By Marc Hardin
FOX Sports Ohio | BengalsInsider.com
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
With AFC Special Teams Player of the Week and AFC Special Teams Player of the Month honors already to his credit, kicker Mike Nugent is probably the Bengals' most valuable player up to this point in the season.
You get no argument from special teams coach Darrin Simmons, who watched Nugent win one game while scoring all the points with five field goals in a 15-10 win over Baltimore. Nugent has a pair of field goals of 50 yards or longer.
"I'm very pleased. I'm very excited for him, we just have to keep that going," Simmons said. "He's very confident with what he's doing right now."
Nugent, who has replaced Shayne Graham as the Bengals' place-kicker, is on pace for a career-best 144-point season. He made nine field goals in a row to start his Bengals career, breaking Graham's record of six. He has converted 12 of 13 field goals and is perfect on extra-point attempts for a total of 44 points, which ranks 11th in the league. His 8.8 points per game rank third.
Nugent, a two-time 100-point producer for the Jets from 2006-07 who was injured for nearly all of 2008 and did not stick in stints at Tampa Bay and Arizona, also is longer off the tee. He has reached the end zone on 10 of his 26 kickoffs, and ranks tied for ninth in the NFL with six touchbacks. Last year, Graham had eight touchbacks for the full season.
It could have been a different story for Nugent, who grew up a Bengals fan in Centerville, Ohio, and set kicking records at Ohio State.
Time could have run out during training camp on Nugent's bid to continue his NFL dream. The team patiently waited on his return following a groin injury, while Dave Rayner made a valiant attempt to take the kicking job.
Simmons recalled how frustrated Nugent was as he stood on the preseason sidelines and watched Rayner make kicks.
"He was obviously very frustrated," Simmons said of Nugent. "His body wouldn't allow him to do it. He had a little bit of an injury. We knew we were up against the time clock whether he was going to be healthy enough to show us if he can do it. He really rehabbed. He worked really hard to get himself healthy where he can kick. I think that says a lot about him and his personality."
Simmons said Nugent was always in the running for the job, despite the preseason injury.
"We were considering a lot of things. It was kind of a compilation of things," the coach said. "He'd done it before in New York. He kicked really well in the offseason. I really like his mentality and his mindset. Nothing's too big, nothing's too small. If he misses a kick, he understands and tries to correct what he did wrong. And he's very coachable. He can identify and correct."
Simmons said consistently solid technique is behind Nugent's added leg strength.
"When his technique is refined down, he gets good solid hits on the ball. And he's as strong any anybody," Simmons said. "I was very concerned about the long (preseason) attempts because he's just coming off an injury, but it's a testament to how hard he worked to get his body ready.
"I think that's what I really like about him. I like the fact he's a competitor. He doesn't have the normal kicker mentality. The guy played quarterback in high school. I like the way he battled to get back healthy because he knew he was up against the clock and time was running out on him and he kicked with some tenuous pain and did well. That shows what a competitor he is. To sum it up in one word, he's competitive."
Nugent credits Simmons for reviving his playing career.
"I really feel I
