Another Bright Spot To Arizona Cardinals 7-1 Start

During training camp we got the opportunity to speak briefly with one of the unsung heroes of the surprise Arizona Cardinals. Kicker Chandler Catanzaro, and at that time was battling veteran Jay Feely for the place kicking job, and had a great showing in preseason.

One thing stood out throughout all of camp was the two kickers never interacted or spoke to each other during camp. All of camp the two kickers didn’t even stand more than 10 yards apart from each other, this was very unusual as the veteran usually would help a rookie along in most cases. But Feely would have none of it, in fact he would kick on the opposite side of the field away from the rookie kicker.

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Another thing that was noticed right away was the high trajectory of Catanzaro’s kicks over the goal post and Feely’s line-drive barely driving through, I ask the young kicker a question at that time. “Are you trying to kick the ball out of the stadium? You are doing a good job out their” as he was perfect in pre-season “Thank you I’m just happy to have the opportunity and doing the best I can” said the smiling rookie. No one could have guessed that the undrafted free agent would turn out to be this good as he snatched the job away from the aging veteran.

Catanzaro has been key to the Cardinals success this year as he has not missed one kick yet, kicking 16 straight fields and six of those were 40 yards or greater. The rookie will be vital in the games coming up against the division foes, as these games are usually decided by three points or less. Earlier in camp fellow Clemson teammate Andre Ellington was interviewed by the local radio station and was asked about the chances of his ex-teammate in camp. Ellington said “this guy can make it in this league” and boy he was right.

Every great kicker that has come and gone has missed some kicks here and there, and it is not expected that Catanzaro will not miss a kick this year. The question will be, when he does miss will it be the difference between winning and losing. In other words missing first quarter kicks rather than fourth quarter can make a difference. That will be determined, but the rookie has been up for the challenge and has been a real bright spot of this 7-1 start for the Arizona Cardinals.