As long-time NFL kicker Jay Feely has said on PFT Live, specialists have a unique opportunity to observe and study a football team. Bengals kicker Mike Nugent, who arrived in 2010, has had the ability to study his team very carefully over the last six seasons.
So what’s different about the 2015 version of the Bengals, which has powered the franchise to its first 5-0 record since 1988?
“One thing I’ve noticed is just certain guys we used to call young,” Nugent said on Monday’s PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio. “When I first got here the first few years a lot of our guys have done such a great job not only on the field but [in] their leadership roles. They used to be the young guys, now they’re the more experienced guys. Kind of taking control, whether that be offense or defense. Our defense is a pretty weathered crew. [It’s] got a lot of guys with a lot of experience. But I think the guys that were young once are getting older and just getting that experience and using it.”
At the center of this Cincinnati maturity spree is quarterback Andy Dalton.
“[He’s] really stepping into that leadership role,” Nugent said. “Really just doing a great job. He looks very commanding when he’s out there in the huddle. . . . I think everyone’s kind of buying in and rolling with him.”
Helping teammates roll with Dalton is the fact that he’s been getting rocked on the field, but he keeps going. Quietly, he’s becoming more of a weapon in the running game, with a pair of read-option keepers against Seattle and a savvy decision to audible to a short touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Through it all, Dalton was getting banged around with both legal and illegal hits.
“There’s certain guys on the field people just feed off of and the quarterback is certainly on of those guys,” Nugent said. “Just the toughness that he shows. He shows a lot of energy and gets excited about certain plays. Everyone sees that and just feeds off it and it kind of makes our sidelines get excited along with him at the time.”
The ultimate excitement on Sunday came from Nugent’s foot, with a game-tying field goal nailed from 31 yards with the final seconds ticking off the clock and a 42-yard game winner in overtime that banked off the upright.
For the full Nugent interview from Monday’s show (which was nearly as exciting as watching the flight of an overtime field goal), click the thing in the thing below.