and to keep working hard,” Hauschka told The Sun. “It’s painful, some of these things that you have to go through as a kicker to get experience, but I understand that the organization needs to do what it needs to do to win. I wish they had kept me around, but I understand.”
Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/football-articles/ravens-cut-kicker-hauschka-1471587.html
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