Mr. Relevant’s Good Start … Saturday Cup O’Chiefs

So far, Ryan Succop has been very relevant.

The only noticeable contribution the Chiefs have received from their 2009 NFL Draft class is coming from Succop, pick No. 256 and the final man selected in this year’s annual selection meeting. That’s how he earned the title “Mr. Irrelevant” and was honored in southern California back in June.

With his four field goals last week against Washington and his general performance over the first six games on the field goals and kickoffs, a shaky kicking situation for the better part of the last decade looks like it may have stabilized itself with the addition of Succop.

He’s young (23 years old), big at 6-2, 223 pounds and talented. But what has impressed special teams coach Steve Hoffman more than anything is Succop’s demeanor and mental approach to the job.

“He’s a joy to work with,” Hoffman said on Friday. “He’s a great kid. He’s willing to listen. He’s tried some things, but in all honesty, I haven’t had to do a whole lot with him. He’s naturally gifted. He’s got great height, weight, he’s got a smooth swing.

“I think the best thing about him is mentally he seems to handle it so well. Nothing seems to phase him. He’s just even keel, which is the way you have to be.”

Other than butchering his last name from time-to-time, one thing his teammates noticed last week in Washington was how calm, cool and collected Succop (Suck-Up) was on the turf at FedEx Field. It was a windy, wet day and the playing surface was in bad shape after a recent U-2 concert.

It didn’t bother Succop in the least as he hit FGs from 24, 39, 46 and 46 yards.

“I haven’t really felt nervous at all out there all season,” Succop said. “All you ask for as a kicker is the opportunity to help your team and that’s what I was given there (Washington). No reason to get nervous; it’s what I wanted to happen.”

That approach has really caught the attention of Hoffman, who has been working with kickers on the college and NFL level for more than 20 years.

“He has a certain calmness about him; it’s what you try to look for when you are out there trying to scout kickers,” said Hoffman. “A lot of them have the length strength and the talent to do it. But you have to sift through that and find the guy who you think can hold up under the pressure of the NFL.

“When I went to work him out, he struck me as a guy who could do it. So far, it’s proven that’s the case.”

A review of Succop’s numbers is quick:

• He’s made nine of his 10 field goal attempts, the only missing coming on a block from 53 yards.
• From inside the 40-yard line, he’s five-for-five. Those are the money FGs that every kicker just make at a clip of 95 percent or better.
• On PAT kicks, he’s nine for nine.
• His strong leg has been visible on kickoffs, where he’s averaged kicking the ball to the three-yard line on h is 21 kickoffs.

Six games does not a career make. But if Succop continues on this pace, he will have the best season by a rookie kicker in franchise history. Here are the numbers for that first season for the five true rookie kickers the Texans-Chiefs have had in the previous 49 seasons. Plus, we’ve included the first years of Nick Lowery and Lawrence Tynes who were first-year kickers.

 

“It was a blessing,” Succop said of the Washington game. “The whole opportunity here has been a blessing for me. It’s one of those things you always dream about happening. It was great that it happened and we won the game. If we had lost, then it wouldn’t mean anything.”

Out of Hickory, North Carolina and then the University of South Carolina, Succop developed the mindset a kicker needs to survive with the Gamecocks. He had a career 71 percent success rate on FGs (49 of 69), but his success rate was hurt last year by a groin injury that took away some of his strength.

Hoffman went into Columbia, South Carolina last spring to put Succop through a workout. Although he’s known as a kicking guru around the NFL for his ability to find young, unknown kickers, Hoffman says it’s a matter of feel with him, rather than some formula.

“For years I’ve been to one-on-one workouts with guys, or group tryouts, you watch the way a guy handles himself,” said Hoffman. “If he misses a kick, how does he handle himself. You try to look into his eyes, watch his facial expressions and see how he’s handling the whole thing.

“It’s just a feel-type thing. You just get a feeling about a guy.”

Almost 30 years ago, Hoffman began developing the background necessary to get those gut feelings. After his playing career at Dickinson College, he started punting and had tryouts with several NFL teams. He was able to stick with the 1983 Washington Federals of the United States Football League. Eventually, he got into working with kickers and he’s been around the NFL since 1989, when he joined Jimmy Johnson’s Dallas Cowboys staff as the kicking coach, along with handling quality control.

“I got a tape of one of his other workouts,” Hoffman said of Succop. “He worked out for the Steelers and a few other teams. One of our scouts had the DVD of that workout. I noticed on that how smooth he was and how well he handled things. It was a cold, rainy day and he kicked really well.

“Then I looked at his game tapes and one of the things you look for in the games, does his technique change at any point in the game? Does he swing the same for a PAT as he does for a 45-yard field goal. Sometimes a guy may make a kick, if he’s technique is changing in the game, it’s a telltale sign to me that the guy is not mentally tough. He can’t separate the conscious mind from the sub-conscious mind. You need a guy that can do that.

“It’s an innate talent that some kickers have. Baseball hitters have it. Golfers have it. Foul shooters have it. I don’t know how you develop it. I’m sure a sports psychologist would say you could, but I think it’s something they are born with.

“Ryan has that.”

There are sure to be some ups and downs for Succop; it happens with every rookie. But so far in a 1-5 season the rookie kicker has been one of the few players that Todd Haley and his coaching staff can count on.

“Ryan’s working hard and is doing it the way he’s been coached to do it,” said Haley. “(Washington) was a huge game for him in poor conditions. The field was re-sodded and where they were kicking from was not real good. Some elevated undulations, some things like that. The wind was difficult but he stood up and made the tough kicks.”

