Forget About Drew Brees, Let's Talk About Kickers

Let's face it - Drew Brees isn't signing today, tomorrow, or Monday. Speculation from WWL and others that a signing was imminent are most likely premature. Chris Mortenson is reporting that a hearing with arbitrator Stephen Burbank to determine the designation of Brees' franchise tag won't happen until later this month. I don't see Brees, Condon, and Loomis agreeing to a long term contract before that hearing takes place.

So, let's roll our focus over to the 2nd most exciting players of any football team - the kickers. (Wah Wah)

Seriously though, I just stumbled upon this little article from Nola.com where Garrett Hartley (remember him?) talks about his camp battle with last year's savior John Kasay.

"As far as the competition goes, all I can control is what I do," Hartley said. "Everything else is out of my jurisdiction."

"We're going to put both of those guys out there and let them compete
in practice and certainly in the preseason games and we'll come to a consensus," said special teams coordinator Greg McMahon. "We really believe this is a really good problem to have because you've got two quality kickers. ... Both would be a good pick."

The most interesting part was that Hartley has reportedly changed his kicking technique.

Hartley was cleared in January, and he said his leg is feeling strong and that he welcomes the competition. He's made some adjustments in preparation for the battle, changing his technique to a two-step kicking approach.

Will this result in more accuracy and range or does it have the potential to throw everything off when he's in a pressure situation?

John Kasay, despite his 42 years of age, isn't showing much signs of drop-off and seems intent on making Hartley earn his old job back. Who do you think will be the Saints starting kicker once the season begins?

Does this help get your mind off of the Drew Brees contract situation? No? Oh well. I gave it a shot.