Hartley makes most of opportunity

• By SHELDON MICKLES
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Dec 18, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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METAIRIE — As the third kicker employed by the New Orleans Saints this season, rookie Garrett Hartley wisely decided not to put down roots when he was signed by the team on Oct. 29.

In fact, Hartley took the old cliché about playing one game at a time to a new level. After winning a nerve-wracking tryout over two other kickers, including veteran Dave Rayner, Hartley rented an apartment on a weekly basis.

It wasn’t, however, for a lack of confidence in his own abilities. It was more about nine-year veteran Martin Gramatica and sixth-round draft pick Taylor Mehlhaff being kept on a short leash by coach Sean Payton after being wildly inconsistent in the first half of the season.

After all, if they could get into Payton’s doghouse and eventually kick themselves out of a job, a young player who’d never before kicked in an NFL game — preseason or regular season — would surely be on thin ice.

After making all 12 of his field-goal attempts and adding 18 extra points in as many tries in the last six games, Hartley is standing on solid ground. As a result, Payton has put the leash away for now.

“Honestly, I just wanted to take it game by game,” Hartley said Wednesday. “I wanted to show that I could come out here and compete on this level and take advantage of the opportunity the Saints gave me.”

As he said, he certainly knew what he was up against when he signed on.

Gramatica, who was bothered by a groin injury which eventually landed him on injured reserve, was 6-of-10 in field goals in the first five games. But two late-game miscues cost the 7-7 Saints a chance at two more wins.

Mehlhaff, who failed to beat out Gramatica in training camp, was brought back and made 3 of 4 field-goal attempts. But he looked shaky at times, including his only miss on a 31-yard chip shot.

That led the Saints’ coaching staff to hold a kicking derby between Hartley, Rayner and Arena League standout A.J. Haglund. Hartley won the job, partly because Payton liked the way the ball came off his foot.

Hartley has rewarded Payton for having faith in a 22-year-old undrafted free agent who was signed by the Denver Broncos and released before they even went to training camp this summer.

“I knew coming here that I was going to be on a short leash, especially when you look at the previous kickers,” Hartley said. “The one thing I wanted to do was come out and perform and take care of things on the field. Then, I could sign a lease off the field.”

Even Payton didn’t know what the Saints had when they signed Hartley. He said he, General Manager Mickey Loomis and pro scouting director Ryan Pace weighed the pros and cons of the three kickers after the tryout and admitted that the “unknown” of Hartley was an attraction.