Texas and NFL Capsules: Romo not thrilled to hold, but willing to do it

IRVING — Tony Romo doesn’t really want to be a holder again for what he calls "obvious reasons."

Yet if having him hold will help kicker Nick Folk regain his accuracy, then Romo is willing to resume the role that left him in tears the last time he did it for the Dallas Cowboys.

Heck, he even volunteered for it.

"When you’re the quarterback of a football team, really all that matters is winning," Romo said Thursday. "If this helps us do that, I’m doing to do it. ... Pops told me one time, ‘Leadership is doing what has to be done."’

Romo bobbled his last hold for Dallas, in a January 2007 playoff game in Seattle. The flub cost the Cowboys a chance to beat the Seahawks and it left Romo tearfully apologizing to his teammates afterward. He asked to hold at the Pro Bowl a few weeks later and hadn’t done it again until this week. He’d never worked with Folk, who arrived the season after Romo gave up holding to concentrate on being solely the quarterback.

"When you’re coming back to doing something and something like that happened in the past, you have to be mentally strong and mentally feel as though you can do something at a high level," Romo said. "Hopefully I’m going to be pretty good. If I’m not, I’m not going to be doing it very long or at all."

Folk has missed eight kicks this season with punter Mat McBriar holding. He missed only seven kicks over the first two years of his career when backup quarterback Brad Johnson was the holder.

Johnson waited for the snap to reach him, consistently spun the ball with the laces toward the end zone and made sure the ball stayed straight up, the three things Folk needs a holder to do.

Folk hasn’t been happy with the way McBriar has blamed each of those areas for various misses this season. Tensions surfaced Sunday when Folk put up his arms in disgust following a fourth-quarter miss that thwarted a rally in a loss against the New York Giants.

McBriar hasn’t exactly been thrilled with doing the job either, so the Cowboys decided to try something different this week, especially once Romo told special teams coach Joe DeCamillis he was willing to try it.

Romo began working with long snapper L.P. Ladouceur and Folk on Wednesday and kept it up Thursday. If all goes well, he’ll be back there Sunday against San Diego.

"We just got to make sure we get it as good as we can, as quick as we can," DeCamillis said. "We’re kind of grasping for things. You have to be good at it in the first place, which he was. I think he’ll be fine going back into it. We’re looking forward to giving him that opportunity."

Folk was in college when Romo had his infamous hold, but he certainly saw it. Folk said he’s trying not to think about it because any negative thoughts can become a problem.

"It happened," he said. "I think it’s kind of beyond him. I think he’s pretty good about forgetting stuff."

Romo joined the Cowboys in 2003, then was the main holder in 2004 and ‘05. He kept the role in ‘06, even though he became the starting quarterback midway through the season. His breakout success was like a storybook tale, only to have the botched hold ruin the ending.

Part of the problem on that play was the switch to a slick, new "K" ball used strictly for kicking.

"They’re not much better now, either," Folk said. "I told him that if he needed me to bring out a glove for him on the holds, I will, or L.P. will. He could throw it on real quick. Whatever he feels comfortable with. I know he feels pretty confident in his own hands. We’re indoors this week, so it should be a good start for him."

Texans need to finish strong for Kubiak

HOUSTON — When Gary Kubiak returned to his hometown in 2006 for his first head coaching job, the Houston Texans believed he was the one to turn the franchise around.

Now that the Texans are virtually out of playoff contention in Kubiak’s fourth season, he is left to answer questions about how much longer he’ll be in charge of this underachieving team.

Houston (5-7) lost its fourth straight game last weekend to turn up the heat on the former Denver offensive coordinator who took over after a franchise-worst 2-14 finish in 2005 got Dom Capers fired.

He isn’t surprised that he’s had to talk about his job security as Houston’s losses mount. He insists coaching in the place where he grew up doesn’t make it any harder.

