Dolphins cut Feely; Carpenter set for starting spot

[DolFan619]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/football/pro/dolphins/sfl-0812feely,0,2242370.story

  I hate to say I told you so....

Dolphins cut Feely; Carpenter set for starting spot

By Omar Kelly | Sun-Sentinel.com
8:54 AM EDT, August 12, 2008

DAVIE - Kicker Jay Feely was cut by the Dolphins Tuesday morning, clearing the way for rookie kicker Dan Carpenter to take the starting spot.

Feely, a seven-year veteran, set a franchise record last season for accuracy, converting 21 of 23 field goals.

Feely has been battling a groin strain that forced him to sit out practice last week and miss Saturday's 17-6 exhibition loss to Tampa Bay.

In that game, Carpenter, an undrafted rookie free agent from Montana, converted a 41 and 49 yard field goal.

During his college career he converted 75 of 103 field goals and 182 of 188 extra points.

[DolFan619]

http://miamiherald.typepad.com/dolphins_in_depth/2008/08/kicker-jay-feel.html

Kicker Jay Feely released by Dolphins

Jay Feely, who was arguably the Dolphins most consistent performer in 2007, will not be with the team in 2008.

This morning Feely was called in by the Dolphins braintrust and released, according to a source.

Feely confirmed the release on a local radio and in conversations with local reporters, which he called to volunteer the information. That very move is one small reason the Dolphins had Feely on a very short leash. Bill Parcells hated the fact Feeley was so media friendly.

But Parcells also hated that Feely wasn't great with his kickoffs last year that problem coupled with the player's injury the past 10 days or so spelled the end. Feely missed practices and the first preseason game with a groin injury.

In Feely's absence, rookie Dan Carpenter won the job with Miami. Carpenter connected on field goals of 41 and 49 yards during the preseason-opener against Tampa Bay.

I cannot stress enough the focus the Dolphins are now putting on not losing hidden yardage in games. Last season, for example, special teams assistant Keith Armstrong bemoaned the fact that in one game alone, Feely's low and short kickoffs cost the Dolphins 80 yards of field position. Armstrong would not say what game that was, but the statistic was startling.

The Dolphins were not good enough then and are still not good enough now to recover from that kind of field position liability. I assume the team believes Carpenter will be better on kickoffs. Against Tampa Bay, he had three kickoffs and none were in the end zone.

So Feely, 32, is a free agent. Wouldn't be surprised if he ends up with Tampa Bay or New Orleans. Last year Feely connected on 21 of 23 field goals.

So the Dolphins say good-bye to another vet. And this blog loses a loyal reader.

[Brian Fein]

Terrible move.

Parcells is starting to piss me off.  There's a time to end croneyism and "bringing in your own guys" in the interest of better players and giving the team a chance to win.  I am wondering which he's more interested in building: a successful football team, or his ego.

Parcells needs his walking papers.

[fyo]

My only concern is with the RISK this moves introduces. The potential reward does not seem like it even remotely outweighs the risk of Carpenter bombing once it counts.

[Brian Fein]

The guys on the TV broadcast kept raving about Carpenter's strong leg, etc.  Yet, he couldn't manage to put a kickoff inside the 10.  WTF?

[ethurst2]

No surprise here. I'm surprised it wasn't sooner.

Parcells thoughts on kickers is that they should be seen and not heard. You can ask Mike "The Idiot Kicker" Vanderjagt about that.

[DolFan619]

The guys on the TV broadcast kept raving about Carpenter's strong leg, etc.  Yet, he couldn't manage to put a kickoff inside the 10.  WTF?

  That's because the coaches wanted too see his directional kickoffs during the Tampa game.  It was mentioned in the Miami Herald.

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/football/miami-dolphins/story/635965.html

Carpenter said this week that the Dolphins were asking him to concentrate on directional kickoffs instead of powering them as deep as he could.

[Rick]

  Great move by the new regime....Dan Carpenter has clearly outperformed Jay Feely for the kicker position on this team....like Ethurst said, a kicker should be seen, not heard....Feely liked to be heard way to much for Bill Parcells/Ireland/CoachSparano's taste....its not like Feely had to make ANY game winning kicks last season as Miami only won 1 game!!

 As for Carpenter bombing...it's possible....its also possible he is the next A. Vinatieri

[Sunstroke]

There's a time to end croneyism and "bringing in your own guys" in the interest of better players and giving the team a chance to win.

Not sure how an undrafted rookie FA could qualify as a "croneyism" move. And...walking papers? For the first real football person we've had in our front office in damned near forever? Over a kicker? I didn't know the bond you and Feely shared was so tight...

[Phishfan]

The guys on the TV broadcast kept raving about Carpenter's strong leg, etc.  Yet, he couldn't manage to put a kickoff inside the 10.  WTF?

But that 49 yarder looked like it would have been good from 59 and was straight down the pipe. I think Carpenter may prove to be an upgrade.

[DolFan619]

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/dolphins/content/sports/epaper/2008/08/12/0812feely.html

Dolphins release vetern kicker Jay Feely

By EDGAR THOMPSON
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

DAVIE — The Dolphins released veteran kicker Jay Feely this morning, continuing the team's youth movement under the new Bill Parcells-led regime.

