The Carolina Panthers have a fierce kicking competition currently involving the punters and kickers. The kickers are incumbent Olindo Mare and former CFL star Justin Medlock. The two punters are rookie out of Wisconsin Brad Nortman and 12 year veteran Nick Harris. Both kicking competitions should come to a conclusion by the end of the preseason.
Justin Medlock has been more consistent on deep field goals compared to Olindo Mare however, Olindo Mare has been better on kickoffs. During the last preseason game against the Houston Texans Justin Medlock had a kickoff fall 10 to 15 yards short of the end zone which led to the Texans kickoff return for a touchdown. Olindo Mare performed better on kickoffs with the ball sailing deep in the end zone mostly resulting in touchbacks. Even though Medlock had a bad kickoff during the Texans game he was consistently kicking the ball 5+ yards deep in the end zone during the most recent practice sessions which is a very positive sign. Ideally I would prefer Medlock win the kicking competition considering Mare missed multiple long field goals last year that caused the Panthers to lose a couple games. Justin Medlock is much better at long field goals. Also Justin Medlock has a much friendlier salary cap number which is always a plus.
As for the punters, rookie Brad Nortman has looked very good. His kicks are long and with a lot of hang time. He has also been working hard in camp at his directional kicking. Nick Harris, a free-agent signing by the Panthers during the off-season, is also battling Nortman for the position. At this time, it is definitely Nortman's position to lose. I would expect Brad Nortman to win the competition considering he was drafted in the sixth round of the NFL draft and he has youth on his side. The Carolina Panthers face the Miami Dolphins tonight August 17 at 8 PM EST on Fox. Tune in to see if anyone gets a leg up in the kicking competition.
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