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Kicking A Habit
Channeling Emotion Important To Buehler's Progress
Rob Phillips DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
DeCamillis and Boniol have helped improve Buehler's
technique and his confidence.
SAN ANTONIO - There are two sides to David Buehler, Dallas Cowboys kicker.
There's the 2009 David Buehler who, when not leading the NFL in touchbacks, was charging down the field like a wild man for the punt team; the guy who out-lifted three first- and second-round offensive linemen at the NFL scouting combine; the guy who challenged a defensive back teammate to a race last year in training camp … and won.
Now here's the 2010 David Buehler, who will try to replace some of his panache as a pure athlete/kickoff specialist with extra poise as a full-time placekicker - a position in which the Cowboys desperately need consistency as they aim for another playoff run.
Buehler, the chosen in-house candidate to replace Nick Folk on field goal duty, realizes his passion could affect his accuracy. You can't play golf angry, and you can't split the uprights when your adrenaline is pumping like concert speakers.
"You kind of have to keep that guy in the cage," Buehler said, laughing. "I can't let that guy out."
So far, so good. Buehler has looked sharp in three days of training camp practice inside the Alamodome and made 4 of 4 attempts from 35 yards or so on Monday.
Eliminating emotion is not easy. Buehler loves football, and he hasn't always been solely a kicker. In fact, he only kicked full-time in high school as a freshman and senior and in college as a junior and senior. Before transferring to USC, he played running back and linebacker for a year at Santa Ana (Calif.) College.
Buehler recalls a game at Canyon High (Anaheim) when a teammate returned an interception for a touchdown, but then he missed the extra point.
"I was celebrating, getting all excited," he said. "It shows myself I have to be calm and composed to kick.
"It is a little bit (tough). I feed off that energy. But kicking, you've got stay-level headed. You can't get too fired up. Sometimes when I get too fired up on kickoffs I'll miss-hit it."
It's all part of Buehler's mental and physical prep with new kicking consultant Chris Boniol, a former six-year NFL veteran and three-year kicker for Dallas (1994-96). Adding to special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis' knowledge, the Cowboys brought in Boniol as a personal instructor to Buehler, a fifth-round pick in 2009 who took scarce field goal reps as a rookie.
Not until last December, when Folk's struggles intensified following offseason hip surgery, did Buehler really kick field goals in practice. Shaun Suisham was brought in for the final four games, including playoffs, but was not re-signed.
The approach was by design: Folk needed the work to return to form, and head coach Wade Phillips had seen elite kickers like Morten Andersen and Jason Elam benefit from New Orleans and Denver, respectively, bringing them along slowly as rookies.
Buehler's powerful right leg became an asset as a kickoff specialist - his 29 touchbacks set a Cowboys single-season record and the Cowboys' kickoff coverage jumped to second-best. But the club would prefer to use one kicker and create a game-day spot for another position.
So the Cowboys decided this offseason to give Buehler, their fifth-round pick in 2009, every opportunity to handle all the duties in training camp and preseason. They released Connor Hughes in the spring, leaving rookie free agent Delbert Alvarado as the only other kicker in camp.
A little more than a week until the Aug. 8 Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, the Cowboys like what they've seen. And his leg is as strong as ever.
"The ball makes a different noise when it comes off his foot," punter/holder Mat McBriar said.
Admittedly a little "raw," Buehler credits Boniol with refining his approach to the ball. He also no longer follows the ball as it's snapped to McBriar. On kickoffs, he's becoming more consistent directionally placing it to the left; the right side has always been his "bread and butter."
Mentally, Boniol's advice is simple: go 1-for-1. Don't focus on the previous kick, good or bad. It's gone.
Therein lies the poise required for the position.
"He's an athlete; he's a competitor," Boniol said. "You don't want to strip someone of their identity. You want to let him be himself. He's a confident kid; he's a tough kid. But there is some control involved. He has done a good job gaining control of his ball flight this spring and summer."
Buehler has heard the critics. He knows many Cowboys fans, uneasy after years of kicking changes in the last decade, aren't sure if he can restore stability.
Boniol was actually in the same position in 1994. He beat out several other rookies, including Richie Cunningham, for the job in preseason and would go on to kick on the Cowboys' 1995 Super Bowl team.
At some point, the Andersens and the Elams were unproven. Buehler now has the chance to prove he can be the guy.
"What's best for our team right now is to let him kick and keep doing it in ball games," Phillips said. "Don't split with anybody. We've got two guys coaching him (DeCamillis and Boniol). We think he can get there and he did a lot of good things in the spring."
Buehler's confidence is there. He's not looking over his shoulder at free agent veterans waiting for a phone call. He figures if the Cowboys wanted them, they'd be here in San Antonio.
But he's hardly complacent. He's already seen two former teammates, Folk and Suisham, come and go. It's a harsh side of the business, but a good reason to stay hungry.
"I want to take it," Buehler said. "It's not mine yet. I still have to come out here and perform, and that's what I want to show the coaches. I want to show them that I can put three points on the board when it matters and when we need it most."
