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A brutal hit while having a punt blocked sidelined San Diegos Mike Scifres with a broken left collarbone. Ever Banega Jersey .In came placekicker Nick Novak, charged with one of the most important roles in special teams. He hadnt punted since high school and barely practices it as a pro.Yet he was more than comfortable with the challenge.I can do it, Novak said after punts of 27, 33, 45, 51, 46 and 38 yards in the loss to New England on Dec. 7. I cant do it on Mikes level, but I feel I can certainly get the job done. The pressures not there, because Im sure the expectation is, just catch it and kick it and get it out. ... If you mess up, Well, he doesnt punt. If he does well, its more of a Wow kind of thing.There really was no pressure there.Ah, but usually there is tons of pressure on a placekicker replacing a punter in a game, and vice versa. The only similarities between the jobs are that both players make a living with their foot, and their specialties are critical to field position and scoring.Because there are so many differences in the mechanics of each job, rarely do the kickers and punters practice the others role.Puntings very linear, and your swing is more straight up and through the ball, explained Minnesota field goal kicker Blair Walsh. Kicking, youre coming around it a little bit more and youre worried about a plant.Still, as a pro, Walsh has studied what the Vikings Jeff Locke and other NFL punters do, and believes he could handle the assignment. He even spends some time on Fridays working on punting.You could use the similarities between the two, whether its locking your foot out or having an explosive motion through it, he said, adding that overdoing it must be avoided.Theres definitely similarities you could carry over to each position to make you successful at both, Walsh said. Ive been around it long enough where Ive seen a lot of good punters do the right technique, so you sort of emulate it a little bit in your mind.But I think the biggest thing would just be getting used to the live rush coming at you.Indeed, the rush to get to the punter is a sprint, entirely different and probably more dangerous than attempts to block field goals.While NFL coaching staffs and personnel people try to account for all situations, an in-game injury or illness to a placekicker or punter often falls outside their preparation. San Diego was extremely fortunate that Novak was so successful; the Chargers have a similar history because Scifres did the placement work in the 2011 opener when Nick Kaeding injured his knee.Thats also how Novak wound up in San Diego.Generally, though, its a desperate spot when one of those guys goes down in a game.I was 70 per cent in college, which is plenty enough to get you cut in the NFL, Saints punter Thomas Morstead said of his placekicking. But Id be a very serviceable backup, I would think, if they need me in a pinch.I can kick it a long ways, but whether it goes between the sticks, you know. ...Theres the rub.Theyre so different, but Im going to say its probably more difficult filling in as a field goal kicker just because theres not much room for error, Jets punter Ryan Quigley said. Punting, youve got the whole field to work with. Its like, when youre punting, you can just say, OK, were going to punt it down the middle and hopefully it stays in bounds and you get a good 40 yards out of it.Punters and placekickers find good reasons not to practice the other guys art. San Franciscos Phil Dawson, now in his 16th season making field goals and extra points, works on punting occasionally. He notes the more I do it, the worse I get.But he points out with a sharp jab that punter Andy Lee trying Dawsons specialty would be worse.Some teams even had other players as the backup punter or placekicker. On the Saints, its second-string quarterback Luke McCown behind Morstead. For Philadelphia, wide receiver Riley Cooper backs up placekicker Cody Parkey.Perhaps the patron saint of replacement kickers is Craig Hentrich, who punted for 16 NFL seasons. Hentrich was a standout at both jobs at Notre Dame, won a Super Bowl as a punter with Green Bay and played in another with Tennessee.He went 3 for 3 on field goals of 49, 34 and 33 yards in the 2003 opener after placekicker Joe Nedney suffered a season-ending knee injury. Hentrich hadnt made a field goal since 1995.Ive seen some punters, actually, step in and have good games kicking when the kicker went down. The most noticeable Ive ever seen is ... Hentrich, Saints placekicker Shayne Graham said. But he was also a respected kicker at Notre Dame in college because he did both, so he had the background for it.Nobody does both in the NFL anymore, except in a pinch.So if Quigley gets called on to replace Folk during Sundays finale, whats his philosophy?Shoot, Id tell them to back it up and put me out there from anywhere, he said with a laugh. Nah, thats the way I think because Id just crank it and use my leg strength. But who knows where its going?