Billy Cundiff

The Baltimore Ravens released veteran kicker Billy Cundiff today. After spending the last three seasons with the team, they decided to go with rookie kicker Justin Tucker.

While Cundiff had a good showing this preseason, Tucker was more consistent and ultimately won the vote of head coach John Harbaugh who admitted it was a hard decision:

“We learned what we needed to learn, but it’s not an easy decision,” Harbaugh said. “If it was an easy decision, we would have made it. It’s not an easy decision.”

While Cundiff made the Pro Bowl in 2010, he will be remembered most for missing the potential game tying field goal in last season’s AFC championship title game against the New England Patriots.

Cundiff did not receive any playing time in Thursday’s preseason game against the Jacksonville Jags. Tucker played the entire game with two field goals from 33 and 53 yards.

After the game, Cundiff was “shocked and disappointed” by Tucker doing all the work. He likely took it as a sign that the team would soon cut him and later said:

“If that’s not good enough, I’ll take my services elsewhere to be perfectly honest.”

Cutting Cundiff before the 53-man roster cuts gives him time to sign with another team.

I’m not surprised by the Ravens decision to go with Tucker; he was more impressive this preseason and I like the idea of going with a rookie. I am still not “over” Cundiff missing the field goal in the AFC championship game, it’s a play I can’t watch again, just too painful.

Congratulations Justin! I’m excited for you and I can’t wait to see you play this season.

Justin Tucker

One of the biggest competitions in Baltimore Ravens training camp is the one for starting kicker. The competitors are very different, veteran kicker Billy Cundiff is 32 years old and an eight year veteran of the NFL. Opposite him is rookie kicker Justin Tucker, 22 years old, kicked for the Texas Longhorns in college.

Cundiff is best known for missing the potential game tying field goal in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots last season. While it was a painful way to end the season, he’s determined to get another start as the Ravens kicker.

Tucker is putting up a good fight and according to Ed Lee of the Baltimore Sun, he’s leading the race.

Tucker has outkicked Cundiff. Tucker is 82 of 97 while Cundiff is 74 of 89.

Ravens special teams coordinator Jerry Rosbury has no doubt that a young Tucker can do the job:

“He’ll be in there this Friday night,” Rosburg said. “He’ll be right out there in front of everybody and kicking, and I don’t have any apprehension. The best player plays. That’s just the way it is. It’s that way at kicker, it’s that way at defensive line and at wide receiver. So, whoever is the best player, that’s the guy who’s going to play.”

Head coach John Harbaugh said it is a tight race and he’s not worried about who will come out ahead. He expects both kickers to play for the NFL this season, but did not indicate which one would start for the Ravens.

The final decision has yet to be determined, Friday’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions will play a vital role in selecting the winner.

Rosburg said that Tucker has adapted quickly to the Raven techniques:

“I’m interested to see what happens this Friday,” Rosburg said. “It’ll be another good opportunity for them to show up, because we hope they have opportunities to kick field goals. That’s really what we want to see.”

Seeing Cundiff on the field would be a hard pill to swallow for most Ravens fans. It is hard to look at him without thinking of the missed field goal during the playoff game. He was a decent kicker all season, but missed when it mattered most.

I am excited about the possibility of having rookie kicker. I’ve been hearing good things about Tucker and he could potentially be a long-term solution to the team’s kicking needs.

It is a tough call though because experience is definitely an advantage when comes to knowing the best way to kick the ball in different situations and weather conditions. This might be something the team will bite the bullet on by giving a rookie the chance to learn by doing.

The answer will be known sooner rather than later. May the best man win.

What do you think? Who do you want to see kicking on starting day?

Billy Cundiff in a kicking competition

The Baltimore Ravens arrived in Atlanta today and are ready to play in their first preseason game against the Falcons on Thursday.

Unfortunately the Ravens have been plagued by injuries during training camp. Head coach John Harbaugh announced that the 12 players who sat out of Tuesday’s practice will not play Thursday’s game. Some notable players who will miss the game include cornerback Jimmie Smith, center Matt Birk, rookie running back Bernard Pierce and linebacker Dannell Ellerbee.

Rookie linebacker Courtney Upshaw missed a week of training camp due to a shoulder injury; it has yet to be determined if he will play. Coach Harbaugh will decide on Thursday. It is probably best to let him sit it out and let him get a few more practices under his belt before putting him a preseason game.

