What Went Right: Dan Bailey emerges
2. Emergence of kicker Dan Bailey
The Cowboys had a kicking competition at training camp involving Dan Bailey, David Buehler, Shayne Graham, Kai Forbath and Dave Rayner.
Bailey and Buehler emerged as the two kickers to make the 53-man roster. As it was originally designed, Buehler would handle kickoffs and long field goals while Bailey took care of everything else.
But something happened along the way: Bailey couldn't miss. He eventually became Jason Garrett's primary field goal kicker. Buehler suffered leg injuries that sent him to injured reserve and had owner Jerry Jones questioning his conditioning.
Bailey, meanwhile, made game-winning kicks at San Francisco, at Washington and vs. Miami. He converted 26 consecutive field goals, tied for the second-longest stretch in club history and finished tied for third in the NFL with 32 made field goals. Overall, Bailey was ninth in the NFL with an 86.5 conversion percentage.
That is far better than Buehler, who made just 75 percent of his field goals.
One other item of note: Bailey made 10-12 field goals from 40-49 yards, and Buehler made just 8-11 from the same range in 2010.
Bailey did struggle down the stretch when he missed a game-winner at Arizona and had a potential game-winner against the New York Giants blocked.
Besides these late season issues, the Cowboys aren't concerned about their rookie kicker going forward. The team believes it has finally found the field goal kicker necessary to make clutch field goals down the stretch.
Calvin Watkins
ESPNDallas.com
TEAM RESOURCES
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Calvin Watkins
Calvin Watkins joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He's covered the Cowboys since 2006 and also has covered colleges, boxing and high school sports.
Todd Archer
Todd Archer joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2010. He's covered the NFL since 1997 and the Cowboys since 2003. He covered the Bengals and Dolphins before arriving in Dallas. A Massachusetts native, Archer lives in the Dallas area with his wife and two children.
Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
Jean-Jacques Taylor
Jean-Jacques Taylor joined ESPNDallas.com in August 2011. A native of Dallas, Taylor spent the past 20 years writing for The Dallas Morning News, where he covered high schools sports, the Texas Rangers and spent 11 seasons covering the Dallas Cowboys before becoming a general columnist in 2006.
Ben Rogers
Ben Rogers joined ESPNDallas.com in November 2009. He is one half of "The Ben & Skin Show," heard weekdays from 9a-12p on 103.3 FM ESPN.
103.3 FM ESPN PODCASTS
Play Podcast Galloway & Company's Matt Mosley chats about the window closing for the Dallas Cowboys, and just how close they are to the New York Giants.
Play Podcast Coop and Nate discuss Jerry Jones' comments about the window closing on the Cowboys' championship hopes.
Play Podcast Mike and Mike join Ben and Skin to discuss Jerry Jones' window and the Mavs future. They don't see Dirk Nowitzki leaving even if the Mavs miss out on the dream of Deron Williams or Dwight Howard.
Play Podcast Jean-Jacques Taylor gives us the latest on Mike Jenkins' desire to be traded. The Cowboys' star doesn't mean as much to players as it used to.
Play Podcast Coop and Nate discuss the latest on the Cowboys and Mike Jenkins. Jenkins just needs to get starting out of his mind. He has to show that he is worth the money being paid.
Play Podcast Ben and Skin discuss the three most important figures for the Rangers, Mavs, and Cowboys. Who is the most vital to the ultimate success of each organization?
You must be signed in to post a comment