Unsigned Lansford Still a Money Kicker : He Converts All Four of His Field Goal Attempts in the Rams’ Victory
Mike Lansford’s kicking-for-dollars drive continued Sunday, this time with four field goals and two extra points sailing through the uprights via the barefoot express.
The question is, did Ram management notice?
Well, owner Georgia Frontiere was in attendance, as was, presumably, the Ram negotiating tag team of executive vice president John Shaw and vice president Jay Zygmunt. Lansford only can hope they noticed, what with a contract impasse that finds him unsigned, underrated and, according to his agent, underpaid.
“But I have nothing to do with that,” he said. “That’s between my attorney and Ram management. I really can’t let that affect me.”
Against the Atlanta Falcons at Anaheim Stadium Sunday, Lansford converted each of his four field-goal attempts (48, 35, 27 and 42 yards), as well as those two extra points. And while the kicks didn’t match the drama of his game-winning field goal against the San Francisco 49ers a week ago, they did have a certain importance. A 26-14 score (a four field-goal difference) proves that.
“Each kick, I think, was as important as the last kick last week,” he said. “We don’t blow anybody out, really. (Sunday), if I miss two kicks, Atlanta’s right back in the ballgame. As it was, all they had to do was score two touchdowns to win. It’s a kicker’s position to put points on the board and I’m just out doing my job. (This) ensures my job for another week, at least.”
Lansford, the Rams’ all-time leading scorer, earned $195,000 last season, which isn’t bad. But after spending eight seasons in the league, as well as developing a reputation as one of the best clutch kickers, Lansford wants a considerable raise. The Rams, meanwhile, offered a package that would place him 12th among active kickers.
To this, Lansford and agent Leigh Steinberg said no. Instead, they offered a compromise: Lansford would report to training camp without a new contract and the Rams, much as they did with running back Gaston Green, would negotiate a deal as soon as possible.
Yes, well, it hasn’t quite worked out that way. Training camp and five regular-season games have come and gone and still Lansford waits, pen in hand, foot in gear.
“It’s frustrating at times during the week,” he said. “But on game day, I only have one thing on my mind. I don’t have the intelligence to handle multiple thoughts when I’m trying to kick a field goal.”
Thus far this year, Lansford has made 10 of 12 attempts, with six of the 10 tries coming from 39 yards or longer. And not a single kick has come off artificial turf.
“You know that guy who says, ‘Football has been very, very good to me?’ ” said defensive lineman Doug Reed. “Well, I think Lansford has been very, very good to us. He’s Mr. Make-It. If a guy like that misses a (kick), then there has to be some rough circumstances. There has to be 100-mile winds, or something.”
Said Pete Holohan, who holds for Lansford’s kicks: “He’s good under pressure. (Sunday) you could tell he was in a groove by the way he was kicking. Once again, he’s proved he’s best under pressure.”
Tell it to Ram management, or even to a handful of reporters who stopped by Lansford’s locker after the game. At times, you would have thought Lansford had just been added to the roster.
One radio reporter wanted to know about Lansford’s quest to surpass Bob Waterfield as the team’s all-time scoring leader.
“I am the scoring leader,” Lansford said.
Had he always kicked barefoot, someone else inquired.
Where did he go to college, asked another.
Eight years in the NFL? No kidding, said another.
This sort of thing happens. After all, Lansford finds himself in the same conference as Morten Andersen of the New Orleans Saints. Every year, Andersen, the NFL’s all-time field goal accuracy leader, is selected to the Pro Bowl and every year Lansford isn’t.
But this season, who knows?
“Maybe, but there are a lot of guys kicking really well,” Lansford said.
Including Lansford, the man kicking for a contract.