DeHaven has done before and is comfortable with. It's just a different world for the kickers.
Remember also accomplished long-snapper Jeff Robinson did not participate Saturday night and (despite club attempts to play it down) may be being phased out. Rookie Jon Condo and linebacker Ryan Fowler snapped in Arizona, and tight end Brett Pierce may get into that preseason mix before Robinson.
McBriar, who was in camps with Denver and Seattle before sticking in Dallas, feels much more comfortable than he did at this time last year. "I'd like to use these next three preseason games to tune up for the season," he nods. "I want to be consistent. I want the punt team to contribute to the team winning. I had a good patch in the middle of the season last year, but toward the end I was a little shaky. I want the punt team to be one of our strong points, as the kickoff team was last year."
McBriar was pretty good last year, but his final net of 35.1 yards was just average. Parcells says he would like to improve that net by about two yards. A net of 38, in fact, would be among the leaders most years. In this camp, and certainly in Arizona, he has shown himself capable of that.
Mostly, though, Parcells and McBriar want the same thing. That consistency is key. The head coach wants to be able to know what he's going to get from his punter, which is field position. McBriar has the leg to boom it from his own end, and his Australian "flip-flop," taught him by former Chargers Pro Bowler Darren Bennett, gives him a reliable inside-the-20 weapon from about his own 45-yard line in.
If McBriar continues to deliver those things, Parcells may not speak to him again all year. Which would be a wonderful thing for all concerned.