___AP Pro Football Writers Teresa M. Walker, Dave Campbell and Rob Maaddi, and Sports Writers Janie McCauley, Joe Kay, Dennis Waszak Jr., Bernie Wilson and Brett Martel contributed to this story.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Facundo Roncaglia Argentina Jersey . -- League scoring leader Anthony Mantha had two goals and two assists to lead the Val-dOr Foreurs over the Blainville-Boisbriand Phoenix 6-3 on Wednesay in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League play on Wednesday. Argentina Soccer Jersey . The 26-year-old Sobotka injured his left leg playing for the St. Louis Blues in a 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. The Blues said he would not recover from the injury in time for the Olympic tournament. www.argentinasoccerauthentic.com/Blank-Copa-America-Jersey/ .Johnny there, who knew he had that speed? teammate Tommy Wingels said.Scott and Matt Irwin were unlikely goal-scorers Tuesday night as the previously stingy San Jose Sharks finally sprung a leak or two, blowing a pair of three-goal leads before coming away with a 6-5 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals.BOSTON -- Tyler Seguin and Rich Peverley made the Bruins pay for trading them away. The Dallas forwards scored in a shootout in their first game in Boston since the Stanley Cup finals to lift the Stars to a 3-2 win over the slumping Bruins on Tuesday night. "I have to say its a special game," Seguin said. "I knew where this was on the calendar. I knew my first time in Boston." Bruins coach Claude Julien brushed off a question about whether the loss hurt more because Seguin and Peverley played such big roles. "I dont care about that. Give it a break," he said. "Im mad because we lost." Seguin scored on Dallas second shot, tying the shootout 1-1 after Patrice Bergeron scored on Bostons first attempt. Then Peverley put the puck through Tuukka Rasks pads on the Stars fourth and final shot. "I think I was more nervous for this game than I was for any of the Stanley Cup finals," Peverley said. "It was emotional for me, but it was fun to be here." The Bruins lost those finals in six games to the Chicago Blackhawks. Now they have lost four of five games after winning four in a row. "The first 10 minutes were good and then we got back to some of our old habits," Julien said. "Eventually, when you play that way, you find ways to lose hockey games, and thats what were doing right now." It was the second straight shootout win for the Stars. On Sunday, Jamie Benn scored the winner in a 4-3 victory over Ottawa. Vernon Fiddler tied the game for Dallas on a penalty shot with 2:34 left in the third period after he was tripped from behind by Dennis Seidenberg. It erased a lead Boston took with 8:21 remaining when Milan Lucic tipped in Dougie Hamiltons shot from the blue line. The other goals came in the first period with Benn scoring for Dallas at 3:38, and Torey Krug tying it at 4:16. Seguin, the second pick in the 2010 draft, and Peverley were sent to Dallas after last season in a trade thaat brought forwards Loui Eriksson and Reilly Smith to Boston. Javier Mascherano Jersey. Seguin, who leads the Stars in scoring, was booed several times when he touched the puck and was taunted with the chant, "Say-gin, Say-gin." "I am sure that there are mixed feelings out there," he said. "I can only go out there and play hockey." It was the first meeting between the teams since Dec. 31, 2011, when Dallas won 4-2. The clubs hadnt faced off in Boston since Feb. 3, 2011 -- a 6-3 Bruins victory. On the penalty shot that forced overtime, Fiddler skated up the left side, cut across the crease and lifted a backhander into the upper right corner of the net past Rask. Lucics seventh goal matched his total for last season. Stationed in front of the net, with teammate Jarome Iginla and two Stars, Lucic redirected Hamiltons shot past goalie Kari Lehtonen. Eriksson returned after sitting out five games due to a concussion. He missed his shootout attempt on Lehtonen. "Ive been shooting a lot of pucks on him, and hes a great goalie," Eriksson said. "Hes a big goalie, takes up a lot of the net, so you have to find a good shot against him or make a good move, and I didnt, so it was bad." Alex Chiasson missed the next shot for Dallas, and David Krejci failed for Boston. Then Peverley, who was booed when his name was announced as the final shooter, came through. "I knew it was going to be a big night for (Seguin) and Rich both. Sometimes you dont know exactly how theyre going to react to it," Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said. "Both Rich and him scoring in the shootout, I think it was great for both of those players." NOTES: Red Sox first baseman Mike Napoli watched the game from a luxury box. He tugged on his long beard when shown on the video screen. ... Benn has nine points in nine road games. ... The Bruins allowed the first goal for the fourth straight game, and sustained their third loss in that span. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '
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