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Saints fans have cracked the joke at kicker Shayne Graham’s expense countless times this season.

“My heart can’t take it,” they say, “when he lines up for a kick” — or something to that effect.

But those fans should be thankful they don’t root for the Detroit Lions (4-2), whom the Saints (2-3) face at noon Sunday at Ford Field. Their hearts might have already given out if they did.

Lions kickers — there have already been three of them this year — have missed 10 of the 15 field goals they’ve attempted. They’ve missed 10 of the 12 kicks they’ve tried from 40 yards or longer.

That shoddiness outright cost the Lions one victory. It also cost two kickers their jobs.

Compare that to Graham’s work since he joined the Saints late in 2013: nine makes on 10 regular-season tries. That’s better than the career regular-season percentage of 85.5 Graham has registered while kicking for nine teams since 2001 — a figure that’s the eighth-best all-time heading into Sunday.

Those are numbers the Lions undoubtedly envy. They also illustrate why the Saints haven’t abandoned Graham at the slightest hint of trouble — even if some in New Orleans have clamored that that’s the way to go.

Entering Sunday’s matchup, the Lions would relish the relative stability at kicker that the Saints have with Shayne Graham | Saints | The Advocate — Baton Rouge, Louisiana

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