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By Kevin McNamara, New England Sports Service
FOXBORO -- Whenever his Patriot or New York Giant teams drove within field goal range, Bill Parcells would look over at kicker Matt Bahr and wait for 'the look.'
Sometimes with just a wink or a nod of his head, Bahr would translate his feelings on the potential success of a kick to Parcells. "I'd look at him and he'd know the answer before I even asked him a question. He'd say 'Six more yards,' or, 'Get me to the 33.' If I asked what the chances were, he'd say, 'it's 50-50 from here, Bill.' He knew," Parcells said.
By Releasing Bahr Yesterday, Parcells Won't Have A Clue What His Kicker Is Thinking In Tight Situations. He'll have to build the immense confidence he had in Bahr in the Patriots' new kicker, rookie free agent Adam Vinatieri. Parcells prides himself on being a tough guy but he couldn't hide his emotions as he talked about letting Bahr go, one of the toughest personnel moves he's ever made.
"He's the best kicker I've ever had," Parcells said. "There's very few players where your personal feelings are involved but this was one of them. When a guy has done what he's done in football, directly affecting my coaching like he has, it's not without some pretty strong emotions. Like I said, he's the best kicker I ever had but that's only incidental to how I feel about him personally."
Parcells said he talked with Bahr directly yesterday morning. Bahr then packed his bags and flew home to Pennsylvania before the media arrived in Foxboro.
Bahr's dismissal comes as a surprise. Many observers saw Parcells keeping Vinatieri as the kickoff man and continuing to use Bahr for field goals and extra points. But, Parcells said he weighed the "potential upside" to using Vinatieri full-time and felt squeezed by a roster that was becoming overloaded with specialists like punter Tom Tupa and deep snapper Steve DeOssie.
If he also kept two kickers on the 45-man gameday roster, Parcells would have four specialists and have only 41 players left for the game, a number the coach said would really hurt him on kickoffs, punts and returns.
"I was a little surprised when I found out for the time being I have the starting job," said Vinatieri. "I know this league is built on pressure. I know I have to always be ready for my next kick."
Parcells made it clear he's not marrying himself to Vinatieri for the entire season. Several veteran kickers like Bahr will be cut in the next week or so and if the rookie from South Dakota State falters, he won't be around long. Bahr would likely get the first call, but "whenever you waive a player, the options may be taken away from you very quickly. I just told Matt to stay in shape."
This is one of Parcells' riskiest moves as the Patriot coach. The last time he entrusted the team's kicking chores to a rookie was in 1993 when fifth round draftee Scott Sisson won the job. Sisson went on to kill the Pats in several games that year, earning the nickname "Missin' Sisson" in the process.
Bahr, 40, was released by Philadelphia on Dec. 13 and Parcells called the next day. He told Bahr that Sisson had "gone berserk," and let the veteran go to work.
Bahr replaced Sisson for the final three games in '93 and didn't miss a kick the rest of the year with 10 extra points and three field goals. In his two full seasons with the Pats, Bahr made all 63 extra points he attempted. He hit 50-of-67 field goals, including two of 50 or more yards last season.
Bahr ranks ninth all-time in points with 1,422 but needed an 18th season to eclipse the 1,500 point mark.
Vinatieri spent last spring and summer with the Amsterdam Admirals of the World Football League. He hit 9 of 10 field goals and made all four extra points, all the while keeping in touch with Patriot special teams coach Mike Sweatman.
"Once he had success in the World League, we said we'll sign this kid no matter what it takes," Parcells said.
Vinatieri signed in June with the hope of winning the kickoff job only. He hit 4-of-6 field goals and all seven extra points in three pre-season games, production deemed good enough to move Bahr out.
"I'm real excited," Vinatieri said. "I've dreamed about this since I was four years old and watching games on TV. It makes all the days in South Dakota when it was cold and snowy and you still go out and work out worth it."
Vinatieri said Parcells told him to relax and keep working hard and he knows nothing will come easy.
It also won't be easy for Parcells to forget Bahr, the man who put him in the 1990 Super Bowl when he hit a last-second field goal to win at San Francisco.
"He made as big a kick as there's ever been in this league," the coach said. "And he made several game-winners. He was a dependable guy and a true professional."
Story Filed By The Journal-Bulletin, Providence, RI
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