Atlanta Falcons: Seeking more consistency in their placement game, the club reached a contract agreement with unrestricted free agent kicker Todd Peterson, a former University of Georgia standout. The addition of Peterson ends the four-year Atlanta tenure of Jay Feely, who inexplicably struggled at the Georgia Dome throughout his career here. The Falcons had made Feely an offer early in the week but gave him a deadline for accepting it. When the deadline passed, Atlanta officials quickly sought other options, and contacted Peterson on the first day of the free agency signing period. Negotiations with Peterson began on Thursday and concluded Friday afternoon. He will take a physical on Monday and, barring complications, will sign a one-year contract. Financial details of the deal were not immediately available. Peterson, 35, was in training camp with the Falcons earlier in his career and it has been a longtime aspiration to play in Atlanta, where he makes his offseason home. The San Francisco 49ers, for whom Peterson kicked the last two seasons, had hoped to retain him. San Francisco considered Peterson not only a solid kicker but also a strong leader in the locker room. In 11 seasons, Peterson has converted 212 of 271 field goal attempts and all but three of his extra point tries, for 939 points. ...I'm happy about this. Jay Feely needed to go. I have to say I wasnt impressed with Feely as a kicker, he did struggle quite a bit during the years in Atlanta. Good move IMO.
The musical chairs of kickers sometimes gets me shaking my head. Its like head coaches. What isn't good enough for one team evidently is for the next. Reminds me of the movie Major League. "Feely, huh? Wish we would have had him two years ago" "We did." "Four years ago then"
