Saints will audition free agent kickers
 

According to NBC's Peter King, the Saints will audition free agent kickers this week after Garrett Hartley missed a potential game-winning 29-yard field goal in overtime Sunday.

Hartley was clutch during the Saints' Super Bowl run last year, but his leash got a bit shorter when he blew two field goals in the NFL opener two weeks ago. The Saints will reportedly work out veteran consultant John Carney this week. Other free agents include Shayne Graham, Kris Brown, and Matt Stover. Sep. 26 - 7:56 pm et

Source: Peter King on Twitter

Stover and Brown are solid. Maybe this is just a threat.

Yeah I think we need a veteran prescence I vote for Brown. Hartley is way to inconsistent and he missed a game winning field goal from about 10 inches away. We should've won this damn game. Good call coach.

im pretty sure I would rather go for it on everydown then carney kick....

Get Hartley's A** outta New Orleans.....thanks for the ring man but its bizness

I'm kinda on the fence. Hartley is a good kicker, he just needs to get it together. All 3 of his misses this year have basically been the same kick, a wide left miss.

I think the success of last year went to Hartley's head quite a bit, and I mean that in the most negative way possible. A friend of mine works at a bar in New Orleans that will remained unnamed, and Hartley was in the establishment one night. She was bartending, and he was pulling some stupid stunts. When she called him on it, he pulled the "Don't you know who I am?" routine. She looked him dead in the face, and said "I don't give a flying f&%$ who you are. Shape up or ship out!"

All that aside, he has one job in the NFL and that is to kick the damn ball through the uprights and he apparently isn't very good at that. Like DrewDat said, it's a business. If he can't get the job done, there are plenty of others out there that would love the opportunity to do what he can't.

That was quick

I had hoped we had this position solved for the next 10 years

I can't believe that Sean Payton and Garrett Hartley blew this win over Atlanta for our Saints.

First of all, why kick it on 1st down with over 9 minutes left on the OT clock when you could still keep driving toward a TD for a more "in your face" win?

Secondly, Hartley over-thought a simple straight ahead kick and pushed it to the left for the miss! What? Are you freaking kidding me? Put it straight through the damn uprights man! You're in a Dome, for crying out loud! You don't have to compensate for wind or anything!!!

I agree; no way you put the ball in the kickers hands with first down on the 11. PT had been running the ball pretty well that drive, should have kept running until at least 3rd down.

I bet Hartley will be kicking next week.

When Morton Anderson was young, he went through a slump like this.
The kid is young.

I like Hartley He wasn't the only won who lost that game. The D played a big part as well.

Somebody else that watched the whole game. :whatever:

Three turnovers will give a game away every time. Need we ask Adrian Peterson about this fact.

He wasn't the only one who lost this game, very true! But his job is to kick field goals.

I wish people would stop bailing Hartley out. Sure, we didnt play well the entire game. But we pulled it together in OT and put our idiot kicker on the 11 yard line for a chipshot and he missed it. THAT IS THE KICKERS FAULT!

If we don't BLOCK for the running backs; STOP the other teams running backs and TE from having career days, Our kicker will be the least of our problems!! He should have made the kick, However, we got our A$$ kicked in all phases except for special teams!

however dosnt cover an easy kick, made 99 out of 100 times, hartley lost it.
Payton doesnt kick on 1st down because its not a sure thing.

Regardless of the overall cause of the loss, let's face the FACTS:

The organization obviously has had enough of Hartley. I don't think they would put this info out unless they were dead serious. Personally I believe they want him replaced with the best leg for hire.

With his performance overall this year, can you blame them?

If Hartley loses a kicking "audition" then he WILL NOT be the first kicker to be replaced on an NFL football team mid-season- definitely happened before.

Kickers are journeymen. A very small minority, like Morten Anderson, stay with a team the majority of their career.

So I think Sean Peyton and the Saints organization are saying "NEXT..."

Isn't that how it is with kickers..lol

Yep, they are journeymen. The only time I've seen a kicker given the boot who did not deserve it was when the Saints booted Morten Anderson...

But that, children, is a bed-time story for another night... or one we should forget about entirely :)

Didn't Stover kick against us in the SB. I am pretty sure that he replaced Vinateri. He wouldn't be bad he kicked for Bal for a long time.

Exactly....Perfect snap, perfect hold, and SHAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNK!

I'm not bailing Hartley out, but if he'd missed the kick in the 1st quarter and we lost by 2 it wouldn't be as big of a deal.

Hartley screwed up. Another kicker could be worse. Hartley play outstanding last season. I think we bring in Carney and keep 2 kickers again. I don't think the Saints organization is giving up on him.

Carney is money from 20 and in. Great. Stover isn't much better. Accurate only in tight. Both are too old to have a shot at anything 40+. I'd vote Kris Brown and make Hartley dual him for the job. I'd like to see Garrett stick around if he can get out of this funk and start being a professional.

I've come to the conclusion that if anything goes wrong, it's Jordan Jefferson's fault.

Oh yea... remember this?

Radio station in New Orleans are stating that Carney will come in as a Kicker coach to help Hartley.
It should be noted that Hartley was 85% last year.

I agree Heavy D, but if Coach P had kept going on the drive and PT fumbled it, then everyone would probably be mad that he didn't just get into field goal range and boot it in instead of trying to make style points.

As far as Hartley goes...I still think he could be the answer for the Saints. I don't know what is going on with him this year but I would like to see him get through it and move forward.

I'm for giving the kid another shot. He had a horrible game 1, was money in game 2 and hit 1 of 2 in game 3. His first being a cold blooded kick from 32 yards out to force OT with 4 ticks left in the game.

If Hartley can't get his act together, then I'm for getting rid of him. But I hope he can get through this.

Forever-I cried after that game.

I save that for winning. :doh: