On Tuesday the New Orleans Saints resigned 46 year old veteran kicker John Carney to a one year contract while retaining the services of Garrett Hartley, the hero of the 2009 NFC Championship game. Hartley currently sits at 4 of 7 for the season in field goal percentage, with the most recent miss from 29 yards in overtime against the Atlanta Falcons this past Sunday, allowing the Falcons to drive down the field and kick a game-winning field goal of their own.
Hartley has been an enigma since his days at Oklahoma, going 14 of 22 in his sophomore season, 19 of 20 and nominated for the Lou Groza Award and then 13 of 15 in his senior season and missing 6 extra points. He debuted for the Saints in 2008 and was expected to be the starting kicker for the Saints in 2009 before testing positive for a banned stimulant and missing the first four games. The Saints stuck with John Carney in ’09 until the twelfth game of the season when they went to Hartley, who performed well throughout the remainder of the season and all the way to the Super Bowl.
Throughout the years, the Saints have been known for their place kickers. Tom Dempsey’s legendary 63 yard field goal was kicked with half a foot, while Morten Andersen was a staple during the 1980s and the 1990s before moving on to Atlanta in what many feel was a terrible decision by the Saints front office at the time. It is more than likely that after this season Hartley will be remembered more for his kicks in the NFC Championship Game and the Super Bowl versus the Colts than his early season struggles in 2010.
Now that leads to the question of whether a kicker can make or break a team. The most vivid comparison that springs to mind was the rivalry in the early 2000s between the Indianapolis Colts’ Mike Vanderjagt and the New England Patriots’ Adam Vinatieri. The Colts and the Patriots were the top two contenders for the AFC crown each season, and while Vinatieri was in Boston, the Colts didn’t beat the Patriots. When Vanderjagt was cut and signed later with Dallas (which didn’t go well at all), Vinatieri came to Indy and helped the Colts to their 2006 Super Bowl Championship. Both kickers were among the most accurate in their time, but what Vinatieri had that Vanderjagt didn’t was the ability to make clutch kicks. It is of course silly to assume that Vinatieri’s arrival in Indy was what spurred them to an NFL title, but the coincidence is there.
Accuracy and leg strength are the two main components on scouting kickers and determining whether or not they will be a success in the NFL, but consistency in the clutch will determine whether a kicker will be remembered like Adam Vinatieri, four time Super Bowl champion, or Mike Vanderjagt, the only kicker in recent NFL memory to mouth off about the opposing team. Which one will Garrett Hartley fall closer towards? Only time can tell, and when the raw emotion of the week 3 loss to the Falcons beings to clear for Saints fans, they’ll be able to see which way he falls.
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Kenneth works full time as the general manager for HomeSmart of Monroe, LA, a division of Aaron's Inc. 2002 graduate of Louisiana Tech University, he is a long-time Saints and Auburn Tigers fan, and watches all four major North American sports when he has the opportunity. 
Just wanted to say that I agree with your article 100%. Hopefully you’ll be back soon and writing more on the best team in the league!