METAIRIE, La. -- Sean Payton gave kicker Zach Hocker some encouraging advice after the New Orleans Saints released him this week. He pointed out that more than half of the kickers who have made the Pro Bowl over the past 10 years were on their second team or more.
"In Zach's case, look, here's a young kicker who we felt did a very good job," Payton said of the second-year pro out of Arkansas, who earned his first opportunity with the Saints this year after being cut by Washington and Miami previously. "We opened the season at Arizona, and he hits four [field goals].