The following article was written by D. Orlando Ledbetter and published on December 1, by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Veteran kicker Jason Elam felt that he had one more miss before the Falcons would release him. He was correct.
The missed 43-yard field goal on Sunday against Tampa Bay was his last miss for the Falcons. The legendary kicker and Bryan Pittman, the team’s long snapper, were both released on Tuesday. The team signed former Tampa Bay kicker Matt Bryant and long snapper Joe Zelenka to to take their roster spots. The team had also worked out kicker Paul Edinger and long snapper Jeff Robinson on Tuesday.
Last week, former Georgia standout Brandon Coutu, Steve Hauschka, Sam Swank and Shane Andrus all worked out, but were not extended a contract offer.
Elam has missed seven field goals this season after making 29 of 31 attempts in 2008.
He had key misses in the past three games, a 34-yarder in a two-point loss to Carolina and a 35-yarder against the New York Giants on Sunday. The Falcons lost in overtime 34-31 against the Giants.
Against Carolina, Elam, who appears to look down at the holder and not at the center, started and stopped his motion before the ball was snapped to Koenen by Pittman. This signaled, perhaps, that the ball might not have been snapped after Koenen gave the signal.
Against the Giants, Elam appeared to hesitate slightly before going into his motion. It appears that the unit’s timing is off.
Elam, a star at Brookwood High School, is one of the games storied kickers. He is tied with Tom Dempsey for making the longest field goal (63 yards) in NFL history. He was signed in March 2008 to a four-year, $9 million contact, which included a $3.3 million in guarantees. He’s making $1.7 million this season and is set to make $1.97 in 2010 and $2 million in 2011.
Bryant was cut by Tampa Bay at the end training camp, while coming back from a hamstring injury. He played for the Bucs from 2005-2008. He broke in with the New York Giants in 2002.
Bryant, 5-foot-9 and 200 pounds, has made 138 of 168 field goals (82.1 percent) and 181 of 185 (97.8 percent) of his extra points over his career. He played collegiately at Baylor.
Zeleneka has snapped in 157 games, including eight years in Jacksonville. Several of the Falcons coaches, including head coach Mike Smith came from Jacksonville.
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