The names are among pro football’s elite. Hall of Famers such as George Blanda, Jan Stenerud and Lou “The Toe” Groza.
Or future Hall of Famers such as Jerry Rice.
They all belong to the NFL’s 1,000-point club. And Chiefs kicker Pete Stoyanovich is about to join their company.
Stoyanovich needs just four points Sunday against San Diego to become the 25th player in NFL history to score 1,000 career points. Rice joined the select club with a touchdown catch in San Francisco’s season opener.
“To sit here today, 10 years after getting into the NFL, and to even think about scoring 1,000 points in this league is beyond my imagination,” Stoyanovich said. “It’s a big milestone, and I can’t believe it’s actually going to happen.”
With the absence of some key players hampering the Chiefs’ offense in the first two weeks, Stoyanovich has been its most dependable weapon.
Stoyanovich has made a league-leading seven of eight attempts, continuing the form of a year ago when he led the NFL in field-goal percentage by making 26 of 27 attempts for 96.3 percent, the third-best, single-season accuracy mark in NFL history. And his 14 of 15 from 40 yards or beyond (93.3 percent) was the best in NFL history.
The question Stoyanovich faced going into this season was how to improve on such near-perfection.
That put more pressure on him than a year ago, when he was coming off 1996, his first season with the Chiefs and his poorest NFL season.
“This off-season I might have worked even harder than a year ago,” Stoyanovich said. “The expectation is greater after the type of year I had last year.
“I’ve gotten off to a good start, and that’s what you want to do, come out of the gate quick, make your kicks and start rolling with confidence.”
Stoyanovich, 31, had a rocky preseason, missing four of his first six attempts, including a 42-yarder in overtime against Green Bay in Tokyo. The Chiefs then re-signed deep snapper Ralph Tamm to work with Stoyanovich and holder Louie Aguiar. It made all the difference.
“There’s no doubt, Ralph has been a key addition,” Stoyanovich said. “The confidence with Louie and Ralph working together makes my job a lot easier. He’s done a terrific job. (I hope) we can repeat what we did last year. Certainly it’s a goal you’d like to chase.”
Stoyanovich made his first two kicks of the season against Oakland, giving him 22 straight, breaking Nick Lowery’s club record for consecutive field goals, before he sprained his back while falling short on a 47-yarder.
Because of the injury, Stoyanovich relinquished kickoff duties to Aguiar, but Stoyanovich has made his last five field goals, including kicks from 48 and 43 yards.
Along the way, he’s moved to second place on the NFL’s all-time accuracy list with 225 of 280 for 80.43 percent, trailing Philadephia’s Chris Boniol (105 of 127, 82.68 percent) and just ahead of San Diego’s John Carney (193 of 240, 80.42 percent).
“If you’re going to rank a kicker and look at what he’s done in the league, certainly field-goal percentage is how you rank them,” said Stoyanovich, who at one time during is career at Miami was the all-time leader.
More than anything, Stoyanovich has given the Chiefs a comfort level that once they’ve reached the opponents’ 35-yard line, they’re in scoring territory.
“We value Pete a great deal,” Chiefs quarterback Rich Gannon said. “From an offensive standpoint, we look at it more as a disappointment when we have to come off the field and settle for a field goal. But if there’s any consolation, we almost take for granted that when Pete goes out there, it’s probably going to be three points.”
Stoyanovich endeared himself most to his teammates and Chiefs’ fans last season when he kicked two game-winners–a 41-yarder in overtime against Seattle and the memorable 54-yarder as time expired that beat Denver 24-22.
“I still have that tape,” Stoyanovich said, “and every now and then I pop it in the VCR and just remind myself of the feeling when I made that kick, and the excitement and energy that was felt throughout the stadium.”
Despite enjoying one of the finest seasons by a kicker in NFL history last season, Stoyanovich was not selected to the Pro Bowl, an omission that angered him.
“It gives you more reason to push harder this season,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with points. Right now, I’m off to a good start. If we continue on this pace, who knows, I might end up with 200 points this year.”
The snub was exacerbated last week at Jacksonville when Stoyanovich watched Mike Hollis, the AFC Pro Bowl kicker of a year ago, miss field goals of 37 and 21 yards in the Jaguars’ 21-16 victory over the Chiefs.
And Hollis had the nerve to seek advice from Stoyanovich after the game.
“I tried to give him whatever advice might be useful,” Stoyanovich said. “He’s a young guy, a fine young kicker, but he’s had trouble so far.”
Stoyanovich, however, has put the Pro Bowl out of his mind.
“My main goal and focus is not so much getting to the Pro Bowl as much as it is getting back to Miami this year,” said Stoyanovich, who spent seven years kicking for the Miami Dolphins. His off-season home is a long field-goal try from the site of Super Bowl XXXIII.
“I would love nothing more than to go back to Miami,” he said, “and kick at Pro Player Stadium–Joe Robbie as I prefer to call it–and help the Chiefs win the Super Bowl.”
