

	Volume 2, Number 1

DAN CARPENTER

Dan Carpenter was an unknown commodity at the start of Miami's 2008 training camp, and with veteran kicker Jay Feely the incumbent starter coming off the best season of his career, the odds of anybody getting to know Carpenter at all were pretty slim. He was an undrafted rookie free agent out of the University of Montana brought in to give Feely some competition and someone to split reps with.

Two weeks into the month of August, Carpenter was handed the starting job and Feely, who set a Dolphins franchise record for accuracy in 2007 by making 21 of 23 field goals (91.7 percent), was released. Carpenter went on to put together the second-best season ever by a Dolphins rookie kicker, hitting on 21 of 25 field goal attempts and tying the longest field goal streak by a rookie in the NFL with 14 consecutive kicks.

Carpenter, punter Brandon Fields and long-snapper John Denney were the only players on the roster who did not have any competition for their job at the start of the 2009 training camp. That all changed on Aug. 10 when former North Carolina and Kansas City Chiefs kicker Connor Barth was signed as a free agent and immediately began pushing Carpenter on the practice field. After a shaky couple of days, Carpenter regained his focus and came out on top of a kicking battle for the second year in a row, which allowed him to step on the field for Miami's season opener at Atlanta.

The day after the opener, Carpenter discussed how the signing of Barth impacted him, what he did differently during the offseason to get ready for his second year in the NFL, and his long-term goals, among other things, during an exclusive one-on-one interview with MiamiDolphins.com's Andy Kent for this installment of First-and-10.

1.

Looking back on it now, when you first joined the Dolphins as a rookie free agent with Jay Feely on the roster, could you have envisioned in your wildest dreams being in the position you're in now?
Obviously, Jay is a great kicker, and especially with him doing what he did before I was very surprised. But at the same time, I was still confident in my abilities and being able to kick the ball. No way did I think it would happen as quickly as it did. I think it caught everyone off guard, including me. I knew I was doing very well but still it just shows the faith the coaches had in me.

2.

How different do things feel now that you're in your second year?
There's not much difference. I know a little more about what to expect as far as how the season's going to go and the length of the season and stuff like that. I'm a little more comfortable with that, but as far as everything else I'm just still working at it and trying to get better.

3.

What kicker did you grow up idolizing, and why?
Can I say none? I mean, there's not really one I'd say was my idol. Everyone asks me all the time if I had a favorite kicker I watched and I didn't really, but obviously (Adam) Vinatieri comes to mind, just the great kicks that he had when he was in New England. That would be the guy that would come to mind if I had to just pick somebody out.

4.

After playing college ball in your native Montana, how long did it take you to get acclimated to South Florida?
People make it sound like I came from a place where we're riding horses to school and stuff. Obviously, the weather's different. It's definitely warmer and there's more humidity, but I love it down here. I'll always have a place for Montana in my heart, but I'm getting used to calling Florida my home now.

5.

Time is running out, the score is tied, the Dolphins call upon you to kick a 45-yard field goal to get them into the playoffs ... what's going through your mind at that precise moment?
Make it (laughs). I'm just going to focus on it being just another kick and I've got to get through it. Obviously, it's going to be little more hyped up but you really don't hear anything. I mean, even when you're out there on the field, you get out there and you just kind of get in the zone and you don't hear or see anything else. It's just Brandon and the ball, and that's it. I go out there and you just take a deep breath and just kind of relax a little bit and don't get tense. Just trust in your ability and in what you can do.

6.

In that vein, how satisfying was the game-winner you kicked against Oakland last year?
It was nice. I mean, obviously you're a rookie and everyone has their doubts. 'Can this kid hit the clutch kick when he needs to?' It was great to get one of those and kind of get it out of the way and it was great to be able to go out there and make it for the team and not let them down.

7.

How much kicking did you do in the offseason to try to improve on what you did as a rookie?
For me it was more working on some little things and just trying to get better at what I already had accomplished. That's my goal for this year is just to always get better and keep working on the little things that are going to get me there.

8.

How much extra pressure did you feel when the Dolphins brought in another kicker in training camp?
I've said this before, but nobody puts more pressure on myself than myself. If I miss a kick, no one is more upset about it than I am, so when another guy was brought in there wasn't much that changed for me besides alternating kicks with somebody. But nothing is changing from what I'm doing. I'm going to still go out there every day and do my thing and work on what I need to work on.

9.

It's not unusual to see kickers in the NFL who are in their 40s; what types of goals do you have as for as longevity?
My longevity lasts to the next week. There's noting you can do except show up every day, work to get better and just let it be how it's going to be. I don't think you can look too far ahead as you've to get through every week as it is.

10.

What would you be doing if you weren't an NFL kicker?
I suppose I'd have to do something with athletics somehow. I was in school to be a high school chemistry teacher or what not and I'd probably be coaching if I could somewhere if someone let me. But I don't think I could get away from the game. I'd have to stay connected somehow.