"It would be tough no matter where I was," he said. "It’s just part of it. It’s part of the job, part of the profession, a lot of highs and lows, and you’ve just got to stay positive in your approach and believe in what you’re doing and keep going. It’s very difficult, but we will stay positive. We will work through it."

Owner Bob McNair hasn’t said anything that would indicate Kubiak won’t be back next year. If the Texans can win each of their last four games, starting with Seattle at home this Sunday, they’ll finish with a winning record for the first time.

McNair’s policy has always been to evaluate coaches after the season and that’s what he plans to do this year.

The Texans last four losses have come by an average of 4.75 points — and two came when Kris Brown missed field goals of less than 50 yards that would have forced overtime.

Houston’s most recent defeat, a 23-18 loss to Jacksonville, included a halfback pass on first down from the 5-yard line that was intercepted.

Quarterback Matt Schaub insists Kubiak still has the support of his players.

"We continually support him so we’ve got his back," Schaub said. "We’re all in this together. We’re going to have his back until the end. We’re going to fight through this thing. We have the utmost confidence in him and he in us and we’re just going to continue down that road."

Schaub joined the Texans from Atlanta in Kubiak’s second year after a David Carr-led team improved to 6-10 in Kubiak’s first go.

Houston finished with a franchise-best 8-8 record in each of the last two seasons and was a trendy preseason choice to finally make the playoffs in its eighth season of existence.

The Texans have instead failed to win close games and they have been slowed by a running game that has struggled with Steve Slaton mired in a sophomore slump. Slaton was lost for the season this week with a nerve problem in his neck.

Receiver Andre Johnson, who’s been with the Texans since 2003, said people outside of the organization don’t realize what a mess things were when Kubiak took over and how much he’s done to improve the franchise. He’s turned an offense that was once known for little more than Carr’s repeated sacks into one of the top units in the league.

"I think he’s changed the attitude of the team because he’s been on teams where they’ve won Super Bowls and things like that so he knows what it takes," Johnson said. "He’s just as frustrated as everybody else. He knows that we have the talent to go out and do things and get things accomplished, but it’s just not happening.

"We’re doing things to take ourselves out of good situations and not win games. He can’t go out and play the game for us."

Kubiak certainly knows what it takes to win in the NFL. He joined the Texans after spending 11 seasons as Denver’s offensive coordinator, a span in which the Broncos reached the playoffs seven times and won the Super Bowl twice with coach Mike Shanahan at the helm.

He’s taken the blame after Houston’s losses this season and some wonder if he should be putting more responsibility on the players for the lack of success.

"It starts with me (but) we all have a big responsibility," Kubiak said. "Fortunately, I’m the guy that talks to you all the most, so I’ve got to answer a lot of questions and move on. I’m going to tell you the truth, with what I think and what I see. If I’m disappointed myself, I’m going to give you the answer that I believe."

Johnson, who has blossomed in Kubiak’s high-octane offense, said he would "hate" to see Kubiak go and still believes he’s the coach to take Houston to the next level. The Pro Bowler knows Houston’s performance in the next four games will factor heavily into whether Kubiak stays.

Johnson said he’s playing for Kubiak’s future.

"You never want to see anyone lose their job," he said. "You have to go out and cut it loose for him. That’s something I think about when I’m going out on the field."

-- Kristie Rieken

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High-voltage Bolts on another late-season roll

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego Chargers are at it again.

The high-voltage Bolts (9-3) are on another late-season roll, winning seven straight games heading into a stretch that will determine whether they’re good enough to clinch the AFC’s No. 2 playoff seed.

"I think we just happen to jell at the right time, at the end of the year, play our best football," said LaDainian Tomlinson, who hasn’t had a 100-yard game this season but does have six touchdowns during the last four weeks. "That’s something we focus on and talk about a lot, is playing your best football in December going into January. For some reason we do play our best football at that time."

Their 30-23 win over the lowly Cleveland Browns was their 15th straight December victory dating to 2006, and their 10th in three seasons under coach Norv Turner.

