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PK Connor Barth, Kansas City Chiefs
HT: 6-1, WT: 190, Born: 4-11-1986, College: North Carolina, Drafted: ---
2008 Projections
Best Case
As a rookie, Barth might have one advantage over Nick Novak, since he doesn't have any NFL baggage. He had a strong second half to his four year college career, hitting 10 of 10 field goals during his junior year and then 19 of 22 (86.4%) in his senior year. He has a calm demeanor and has shown the ability to make clutch kicks. As a freshman he nailed a 42 yarder as time expired to upset 4th ranked Miami. He also has decent leg strength.
Worst Case
Working against Barth is the fact that he's a rookie, and many rookie kickers struggle to adapt to the NFL. It's probably a double whammy since the Chiefs have probably not forgotten their failed experience with rookie Justin Medlock last year. Barth has a tendency to kick the ball low sometimes, and is thus susceptible to blocked kicks. He also missed two PATs out of 23 attempts last year.
Outlook
The Chiefs went through quite a few kickers during the course of 2007: Lawrence Tynes was traded away after missing a short field goal in the previous year's playoffs; Aaron Barret didn't even make it to preseason; Justin Medlock was drafted and then released after missing a short field goal in week one; Dave Rayner was brought in and then released after ten weeks of mediocrity; and John Carney closed out the season. They already appear to be headed down a similar path this year, starting with a three-way battle between Billy Cundiff, Nick Novak, and rookie Connor Barth. Cundiff was the first casualty, released during June. During the Dick Vermeil years, Kansas City improved in kicker scoring, culminating in a 4th place ranking in 2005. They slipped back to 16th in Herm Edwards first year in 2006, and then plummeted to 31st last year with a mere 78 points. They are still in youthful rebuilding mode. New offensive coordinator Chan Gailey returns to the NFL after six years at Georgia Tech. Kicking points will probably be scarce again this year.
