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Machine-like Dan Bailey is back on the all-time accuracy chase
9:17 AM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. -- If he wished to do so, Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey could recall every detail of his five missed field goal attempts from 2016.
The length. The direction in the stadium. The wind. The snap. The hold.
“I mean, you try to forget them and they do kind of get lumped in together as time goes on, but yeah, sure, I mean you definitely remember more misses than you do makes,” said Bailey, who made 27 of 32 tries in 2016.
Bailey’s five misses were the most he has had since his rookie campaign in 2011. From 2012 to 2015, he missed more than two field goals in a season just once. It’s how he became the most accurate kicker in NFL history at that point. Now he sits in second at 89.5 percent, behind Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens, who has made 89.8 percent of his kicks.
“There’s a lot of different ways you can look at it. I tend to look at it as it’s great to have a competitor out there,” Bailey said. “Not that nobody else isn’t competitive, but it’s good to have somebody out there to push you on. And the second part of that is I plan and I hope to play a long time, so there’s plenty of kicks to be made and missed in that amount of time. However it shakes out, it shakes out.”
The shortest kick Bailey missed a year ago was a 47-yard attempt. Late in the season, he had three straight misses from 55, 56 and 52 yards out, all of which were hardly gimmes. The 55-yarder came in a night game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, with a kickoff temperature of 32 degrees.
“I don’t know if I can hit the ball better ever, so you’re not as disappointed about it because it’s all you can do at the time," Bailey said. "But obviously I’d love to improve on that this year. That’s the plan.”
The Cowboys have no doubts about Bailey’s ability. He was bothered by a back injury early last season that could have contributed to two of the misses.
“Dan Bailey is a machine. He’s a machine on the field, he’s a machine off the field,” coach Jason Garrett said. “And his approach is as good [of an] approach of any kicker, really any player that I’ve ever been around. He just goes about it the right way. He’s a true pro. He’s one of those guys who is always ready for the opportunity. I think studying what he did last year -- both good and bad -- is a part of that.”
So far in training camp, Bailey has not missed a kick. He has been perfect on all 24 attempts while working with special teams, and has also failed to miss when conducting situational work with the team. So true have Bailey’s attempts been that the camera operator atop the scissor lift that splits the uprights has had to make sure the football doesn’t hit his equipment.
“We have a little bit longer camp this year, so it’s just good to get a foundation now,” Bailey said. “I’ve started off well. Really more than anything I’m concerned with is the operation between me, (holder) Chris (Jones) and (long-snapper) L.P. (Ladouceur), which is great right now. Just the little things, the idiosyncrasies of that, the timing and getting that fine-tuned. I’ll worry about whether they’re going through or not later on, but it’s been a good start and just trying to keep it rolling.”
9:17 AM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
OXNARD, Calif. -- If he wished to do so, Dallas Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey could recall every detail of his five missed field goal attempts from 2016.
The length. The direction in the stadium. The wind. The snap. The hold.
“I mean, you try to forget them and they do kind of get lumped in together as time goes on, but yeah, sure, I mean you definitely remember more misses than you do makes,” said Bailey, who made 27 of 32 tries in 2016.
Bailey’s five misses were the most he has had since his rookie campaign in 2011. From 2012 to 2015, he missed more than two field goals in a season just once. It’s how he became the most accurate kicker in NFL history at that point. Now he sits in second at 89.5 percent, behind Justin Tucker of the Baltimore Ravens, who has made 89.8 percent of his kicks.
“There’s a lot of different ways you can look at it. I tend to look at it as it’s great to have a competitor out there,” Bailey said. “Not that nobody else isn’t competitive, but it’s good to have somebody out there to push you on. And the second part of that is I plan and I hope to play a long time, so there’s plenty of kicks to be made and missed in that amount of time. However it shakes out, it shakes out.”
The shortest kick Bailey missed a year ago was a 47-yard attempt. Late in the season, he had three straight misses from 55, 56 and 52 yards out, all of which were hardly gimmes. The 55-yarder came in a night game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, with a kickoff temperature of 32 degrees.
“I don’t know if I can hit the ball better ever, so you’re not as disappointed about it because it’s all you can do at the time," Bailey said. "But obviously I’d love to improve on that this year. That’s the plan.”
The Cowboys have no doubts about Bailey’s ability. He was bothered by a back injury early last season that could have contributed to two of the misses.
“Dan Bailey is a machine. He’s a machine on the field, he’s a machine off the field,” coach Jason Garrett said. “And his approach is as good [of an] approach of any kicker, really any player that I’ve ever been around. He just goes about it the right way. He’s a true pro. He’s one of those guys who is always ready for the opportunity. I think studying what he did last year -- both good and bad -- is a part of that.”
So far in training camp, Bailey has not missed a kick. He has been perfect on all 24 attempts while working with special teams, and has also failed to miss when conducting situational work with the team. So true have Bailey’s attempts been that the camera operator atop the scissor lift that splits the uprights has had to make sure the football doesn’t hit his equipment.
“We have a little bit longer camp this year, so it’s just good to get a foundation now,” Bailey said. “I’ve started off well. Really more than anything I’m concerned with is the operation between me, (holder) Chris (Jones) and (long-snapper) L.P. (Ladouceur), which is great right now. Just the little things, the idiosyncrasies of that, the timing and getting that fine-tuned. I’ll worry about whether they’re going through or not later on, but it’s been a good start and just trying to keep it rolling.”