Some veteran players including linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed may not see any playing time; other starters are likely to play the first quarter only.

“We’ll be looking at anywhere from a certain set number of plays to about a quarter, maybe a quarter-plus for some of the starters,” Harbaugh said. “That’s kind of what we’re targeting, but not everybody is on exactly the same schedule.”

Left tackle Bryant McKinnie and defensive tackle Haloti Ngata were at practice all week; both are expected to play. They missed camp last week due to injuries.

McKinnie is likely to see more playing time since he is completing with Michael Oher for the starting left tackle position. Ngata has already solidified his starting roster spot.

There are some big questions for the Ravens this preseason and the coaching staff hope to find answers during the game. Some of the questions/concerns are:

• Will a leader emerge in the kicking competition? Veteran kicker Billy Cundiff is in a battle with rookie Justin Tucker.
• So far there hasn’t been a stand out for backup running back. Anthony Allen, Bernard Pierce, Damien Berry and Bobby Rainey are all competing for this position. All are likely to get carries in Thursday’s game.  If no clear leader emerges, the Ravens may look for a veteran to fill the position.
• Linebacker Sergio Kindle hasn’t seen any real playing time due to his long recovery after fracturing his skull two years ago. He’s had a good training camp and it will be interesting to see how he fares during the game.

I have a love/hate with preseason games. I love that football is back and seeing the new players in the game. I hate the risk of injury (before the regular season) and that the game doesn’t mean a damn thing except for the guys trying to make the roster.

While I won’t watch the game in its entirety, I will watch some to get my football fix and I will continue to count the days till the season opener on September 10.

The Baltimore Ravens hosted an open practice at M&T Bank Stadium on Saturday. The practice was part of Military Appreciation Day, more than 2,000 service members and their families were in attendance.

20,324 fans attended the three hour practice, afterwards players spread around the stadium to sign for their fans. It was a great way for fans to get close to the players they root for all season.

It was the first time fans got to see wide receiver Jacoby Jones. The Ravens acquired him from the Houston Texans during the off season.

Jones previously played there in January as a Houston Texan in the AFC divisional playoff game. The Ravens won 20-14.

On this visit to M&T Bank Stadium, Jones experienced what it’s like to be embraced by the Ravens fan base:

“This is the first time they cheered for me instead of booing me,” Jones said. “It was fun. I felt good in that purple, being part of the purple nation. It felt good.”

This time he scored a few touchdowns for the Ravens and meshed well with Flacco. He will likely be the No. 3 wide out this season.

Fans also got to see the kicking competition between kickers Billy Cundiff and Justin Tucker. Cundiff was the starting kicker last season and is known for missing the potential game-tying field goal in the AFC Championship game against the New England Patriots.

Tucker hit a 63-yard field goal; Cundiff tried to top him with a 65-yard kick, but missed. Both kickers have performed well during training camp and had nearly perfect outings during the competition on Saturday. While Cundiff is likely to win the starting position, the battle is still being fought; time will tell who wins it.

The Ravens will host two more public practices; August 12 at The Naval Academy in Annapolis and August 19 at Stevenson University in Owings Mills.

Justin Tucker

The Baltimore Ravens officially signed rookie kicker Justin Tucker. Tucker made a good impression on the Ravens during rookie camp tryouts two weeks ago.

Tucker will compete against current starting kicker Billy Cundiff. Cundiff, who has been with the team since 2009, will always be remembered for missing the game-tying field goal in the AFC championship game last season.

Tucker, an undrafted free agent from Texas, hit 40 out of 48 field goal attempts last season. During rookie camp, he made a 55-yard field goal and went 4-for-4 from inside the 50-yard line.

Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said of Tucker:

“He gets really good lift on the ball, very accurate. He had a very good camp.”

It will be nice to have a kicker competition. Tucker is young and is likely to have many chances to prove that he can be an accurate and reliable kicker in the NFL. Some of us are still bitter about the way Cundiff ended last season, but like it or not he’s still on the roster and now he’s got some competition. Hopefully Tucker will come through in clutch situations by making game winning field goals.

Tucker is excited about this opportunity:

“It doesn’t matter if you’re a rookie, it doesn’t matter if you’ve been playing football for 15 years. I feel I have the mindset to step out on the field and basically do my job.”

Let the competition begin…