Given the direction of the franchise, Feely, 32, said he wasn't really surprised when the team told him this morning he'd been released.

Undrafted rookie Dan Carpenter, 22, will replace Feely. The Dolphins now have seven players 30 or older.

Feely, an eight-year veteran of three teams, said he feels like he did everything he was asked to do, highlighted by a record-setting season in 2007 - his first with the Dolphins.

Feely hit 21 of 23 field-goal attempts, setting a Dolphins record for field-goal percentage (91.3).

"You wanna believe if you perform well and work hard and are a good guy, you'll be wanted," Feely told The Palm Beach Post this morning. "Obviously that's not the case."

Feely, a team captain last season, has been out with a groin injury, allowing Carpenter a chance to prove himself. He responded with field goals of 41 and 49 yards during the Dolphins' 17-6 loss to Tampa Bay in the pre-season opener last Saturday.

"I don't think the injury was the reason," Feely said of his release. "It was a decision they wanted to make."

Feely, who strained an oblique muscle in June, said general manager Jeff Ireland broke the news to him.

Feely, who also played for Atlanta and the New York Giants, said five or six teams have expressed interest in him.

[Brian Fein]

Not sure how an undrafted rookie FA could qualify as a "croneyism" move. And...walking papers? For the first real football person we've had in our front office in damned near forever? Over a kicker? I didn't know the bond you and Feely shared was so tight...

Its not just Feely.  It has been a long string of moves, starting with Jeff Ireland, and continues.  Seems like Parcells doesn't want anyone in his organization that isn't either his friend or his signee or his draft pick.

[DolFan619]

http://www.miamiherald.com/sports/breaking-news/story/638564.html

Miami Dolphins release kicker Jay Feely

BY JEFF DARLINGTON
Miami Herald

Less than a year after setting the Dolphins' single-season record for field-goal proficiency, kicker Jay Feely was told Tuesday morning that he has been cut from the team as a result of Miami's desire to get younger.

Dan Carpenter, an undrafted free agent rookie from Montana who has made solid impressions during training camp, has in turn taken over as the team's starter.

''I talked about it this summer with all of my family,'' said Feely, reached on his cellphone Tuesday morning. ``I had a feeling from the day [Bill] Parcells got hired that this was going to be the case.''

Asked why he got the impression that the new regime wasn't fond of him from the start, Feely said he wasn't sure. But he noted it likely had to do with his outspoken nature -- a public persona (albeit positive in nature) that clashes with the philosophies of this team.

''I don't know,'' Feely said. ``I don't have the answer to that. You want to believe that, if you perform well, you work hard and you're a good guy, that you have job security. Obviously, that's not the case.''

His case for why he met the criteria of a successful kicker? Last season, Feely was voted a team captain by his teammates. He said he attended 100 percent of offseason workouts despite a contractual obligation to attend 90 percent. And he also is coming off the three most consecutively successful seasons of his career.

Of course, this decision will ultimately be viewed as a football move -- one intended to allow the team to get younger. And that's the one aspect of his release that Feely is able to understand and respect.

''That's what Bill Parcells talked to me about,'' Feely said. ``They want to get younger. They want to build a young nucleus. And I understand that. You have a long-term perspective. But it doesn't make it easier when you're cut.''

Interest across the league is expected to be high, given Feely's success over the past several years, including last season when he hit 21 of 23 field goals, as well as the belief that other teams won't be as turned off by his personality as Parcells was.

''I don't know that [personality] had any impact on the decision,'' Feely said. ``But it had an impact on their aloofness toward me from the beginning. Each coach talked to me about that, and I was willing. I stopped doing all interviews and stopped doing ESPN, maybe to the detriment of my own post-career. But when your coach asks you to do something, part of your job is to be willing to do that.

``I did everything they asked me to do, but it ultimately didn't matter.''

For the past several days, Miami has been attempting to trade Feely but eventually decided to simply waive him. Getting the sense this was the direction the team was headed, Feely and his agent have already been discussing potential landing places.

''There's a lot of positives,'' Feely said, noting the biggest negative is having to leave his family in South Florida for a season while he plays elsewhere.

``I'm sure I'll go to a team that does better. The Dolphins have a lot of growing to do, they need playmakers and they need a lot of different things. They're building for the future, and that takes time to supplement that lack of talent that existed there. I'll be excited for my opportunity, wherever it is.

``And I'll be excited when I do an interview, nobody will look down on me.''

[Dphins4me]

  Not a bad deal for Feely.  He got about 3 million or so for 1 year

Nice haul for a kicker on a 1-15 team

[MyGodWearsAHoodie]

Parcells is starting to piss me off.  There's a time to end croneyism and "bringing in your own guys" in the interest of better players and giving the team a chance to win.  I am wondering which he's more interested in building: a successful football team, or his ego.

You really wonder about that.  You know the answer.  His ego. 

That being said, he is the best thing that happened to the Dolphins since Marino.  But his ego is number one. Just like it was with the Giants, Patriots, Jets and Dallas. 

But this is no different than Bill Belichick, Don Shula or Brett Favre are like many people more concerned about there own ego than the success of "the team."  I doubt you will find a compentant coach who doesn't have a huge ego.