Their late-season success will be tested beginning with Sunday’s game at NFC East co-leader Dallas (8-4), followed by a home game against AFC North leader Cincinnati — with the No. 2 seed likely on the line — and a Christmas Day game at Tennessee.

The Chargers have closed out the last three seasons with winning streaks.

In 2006, they won their final 10 games in coach Marty Schottenheimer’s last season to finish 14-2 before their playoff pratfall against New England.

This is the third straight year the Chargers have rebounded from slow starts under Turner to finish strong.

Turner’s third go-round as an NFL head coach got off to a shaky start when the Chargers opened the 2007 season at 1-3, with fans chanting Schottenheimer’s name at the end of a 30-16 loss to Kansas City. The Chargers won 10 of their final 12, including their last six, and made it all the way to the AFC championship game before losing to the Patriots.

Last year, they became the first team to go from 4-8 to the playoffs.

The Chargers looked to be in trouble this year after being manhandled in a loss at Pittsburgh and losing a home game to Denver that dropped them to 2-3, 3 1/2 games behind the Broncos in the AFC West. The Chargers now have a one-game lead over the Broncos.

If there’s a common denominator across the three seasons, it’s Turner’s approach, said quarterback Philip Rivers, who has thrown for 1,792 yards and 14 touchdowns during the winning streak.

"One thing that we have had that I think starts with Norv is a steadiness and a consistency, a week-to-week approach," Rivers said. "We’re not on an emotional rollercoaster. It is the same and we strive to keep getting better each week, then you hope that gives you the best chance to peak at the right time, obviously if you’re in it.

"Last year was a little crazy, how we were in it but we weren’t really in it, then we were in it," Rivers said. "This year we find ourselves in a lot better position and playing our best."

Rivers said the best example of Turner’s consistent approach came last year when San Diego had to win its final four, coupled with Denver’s historic collapse, to clinch the division title at 8-8.

"The only chance we had to recover was the fact that he never flinched. Nobody panicked. It was about as bad as it could get last year. This year, same deal, we just stay the course. It was a little different because I didn’t feel the start was as bad as it may have been perceived. It filters down, the whole staff’s approach, and the way we prepare," Rivers said.

"I hope those things help," said Turner, who’s often maligned for his overall record, which is 86-98-1. "We talk about finishing strong a lot. Our guys have confidence going into this month. But we know, I think everyone knows, we have a real demanding schedule. The teams we’re playing have a lot at stake, just like we do."

The Chargers were 2-1 going into the Pittsburgh game and still finding their way after losing defensive tackle Jamal Williams for the season and a handful of other starters in a season-opening win at Oakland. Tomlinson missed two games with a sprained ankle and center Nick Hardwick still hasn’t returned from ankle surgery.

"This year was a unique thing," Turner said. "We lost a lot of players in the opening game this season and we were scrambling for a month to get some of those guys back and to get reorganized, replace them."

General manager A.J. Smith didn’t return several calls seeking comment on his team’s late-season performances.

Tomlinson said strong finishes are a matter of players getting comfortable in their roles.

"We learn what our identity is as the season goes along," L.T. said. "We really hone in on what we do well and we attack people that way. Guys get a little more comfortable."

In this case, it’s Rivers throwing to tight end Antonio Gates — who is six yards shy of his second career 1,000-yard season — and his 6-foot-5 wide receivers, Vincent Jackson and Malcom Floyd.

Gates said the only thing that matters is getting to the playoffs.

"The reality of it is, there is no one in this world who is immune to trials and tribulations in anything they do," said Gates, who had a career-high 167 yards on eight catches Sunday. "So whatever you do, however you do it, whatever the expectations are, there’s going to be some bump in the road and you just have to overcome that.

"I feel like it won’t be sweet without the sour," Gates said. "I’m that type of person. That’s why you cry when you win a championship, because of the bumps and bruises you’ve taken to get to that point. Nobody understands what you have to get through to get to that point."