Channeling Emotion Important To Buehler's Progress
Rob Phillips DallasCowboys.com Staff Writer
DeCamillis and Boniol have helped improve Buehler's
technique and his confidence.
SAN ANTONIO - There are two sides to David Buehler, Dallas Cowboys kicker.
There's the 2009 David Buehler who, when not leading the NFL in touchbacks, was charging down the field like a wild man for the punt team; the guy who out-lifted three first- and second-round offensive linemen at the NFL scouting combine; the guy who challenged a defensive back teammate to a race last year in training camp … and won.
Now here's the 2010 David Buehler, who will try to replace some of his panache as a pure athlete/kickoff specialist with extra poise as a full-time placekicker - a position in which the Cowboys desperately need consistency as they aim for another playoff run.
Buehler, the chosen in-house candidate to replace Nick Folk on field goal duty, realizes his passion could affect his accuracy. You can't play golf angry, and you can't split the uprights when your adrenaline is pumping like concert speakers.
"You kind of have to keep that guy in the cage," Buehler said, laughing. "I can't let that guy out."
So far, so good. Buehler has looked sharp in three days of training camp practice inside the Alamodome and made 4 of 4 attempts from 35 yards or so on Monday.
Eliminating emotion is not easy. Buehler loves football, and he hasn't always been solely a kicker. In fact, he only kicked full-time in high school as a freshman and senior and in college as a junior and senior. Before transferring to USC, he played running back and linebacker for a year at Santa Ana (Calif.) College.
Buehler recalls a game at Canyon High (Anaheim) when a teammate returned an interception for a touchdown, but then he missed the extra point.
"I was celebrating, getting all excited," he said. "It shows myself I have to be calm and composed to kick.
"It is a little bit (tough). I feed off that energy. But kicking, you've got stay-level headed. You can't get too fired up. Sometimes when I get too fired up on kickoffs I'll miss-hit it."
It's all part of Buehler's mental and physical prep with new kicking consultant Chris Boniol, a former six-year NFL veteran and three-year kicker for Dallas (1994-96). Adding to special teams coordinator Joe DeCamillis' knowledge, the Cowboys brought in Boniol as a personal instructor to Buehler, a fifth-round pick in 2009 who took scarce field goal reps as a rookie.
Not until last December, when Folk's struggles intensified following offseason hip surgery, did Buehler really kick field goals in practice. Shaun Suisham was brought in for the final four games, including playoffs, but was not re-signed.
The approach was by design: Folk needed the work to return to form, and head coach Wade Phillips had seen elite kickers like Morten Andersen and Jason Elam benefit from New Orleans and Denver, respectively, bringing them along slowly as rookies.
Buehler's powerful right leg became an asset as a kickoff specialist - his 29 touchbacks set a Cowboys single-season record and the Cowboys' kickoff coverage jumped to second-best. But the club would prefer to use one kicker and create a game-day spot for another position.
So the Cowboys decided this offseason to give Buehler, their fifth-round pick in 2009, every opportunity to handle all the duties in training camp and preseason. They released Connor Hughes in the spring, leaving rookie free agent Delbert Alvarado as the only other kicker in camp.
A little more than a week until the Aug. 8 Hall of Fame game in Canton, Ohio, the Cowboys like what they've seen. And his leg is as strong as ever.
"The ball makes a different noise when it comes off his foot," punter/holder Mat McBriar said.
Admittedly a little "raw," Buehler credits Boniol with refining his approach to the ball. He also no longer follows the ball as it's snapped to McBriar. On kickoffs, he's becoming more consistent directionally placing it to the left; the right side has always been his "bread and butter."
Mentally, Boniol's advice is simple: go 1-for-1. Don't focus on the previous kick, good or bad. It's gone.
Therein lies the poise required for the position.
"He's an athlete; he's a competitor," Boniol said. "You don't want to strip someone of their identity. You want to let him be himself. He's a confident kid; he's a tough kid. But there is some control involved. He has done a good job gaining control of his ball flight this spring and summer."
Buehler has heard the critics. He knows many Cowboys fans, uneasy after years of kicking changes in the last decade, aren't sure if he can restore stability.
Boniol was actually in the same position in 1994. He beat out several other rookies, including Richie Cunningham, for the job in preseason and would go on to kick on the Cowboys' 1995 Super Bowl team.
At some point, the Andersens and the Elams were unproven. Buehler now has the chance to prove he can be the guy.
"What's best for our team right now is to let him kick and keep doing it in ball games," Phillips said. "Don't split with anybody. We've got two guys coaching him (DeCamillis and Boniol). We think he can get there and he did a lot of good things in the spring."
Buehler's confidence is there. He's not looking over his shoulder at free agent veterans waiting for a phone call. He figures if the Cowboys wanted them, they'd be here in San Antonio.
But he's hardly complacent. He's already seen two former teammates, Folk and Suisham, come and go. It's a harsh side of the business, but a good reason to stay hungry.
"I want to take it," Buehler said. "It's not mine yet. I still have to come out here and perform, and that's what I want to show the coaches. I want to show them that I can put three points on the board when it matters and when we need it most."