Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature currently requires accessing the site using the built-in Safari browser.
Mike Nugent Healthy, Ready to Compete for Kicking Job
July 26th, 2011
By Chuck Chapman
Geoff Hobson is reporting this morning that Mike Nugent's doctors at Ohio State have cleared him to play. That means a competition for kicker in training camp.
Clint Stitser finished out the season after Nugent injured his knee against the Indianapolis Colts. Stitser converted seven of eight field goal attempt with a long of 47 yards, but was only eight of ten in extra point conversions.
Prior to his injury, Nugent was the focal point of a Bengal offense that struggled to find the end zone on a regular basis. He had made 15 of 19 attempts with a long of 54 yards and converted all 17 of his extra point attempts.
With a new offensive coordinator and a rookie quarterback, the kicking game once again appears to be an important cog in the Bengals offensive plans. Punter Kevin Huber reports that Nugent looks fully recovered. If that's the case, Nugent's length, kickoff abilities, and impressive track record should win him his old job back.
FCollinsBuckeye;1959560; said:
Lewis singled out Mike Nugent for his three bullets from 36, 39 and 44 yards, his first field goals with the team since ripping the ACL in his kicking knee in Indianapolis Nov. 14, noting it looks like he's got the strength pretty much all the way back.
"Feels like last camp," Nugent said. "The key is how does it feel tomorrow?"...
HAPPY NUGENT: Mike Nugent, who is eight months removed from having surgery to repair a torn ACL in his left leg, did not miss a field goal during the first week of camp and made a 54-yarder on Saturday near the end of practice.
?It?s funny in practice half of it is for your confidence and the other half is for the team?s confidence. Coach Lewis isn?t going to want to kick a 54-yarder if we don?t make them in practice,? Nugent said. ?I?m happy with the way my knee has been feeling.?
Nugent said he thought he was close to 100 percent while special teams coach Darrin Simmons thinks he?s not too far off.
Said Simmons of Nugent?s work in camp thus far: ?I like his mental state more than anything. It?s important for him to have success early on but right now his confidence has to be as high as its been.?
Thomas Weber, an undrafted free agent from Arizona State, is also in camp but has missed a couple so far, including one from 40 yards on Saturday.
NUGENT GOES LONG: If it had been a real game, Nugent?s 55-yard field goal with eight seconds left in the first half would have tied Chris Bahr?s 32-year-old record and broken Nugent?s NFL record.
?North Carolina State my senior year,? said Nugent, the former Buckeye, of his last 55-yarder. ?I felt like I could have gotten a little bit more of it, but at that point as long as it goes nice and straight the way it should, it?s OK.?
Nugent has had a remarkable comeback from the torn ACL injury that cut short his first Bengals season last Nov. 14. He was back kicking in April, he didn?t miss a field goal during team drills at training camp, and then he went for 55 on Thursday.
?You have to trust the rehab,? he said.
Buckeye Maniac;1975527; said:Wasn't his game winner against Marshall 55 yards?
BB73;1975548; said:Yep. A week later he had 5 FGs (tying the tOSU record) at NC State, and the longest of those was 50 yards.
Buckeye Maniac;1975527; said:Wasn't his game winner against Marshall 55 yards?
BIG BOOT: Mike Nugent said his 55-yard field goal against the Panthers was about as smooth as a long-distance kick could go.
?I didn?t try to kill it which would have been easy to do,? Nugent said. ?Now I need to do it a couple more times during the season. If you?re hitting them in practice and preseason, now we have a chance for three points and it gains the confidence of everyone else. Hopefully it carries on to the regular season.?
Last year Nugent had three straight games where he had a field goal of 50 yards or more (preseason games against Buffalo and Indianapolis and the regular-season opener at New England). Had last Thursday?s field goal been in a regular-season game, it would have tied Chris Bahr?s 1979 record which was set against Houston.
DEEP KICKS: The NFL's new kickoff rules helped the Bengals get off to a quick start Sunday. Mike Nugent's first three kickoffs went for touchbacks and five of his six on the day went at least five yards deep into the end zone.
Kickoffs have been moved from the 30-yard line to the 35 this season for player safety reasons.
While Cleveland started its first three drives from its own 20, the Bengals started each of their first two drives at the Browns 41. Their third drive started at their own 29. They converted the field position into a 13-0 lead.
Nugent reached the end zone on just 16 of 44 kickoffs last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury at Indianapolis in Week 10. He had just seven touchbacks.