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No real technical discussion here... not much that way in terms of kickers. But I just wanted to throw in my two cents in light of Hartley's looming reinstatement.
I think Hartley is a good kicker. He has a strong leg and did an excellent job after coming in late last season. But if I were the Saints brass, I would cut him and hang onto John Carney.
Yes, there is a danger of letting Hartley walk out the door. He'll be at the top of a lot of teams lists (Seahawks?) and could catch on somewhere else permanently. Even though he was curiously shaky this preseason, I think he has a bright future in the NFL and has the talent to stay in the league for a while. That said, he WAS shaky in the preseason. His previous body of work is only a few games from last season. What he was/is likely going through is just a phase of accuracy struggles, but the Saints seem to have lightning in a bottle right now and shouldn't take any unnecessary risks with regard to the place kicking game... which is looking pretty solid/consistent.
You know what you have in John Carney. He went to the Pro Bowl last season at the age of 46 or 47... and only after he was signed by the Giants due to an injury. He's obviously not a long term solution, but he is very accurate and consistent kicking from inside the 40. Sean Payton has already admitted that it was a mistake to let him walk out the door after the '06 season. I say don't make that mistake again.
The only merit I see in keeping Hartley over Carney is long-term. The focus needs to be on this season. Again... it's just the kicker, not the QB, so I won't be up in arms either way. But John has earned his spot, IMO, for at least one more season (and it'd be nice to have him be a part of Saints history after the years he's put in to this organization).
I think Hartley is a good kicker. He has a strong leg and did an excellent job after coming in late last season. But if I were the Saints brass, I would cut him and hang onto John Carney.
Yes, there is a danger of letting Hartley walk out the door. He'll be at the top of a lot of teams lists (Seahawks?) and could catch on somewhere else permanently. Even though he was curiously shaky this preseason, I think he has a bright future in the NFL and has the talent to stay in the league for a while. That said, he WAS shaky in the preseason. His previous body of work is only a few games from last season. What he was/is likely going through is just a phase of accuracy struggles, but the Saints seem to have lightning in a bottle right now and shouldn't take any unnecessary risks with regard to the place kicking game... which is looking pretty solid/consistent.
You know what you have in John Carney. He went to the Pro Bowl last season at the age of 46 or 47... and only after he was signed by the Giants due to an injury. He's obviously not a long term solution, but he is very accurate and consistent kicking from inside the 40. Sean Payton has already admitted that it was a mistake to let him walk out the door after the '06 season. I say don't make that mistake again.
The only merit I see in keeping Hartley over Carney is long-term. The focus needs to be on this season. Again... it's just the kicker, not the QB, so I won't be up in arms either way. But John has earned his spot, IMO, for at least one more season (and it'd be nice to have him be a part of Saints history after the years he's put in to this organization).