Dolphins ‘extremely confident’ in rookie punter, kicker despite risky move

After the Dolphins decided to keep a rookie punter and a rookie kicker, Miami special teams coordinator Darren Rizzi said another NFL coach texted him: “If I see you on the top of a tall building, I’ll know why.”

Rizzi smiled as he told that story on Monday, knowing the Dolphins are hardly panicked about keeping NFL neophytes at kicker (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Andrew Franks) and punter (University of Tennessee rookie Matt Darr).

“I’m extremely confident in both guys,” Rizzi said. “Neither has a rookie mentality. Both are more mature than that.

“The one thing you worry about a little bit with Franks is the environment. He hasn’t kicked in that environment. Darr has. He played in the SEC, in bigger stadiums than we’re playing in. Not as worried about him. 1/8For Franks3/8, it’s almost, ‘Thank goodness we played in four big stadiums already’ 1/8in preseason3/8.”

Rizzi said the decision to keep Franks over Caleb Sturgis was a “close call. ... We felt we’re better off with Andrew.”

Among the factors that tilted the competition toward Franks: He generated more touchbacks on kickoffs (“we want to be better than what we were the last couple of years,” Rizzi said), and Franks’ ability to hit long field goals.

Besides making a 51-yarder in a preseason game, Franks nailed a 64-yarder in practice and hit a 56-yarder with “10 to 15” yards to spare, Rizzi said.

Franks, who was 3 for 3 on field goals in preseason, made only 37 of 56 field goals at RPI (16 of 25 last season), but Rizzi said that didn’t especially concern him because of circumstances including some field-goal protection breakdowns and “some 57-yarders in 30-degree weather.”

Also, “we definitely saw a couple of things technique-wise on film that were fixable,” Rizzi said. “He was trying to drive the ball 30 yards past the goal post every time. We are trying to make him more of a refined kicker.”

Rizzi said Franks also benefited from spending time with longtime NFL kickers Phil Dawson and John Carney. Franks visited Dawson for three days in Texas this past offseason, and the Dolphins invited Carney to spend three days with the team during training camp.

“They saw some technique stuff plus the mental approach,” Rizzi said. “That was big.”

As for Darr beating out Brandon Fields, Rizzi liked Darr’s “overall approach and consistency. When he came here, he started hitting the ball well. We thought at some point, this guy was going to tail off and he hasn’t.”

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