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I planned on going to bed relatively early last night. Then, I started flipping channels and saw GoodFellas was on.
Game over. That's three hours of sleep gone right there.
If you've been watching the Ravens' two preseason games carefully, you might have noticed that Billy Cundiff has been getting much more distance on his kickoffs than he did while with the Ravens last year.
Well, here's a few stats to back that up.
Cundiff's career high when it comes to kickoff distance over the course of a season is 64.4 yards per kick. That has the ball landing around the five or six-yard-line. His average with the Ravens last year was 62.6 yards.
However, his average on kickoff distance through two preseason games is a much-improved 71.0 yards. Cundiff has forced two touchbacks (he only had three all of last season), and only one of his five kickoffs has failed to reach the end zone on the fly.
Why the drastic improvement in those numbers? Has Cundiff's leg gotten that much stronger?
Nope. While the six-year veteran says that he has gotten a little better in the kickoff department over the course of the offseason, he attributes most of the improvement in his kickoffs to the weather.
"You have to remember that I came [to the Ravens] when it was cold," Cundiff said. "The ball flies a little easier in the warm weather. Last year, I had a bunch of cold games, and then we went to that playoff game in Indianapolis [which was indoors], I think I had two kickoffs - one was seven-yards deep, and one was three deep. So, again, nice climate-controlled areas.
"It's something I pride myself on. I definitely think I've gotten better at it, but also the weather helps.
For comparison's sake, Cundiff's competition for the kicking job, Shayne Graham, has been equally as impressive in the kickoff department, averaging 72.4 yards per kickoff and forcing two touchbacks in five kicks.
In the field goal department, however, Cundiff has a slight lead over his competition when looking at preseason numbers. Graham missed a 50-yard attempt last week against the Panthers, and is now 2-of-3 in two games. Cundiff was successful on both of his preseason attempts (both against the Redskins), from 42 and 26 yards.
Cundiff was also impressive throughout training camp, and might have held a slight edge over Graham in overall field goal numbers throughout practice.
"That was my goal, just take advantage of my situation while I was here, whether that was in practice or in a game," Cundiff said. "I've done it in games, and I feel like I've had a really, really good training camp."
When Graham signed with the Ravens this offseason, many people believed that he would easily take the Ravens' kicking competition. After all, Graham is the fourth-most accurate kicker in NFL history and was named to a Pro Bowl in 2005.
But Cundiff has hung in there kick-for-kick with Graham, and he's still very much in the mix for the job with two preseason games remaining.
"I've gotten great feedback from the coaches and I now it's back to the grind," Cundiff said "Do it again, kick well in practice, and when I get my opportunities [in the games], take advantage of them."
