Rams4evah
Veteran
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sp...CA98178B28821BD4862570BE00159F48?OpenDocument
By Kathleen Nelson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/18/2005
One of two things can happen when place-kicker Neil Rackers trots on the field with the game on the line.
"You make it or you miss it," Rackers said. "There's really no reason to get excited about either one. That's the way we've started to approach it."
In reality, his appearance in field-goal situations this season has had only one outcome. He makes it.
Rackers, a native of St. Louisan, has hit 28 consecutive field goals this season for the Arizona Cardinals. He is closing on Mike Vanderjagt's season streak of 37 set in 2003, and Vanderjagt's overall consecutive streak of 42. With seven games remaining, Rackers is ahead of the pace to break the NFL record of 39 nonconsecutive field goals in a season set by Olindo Mare in 1999 and the Rams' Jeff Wilkins in 2003.
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Rackers keeps the historical significance of the records tucked away but acknowledged that the four-year contract extension he received earlier this month is a comforting reward for his accomplishments.
"Every athlete wants to know that they're wanted in the organization," he said. "The Bidwills, the Cardinals, the organization in general since the day I got here has treated me wonderful, so we're excited to spend another four years here."
Home, however, continues to be St. Louis, at least from January through March and in July, for Rackers, his wife, Rachel, and his son, Jacob. The pair met as students at Aquinas-Mercy High School, where Rackers also played soccer and baseball. He made the all-conference team and had scholarship offers in all three sports but chose football at the University of Illinois because he stood a better chance of earning a living.
"We went to high school together and never dated in high school or college," Rackers said. "At the end of college, we looked at each other said, 'Why have we not dated?' We'd been best friends pretty much the whole time and gave it a shot and it worked out."
Rachel shared Rackers' early years of disappointment in Cincinnati, playing on a field he has described as "kitty litter" and in front of fans he called hostile. He missed his first three attempts in his rookie season, 2000.
"When we got in there, we were described as 'Generation X, MTV-like Rackers,' " he said. "And things did not go well. I think we were the anti-Christ when it came to the people in Cincinnati. Things just didn't get off on the good foot, and we couldn't get things turned around there."
He injured his knee in training camp before the 2003 season and was cut. He had stayed in touch with Illini teammates Fred Wakefield and Nathan Hodel, his long snapper in college and a graduate of Belleville East, who were members of the Arizona Cardinals.
"Having Nathan Hodel and Fred Wakefield here talking in the special teams coach's ear about 'You need to bring this guy in,' they basically got me my job," Rackers said. "They brought me in, and we had a good workout."
Rackers survived the coaching change when Dennis Green arrived in 2004 and turned in his best season with 94 points, including three field goals of more than 50 yards on Oct. 24 in a 25-17 victory over the Seahawks. The shoes he wore that day are in the Hall of Fame.
Distance is as important to Rackers' game as accuracy. He has kicked 10 field goals of 50 or more yards in the past two seasons, more than any other kicker, and leads the league this season with 21 touchbacks.
The key to his distance, he said, boiled down to three words: "St. Louis soccer." Rackers said he picked up the tip from Pat Leahy, a native St. Louisan who played 18 seasons with the New York Jets and scored 1,470 points in 250 games.
Green estimated that Rackers could run a 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds and noted that Rackers' athleticism made him just one of the guys in the locker room. Ignoring the pleas of special teams coach Kevin O'Dea, Rackers occasionally gets in the scrum and, in fact, made two special teams tackles last week in a 29-21 loss in Detroit.
"He's extremely athletic, and I think that's where that power comes from," Green said. "He was phenomenal last year as a guy who could kick deep and make it difficult for a team to return it."
With every member of the Rackers' family within a half-hour of his home in St. Louis, Rackers hasn't been able to keep track of the ticket requests for the game Sunday. He also is working with Hodel and Kurt Warner to coordinate a postgame meal of barbecue for his teammates.
"It's always nice to get back to St. Louis," he said. "That will always be home, no matter where I go. I get back to St. Louis and notice how friendly people are in general. So, we enjoy it there."
