Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

New Orleans - Pro Football Weekly

Mind games haunting Saints' Mare

Nov. 9, 2007


The Saints are nearing a zero-tolerance policy with PK Olindo Mare, the way we hear it. Mare, an 11-year veteran, is 6-of-12 on field-goal attempts, which places him at the bottom of the league in accuracy, and is just 1-of-5 on kicks of 40 yards or longer. He battled a groin injury early in the season but appears to have recovered from it — on kickoffs he’s regularly booting the ball into the endzone for touchbacks. Sources say Mare’s issues are all mental. In the past month, New Orleans has invited Martin Gramatica, Mike Vanderjagt, Billy Cundiff and other free agents to work out, but none has been convincing in his audition for Saints personnel. Our source in New Orleans says 45 yards is Mare’s ceiling right now, and the Saints will keep their offense on the field in fourth-down situations if it can’t move the ball past the opposition’s 30-yard line. We hear Jaguars PK Josh Scobee is a week or two away from returning from a quadriceps injury, but once he is healthy, Jacksonville may release his replacement, John Carney. Carney, who was with the Saints from 2001 to '06, could end up in New Orleans once again before the season is done.

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

god i hope so.

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

I thought he was going to be cut this past Monday.
I still say he's done in the Big Easy.
All I want right now is John Carney back in New Orleans.

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

damn is it that hard to find a half decent kicker?

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

It's very hard to find a PK at this time of the season, not as bad as looking for a corner but still not an easy task.

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

Carney! Yes!

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

stickin with my prediction from other thread
mare goes 3 for 3 against rams

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

I hope you're right, but coach Payton did sound like he was giving up on Mare. Boy do I want Carney Back

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

He used the word "yet" in his quote. I am not giving up on him "Yet" which sounds like there is a point out there in the foreseeable future that he 'will have given up.'

I am ways liked carney.
after the "river city relay" he could have lost confidence. gotten into his own head. maybe even "Should have" gotten into his head. I would have.

he didn't.he came back and his accuracy for the next few years was every thing you look for.

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

Nope he will not be cut. He will do the kickoffs and maybe split the FG duties if anything happens. Say hello to two kicker again this year if it happens

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

Phat, i've been looking at this post since last night. I gotta ask. What brought you to this conclusion? No one in the world hopes you're right more than me, but I just have to ask.

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

I can't see it. The Rams haven't been able to stop anyone. So what makes you think the Saints will be kicking field goals? Also there are not enough TDs (3) to account for Mare.

Now if you said Mare nails 5 or 6 extra points, I may be with you.

The real problem is that we can't trust the guy to nail the clutch kick when we need it. It may seem unfair, but frankly he was a key contributor in the Saints critical loss to Carolina. I know that Freddy "GameShow" Thomas got burnt by Steve Smith. But if Mare had made either the blocked kick (20 yards!) or the long one (I know 54 is a reach) then it would be a whole different ball game for the Saints.

The point that mas missed was that the fans were booing Mare before the second kick because he missed the first one. Dude only was two jobs: put the ball throught the endzone on kickoffs and make FG and extra points. He left 6 points on the table and contributed to J'ville's 100 yard kickoff return.

If he can't do his only two jobs, then let's get someone else in there. While we had problems with Carney due to his limitations, we could trust the guy from 40 yards in.

I don't feel that way about Mare. And that's the problem.

SFIAH


SFIAH

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

One other thing that some might have missed is that lately a good number of his kickoffs haven't made it to the endzone. So does that make him worth less?

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

Absolutely. Carney was ditched because he couldn't put kickoffs in the endzone and couldn't make long field goals accurately. So we ended up carrying two kickers on the roster at the end of last season.

Mare was supposed to be the cure for these ills. He has led the league in touchbacks for at least a couple of years and has been a rather accurate kicker in Miami. The thought must have been that he could use a single roster slot, put the ball in the endzone, and be available for those 50+ yard kicks that Carney simply did not have the leg for.

But...

Dude hasn't panned out. There was a minimum of a 13 point swing in last week's game due to Mare. Carolina was a disaster. There's no trust.

How long do we carry the guy before the team really gets burned by him?

SFIAH

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

Oh, you can bet it'll happen. Sooner rather than later in my mind. I hate to see it, but it's coming.

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

Please bring Carney back!

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

nothing conclusive til sunday afternoon joe i was just playing around making predictions
i don't really care if i'm wrong i just want the W
as for mare...maybe if we cut off his toes....ok that was mean
i do hope he pulls it together and i do not believe in booing him before the kick

Re: Zero Tolerance for Mare; Carney in the picture?
 

—QB Drew Brees said he threw his arms in the air in support of K Olindo Mare on Sunday as fans booed when Mare trotted onto the field and missed a 52-yard field goal just before halftime against the Jags.

Fans were frustrated because Mare, who is just 6-for-12 this season, had missed a 43-yard attempt seconds earlier. Brees said he simply was urging fans to be more supportive of Mare.

"I was saying, 'Support him,'" Brees said Wednesday. "We all have rough times, and the guy's had some rough times. So support him. You know, cheer for him.

"If you want him to make the kick, then make him feel good about it. Don't make him feel like everybody's booing him and, 'If I miss, they're going to boo even louder.' Support the guy, that's what I was saying."

—The surging Saints will be going after their fifth consecutive win — which would equal the fourth-longest winning streak in club history — when they face the winless Rams in the Superdome on Sunday.

If Drew is behind so am I