rajncajn Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 Mehlhaff to get his shot again with the Saints. It looks like Aberdeen native Taylor Mehlhaff is going to get another shot at kicking with the New Orleans Saints. The Saints aren't happy with the performance of veteran Martin Gramatica, who missed a potential game winning field late in Monday night's loss to the Vikings. So they are interested in re-signing Mehlhaff, the rookie they cut at the end of training camp after picking him in the 6th round of the NFL Draft last spring. Taylor, who's been at the University of Wisconsin working out, will fly out to New Orleans Wednesday. There were some flight delays in Madison Tuesday night. He's expected to get an offer from the Saints and he could very well be New Orleans starting kicker, when the Saints host the Raiders on Sunday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 The knock on him was he wasn't kicking off deep enough I believe. I'm willing to trade that for some made fg's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rajncajn Posted October 8, 2008 Author Share Posted October 8, 2008 The knock on him was he wasn't kicking off deep enough I believe. I'm willing to trade that for some made fg's. I thought he had plenty of leg, but was having trouble with his accuracy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I drafted that guy, perhaps even after he was cut. I knew I should have hung on to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fatman Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 He was never a boomer while at UW, but was always pretty accurate. I'd have to think his accuracy would continue in the dome, but I haven't heard much about him since he got to the Saints. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bronco Billy Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I've been hanging onto my beloved Badger keecker in 2 dynasty leagues thinking all along he could kick in the bigs better than at least 1/2 the guys being recycled right now. He's a damn sight better than Gramatica. Thanks for bearing me out, Martin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 (edited) Mehlhaff's Preseason Stats I pulled from the box scores: Kickoffs (where ball landed): 10, 0, 3, 10, 5, 3, 2, 3, 5, 5, -5 (TB), 16, 2, 0, 10, Extra Points Made: 4 Field Goals Made (Distance): 33, 45 Field Goals Missed (Distance): 40 WL Edited October 8, 2008 by myhousekey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I expected this to happen sooner. I was surprised he was let go in the first place. Good news for me is it solves a bye week kicker problem in a few of my dynasty leagues! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaim.Witz Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 2 things: 1) Most importantly, is this a "done deal", or will the Saints move forward with a KBC? I remember at least one team back in the 90's fielding two kickers. An update of Grammatica being out of the picture would be great. 2) Concern over his kick offs? I haven't watched/noticed, but what kind of kickoff avg is/was Grammatica throwing out there? Can't imagine it was too stellar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 (edited) 2) Concern over his kick offs? I haven't watched/noticed, but what kind of kickoff avg is/was Grammatica throwing out there? Can't imagine it was too stellar. According to NFL.com he's averaging a few yards more per KO (avg ball landed about the 3.5 yd line) than Mehlhaff was and has 4 Touchbacks. I was at the Saints/Broncos game this year and Gramattica repeatedly couldn't get the ball into the endzone in that high altitude. Not sure if that was a problem with his groin but regardless if you are going to kick TB's anywhere it should have been there. I did recall that Mehlhaff seemed to put the ball very high on KO's in preseason which is one reason for the shorter kicks but it also gave the kicking units a chance to get down the field for the tackle. Edited October 8, 2008 by myhousekey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 They have signed him according to this article and put Gramattica on IR. http://blog.nola.com/saintsbeat/2008/10/ne...ikely_to_s.html The Saints have signed rookie kicker Taylor Mehlhaff to replace Martin Gramatica, who was placed on injured reserve because of a groin injury. Mehlhaff was flown in Wednesday morning for a physical, according to his agent Scott Smith of X-A-M Sports, and he will practice with the team this afternoon. Saints general manager Mickey Loomis confirmed both moves. The Saints drafted the strong-legged Mehlhaff in the sixth round out of Wisconsin this year, but Gramatica won the kicking job with a steadier performance during training camp and the preseason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SLAYER Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 They have signed him according to this article and put Gramattica on IR.http://blog.nola.com/saintsbeat/2008/10/ne...ikely_to_s.html Best IR News I heard from the Saints this year. They never really gave Taylor a shot in preseason. He only had three fg attempts while Gram had at least double that amount. I think the road they took in preseason was let Gram lose the job instead of Taylor winning it and in preseason Gram did nothing to lose the job and since they never really gave the kid a shot they had to cut him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WaterMan Posted October 8, 2008 Share Posted October 8, 2008 I picked up Prater last week. He's a good replacement for Rackers since the Cardinals are scoring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugs Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 If you are looking for FG accuracy, not kick off depth then Art Carmody should be the next candidate. The guy was automatic. Of course, I am a homer for U of L where he went to college and set all of the NCAA records for accuracy. By the way, he is kicking for some minor league team in LA as he is an in-state product. What a story - give him a shot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skilly Posted October 9, 2008 Share Posted October 9, 2008 As I was watching Sportscenter this am and saw on the ticker that the Saints put Gramatic on IR for a "groin injury", my first thought was, "Yeah, right. The dude was missing clutch field goals (makeable ones at that) and they are replacing him. I will miss watching him agonize over the botched field goals as he is sitting all alone on the bench. That was good tv! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gopher Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Accuracy seems to be an issue so far today... missed a FG, then shanked a kickoff out of bounds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbimm Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Accuracy seems to be an issue so far today... missed a FG, then shanked a kickoff out of bounds. I wish the made FG could temper my disappointment some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) i think we all saw this coming after the botched xp and then going for it on 4th down when they were well in fg range sunday.... http://blog.nola.com/saintsbeat/2008/10/ne...cut_kicker.html The Saints continued their fickle approach to special teams Tuesday, releasing kicker Taylor Mehlhaff and punter Ben Graham, according to league sources. No replacements have been named, but the Saints have likely will use the bye week to audition candidates. Mehlhaff, who was drafted by the Saints in the sixth round of this year's draft, lasted just three games with the team after he replaced injured and inconsistent veteran Martin Gramatica. Graham lasted just one game after he replaced Steve Weatherford on the trip to London last week. ..re-signing Weatherford as punter is not an option, as he was picked up by Kansas City last week. maybe they'll try and find a kicker like texas tech did... Edited October 29, 2008 by myhousekey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neilfish2 Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 Looks like we need a punter also... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myhousekey Posted October 29, 2008 Share Posted October 29, 2008 (edited) http://blog.nola.com/saintsbeat/2008/10/ne...uditioning.html The Saints are auditioning several kickers and punters today, according to league sources. Among the candidates at kicker are Billy Cundiff, Aaron Elling, A.J. Haglund, Garrett Hartley and Dave Rayner. Cundiff and Elling worked out with the team earlier, the others are coming in today. At punter, they're looking at Josh Miller and Glenn Pakulak, among others. We'll keep trying to track down some more names, and check back here for bios on these players in a little while. More on the players auditioning http://blog.nola.com/saintsbeat/2008/10/mo...ans_saints.html Edited October 29, 2008 by myhousekey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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