SIGNINGS, INJURIES & MOVEMENT AROUND THE LEAGUE

• BENGALS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Bears is OT Andre Smith (foot).
• BILLS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Panthers are QB Trent Edwards (head), S Donte Whitner (ankle), OT Jonathan Scott (ankle) and S Bryan Scott (ankle).
• CARDINALS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Giants is TE Stephen Spach (ankle).
• CHARGERS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Chiefs is C Nick Hardwick (ankle).
• COLTS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Rams are WR Anthony Gonzalez (knee), CB Marlin Jackson (knee) and K Adam Vinatieri (knee); S Bob Sanders will start against the Rams.
• FALCONS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Cowboys is S Antoine Harris (knee).
• 49ERS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Texans are S Michael Lewis (concussion) and S Reggie Smith (groin).
• GIANTS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals are LB Michael Boley (knee), DT Chris Canty (calf), and CB Aaron Ross (hamstring).
• JETS – will be without WR Jerricho Cotchery, WR Brad Smith and CB Lito Sheppard for Sunday’s game against the Raiders.
• PACKERS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Browns are DE Jarius Wynn (hamstring), OT Mark Tauscher (knee), RB Korey Hall (calf), WR Jordy Nelson (knee), RB DeShawn Wynn (knee).
• PATRIOTS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Buccaneers are WR Julian Edelman (forearm), OT Matt Light (knee), RB Sammy Morris (knee) and RB Fred Taylor (ankle).
• RAIDERS – Out of Sunday’s game against the Jets are G Robert Gallery (fibula), OT Cornell Green (calf), LB Ricky Brown (ankle), RB Darren McFadden (knee) and WR Nick Miller (shin).
• TEXANS – Out of Sunday’s game against the 49ers is S Nick Ferguson (knee).

FROM THE PAGES OF CHIEFS HISTORY

On October 24, 1965, the Chiefs lost to the Oilers 38-26 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. The Chiefs scored 19 points in the fourth quarter but it wasn’t enough to overcome a big Oilers lead. Hank Stram’s offense got pushed the Chiefs to an early 17-0 lead, on TD runs of 48 yards by RB Curtis McClinton and eight yards by Mack Lee Hill. Tommy Broker had a 12-yard field goal. Houston scored the next five touchdowns before QB Len Dawson threw a pair of TD passes, 40 yards to McClinton and eight yards to WR Otis Taylor. Hill finished with 132 yards on 17 carries.

On October 24, 1971, the Chiefs beat the Washington Redskins 27-20 in front of 51,989 fans at Municipal Stadium. George Allen brought his Redskins to Kansas City as the last unbeaten team in the NFL that season. Washington jumped out quickly, leading 17-6 at half-time and then 17-13 to start the fourth quarter. That’s when the Chiefs offense finally got hot, with a pair of TD passes by QB Len Dawson. He found WR Elmo Wright for 15 yards and then he hooked up with his favorite target, WR Otis Taylor for the second time that day. This one was a 28-yard scoring play where Taylor made one of the great catches in franchise history, hauling I n the throw with one hand and just less than four minutes remaining in the game. “Sometimes you need one hand,” Taylor said after the game. “Sometimes you can get it any other way.” Washington WR Charlie Taylor caught a pair of TD passes in the first half from QB Billy Kilmer. But Charlie Taylor fractured an ankle on the second score and left the game. For the Chiefs, Otis Taylor caught five passes for 105 yards, while RB Ed Podolak picked up 110 yards on 24 carries.

On October 24, 1976, the Chiefs lost to the Denver Broncos 35-26 in front of 57,961 fans at Arrowhead Stadium. The skills of Denver returner Rick Upchurch was the deciding factor in this game. The second-year receiver out of Minnesota returned a punt 55 yards for a touchdown and his 64-yard kickoff return set up another Broncos touchdown. The Chiefs got a three-yard TD run by RB Tommy Reamon, a 10-yard scoring run by RB MacArthur Lane and a three-yard touchdown pass from QB Mike Livingston to TE Walter White. Reamon finished the game with 98 yards rushing on 22 carries.

On October 24, 2004, the Chiefs beat the Atlanta Falcons 56-10 in front of 78,260 fans at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs set an NFL record with eight rushing touchdowns against the Falcons. The Kansas City offense had 540 total yards and 36 first downs. RBs Priest Holmes and Derrick Blaylock each had four touchdowns runs. All of Holmes scoring plays came in the first half, when the Chiefs jumped out to a 35-3 lead. Defensively, the Chiefs limited Atlanta to 222 yards. QB Michael Vick was the Falcons leading rusher with 62 yards, but he threw a pair of interceptions, as CB Eric Warfield and S Greg Wesley grabbed the picks.

SAY HAPPY BIRTHDAY …

Born on October 24, 1933 in Dallas was WR Ed Bernet (left). He was a member of the original Dallas Texans, joining the team for the 1960 season. Bernet was drafted and played for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 when he came out of SMU. He played 12 games that season, catching 22 passes for 276 yards and one TD. Bernet spent the next two years in the U.S. Air Force, then continued his attempts to play pro football in the NFL and the Canadian Football League. He signed with the Texans and in nine games with Dallas he caught 4 passes for 49 yards. In 1961, Bernet opened a Dallas music venue called The Levee and he began booking musical acts. Ed Bernet Entertainment remains in business.

Born on October 24, 1944 in Gary, Indiana was G Randy Beisler. He joined the Chiefs in 1975 at the end of his 10-season NFL career. Beisler played in three games and made two starts for the Chiefs. He previously played for the Eagles and 49ers, where he played both offense and defensive lines.

Born on October 24, 1963 in San Diego was G Curt DiGiacomo. He joined the Chiefs in 1988 and played 12 games with the team that season. DiGiacomo began his NFL career in ‘86 with San Diego, where he signed after his college career at the University of Arizona.