By Kathleen Nelson
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
11/18/2005
One of two things can happen when place-kicker Neil Rackers trots on the field with the game on the line.
"You make it or you miss it," Rackers said. "There's really no reason to get excited about either one. That's the way we've started to approach it."
In reality, his appearance in field-goal situations this season has had only one outcome. He makes it.
Rackers, a native of St. Louisan, has hit 28 consecutive field goals this season for the Arizona Cardinals. He is closing on Mike Vanderjagt's season streak of 37 set in 2003, and Vanderjagt's overall consecutive streak of 42. With seven games remaining, Rackers is ahead of the pace to break the NFL record of 39 nonconsecutive field goals in a season set by Olindo Mare in 1999 and the Rams' Jeff Wilkins in 2003.
Advertisement
Rackers keeps the historical significance of the records tucked away but acknowledged that the four-year contract extension he received earlier this month is a comforting reward for his accomplishments.
"Every athlete wants to know that they're wanted in the organization," he said. "The Bidwills, the Cardinals, the organization in general since the day I got here has treated me wonderful, so we're excited to spend another four years here."
Home, however, continues to be St. Louis, at least from January through March and in July, for Rackers, his wife, Rachel, and his son, Jacob. The pair met as students at Aquinas-Mercy High School, where Rackers also played soccer and baseball. He made the all-conference team and had scholarship offers in all three sports but chose football at the University of Illinois because he stood a better chance of earning a living.
"We went to high school together and never dated in high school or college," Rackers said. "At the end of college, we looked at each other said, 'Why have we not dated?' We'd been best friends pretty much the whole time and gave it a shot and it worked out."
Rachel shared Rackers' early years of disappointment in Cincinnati, playing on a field he has described as "kitty litter" and in front of fans he called hostile. He missed his first three attempts in his rookie season, 2000.
"When we got in there, we were described as 'Generation X, MTV-like Rackers,' " he said. "And things did not go well. I think we were the anti-Christ when it came to the people in Cincinnati. Things just didn't get off on the good foot, and we couldn't get things turned around there."
He injured his knee in training camp before the 2003 season and was cut. He had stayed in touch with Illini teammates Fred Wakefield and Nathan Hodel, his long snapper in college and a graduate of Belleville East, who were members of the Arizona Cardinals.
"Having Nathan Hodel and Fred Wakefield here talking in the special teams coach's ear about 'You need to bring this guy in,' they basically got me my job," Rackers said. "They brought me in, and we had a good workout."
Rackers survived the coaching change when Dennis Green arrived in 2004 and turned in his best season with 94 points, including three field goals of more than 50 yards on Oct. 24 in a 25-17 victory over the Seahawks. The shoes he wore that day are in the Hall of Fame.
Distance is as important to Rackers' game as accuracy. He has kicked 10 field goals of 50 or more yards in the past two seasons, more than any other kicker, and leads the league this season with 21 touchbacks.
The key to his distance, he said, boiled down to three words: "St. Louis soccer." Rackers said he picked up the tip from Pat Leahy, a native St. Louisan who played 18 seasons with the New York Jets and scored 1,470 points in 250 games.
Green estimated that Rackers could run a 40-yard dash in 4.7 seconds and noted that Rackers' athleticism made him just one of the guys in the locker room. Ignoring the pleas of special teams coach Kevin O'Dea, Rackers occasionally gets in the scrum and, in fact, made two special teams tackles last week in a 29-21 loss in Detroit.
"He's extremely athletic, and I think that's where that power comes from," Green said. "He was phenomenal last year as a guy who could kick deep and make it difficult for a team to return it."
With every member of the Rackers' family within a half-hour of his home in St. Louis, Rackers hasn't been able to keep track of the ticket requests for the game Sunday. He also is working with Hodel and Kurt Warner to coordinate a postgame meal of barbecue for his teammates.
"It's always nice to get back to St. Louis," he said. "That will always be home, no matter where I go. I get back to St. Louis and notice how friendly people are in general. So, we enjoy it there."