-- Bernie Wilson

Mare scoffs over having to compete for Seattle job

RENTON, Wash. — Put a game on the line with one swing of his leg, send 11 men charging after him, throw in some wind — and Olindo Mare stays eerily unflappable. Not to mention accurate.

Yet ask the accomplished 36-year-old kicker who is carrying a Seahawks record of 18 consecutive made field goals into Sunday’s game at Houston about having to fight for his job this summer with an unproven kid?

Oh, yeah, that gets Mare flapping.

"I never felt any competition, because I never felt I was challenged," Mare said.

He is 21 for 23 on kicks since Seattle ended the competition it had declared between him and Brandon Coutu, a 2008 draft pick. He is 45 for 50 in his two years with Seattle, after going 2 for 2 last weekend against San Francisco. The latter one came into a swirling, biting wind as time expired and sent Seattle (5-7) to its second consecutive win.

His 91.3 percent success rate on field goals this season is the highest of a highly accurate 13-year career for the 1999 Pro Bowl selection with Miami. Mare left the Dolphins following the 2006 season as their all-time scoring leader, then had one injury-filled season in New Orleans before he resurrected his career with Seattle.

Mare scoffs that the Seahawks and coach Jim Mora doubted him just three months ago.

"Not many people can compete with me the way I’m kicking right now," Mare said.

Mare became magnificent immediately after his coach roasted him in the wake of a loss to Chicago in Week 3. He missed his only two field goals of the season that day, the margin of defeat in a 25-19 loss to the Bears.

"No excuses ... You’ve got to make those kicks, especially when you’re in a game like this kicking and fighting and scratching and playing your tail off and you miss those kicks," a terse Mora said in postgame comments Sept. 27. "Not acceptable. Not acceptable. Absolutely not acceptable."

"We’ll look at making a change everywhere. We’re not going to fight our (rears) off and have a field goal kicker go out there and miss two field goals and lose a game."

A day later, Mora regretted the outburst. And it’s good for Seattle that a change never came.

Mare is 16 for 16 since. And it’s not like he was exactly loafing that day against Chicago. He made four kicks in six tries and started his Seahawks record streak for makes late in that game.

"I think it has very little to do with my very direct and probably overbearing criticism of him on that day," Mora said of Mare’s Pro Bowl-caliber season. "I think it’s just a testament to the type of professional that Olindo is.

"Whether I said anything to him or not, he has a lot of pride in his performance, and he takes it very seriously. That’s one of the reasons that he’s had so much success in this league as a kicker. We’re reaping the benefits of that now."

And not just in field goals. Mare has boomed 21 of his 58 kickoffs for touchbacks. His 36 percent rate is second in the NFL to the 39 percent of Atlanta’s Michael Koenen — and Koenen is a specialist who hasn’t been doing field goal duty for the Falcons.

Mare’s kickoffs and the beneficial field position they give Seattle’s defense is a large reason he won the job the last two preseasons over Coutu. Coutu was a favorite of general manager and president Tim Ruskell, who was ousted last week.

"The most impressive thing about Olindo Mare is his kickoffs," Mora said. "He just really gives us a chance to create long fields (for an opponent)."

Mare can even punt. Last weekend, he lined up for a 52-yard field goal into the wind at the open end of his home stadium. Then Mare surprised the 49ers by taking the direct snap and deftly placing a pooch punt that Seattle downed at the San Francisco 2.

He is now so good, Mora can’t even remember who it was Mare was "competing" with for his job a few months ago.

"At no point did he feel like he wasn’t going to win, and I think you have to respect that in him," Mora said. "And yet he was very respectful of the kid that was here ... great memory ... uh, what was his name?

"Brandon Coutu!" a sheepish Mora blurted out after a pause. "I’m sorry about that Brandon — and Brandon’s parents."

-- Gregg Bell