Elam’s views are shared by kickers across the NFL, especially veterans.

“I’m a big fan,� said Arizona’s Neil Rackers. “It just gives you time to get out on the field and visualize. You’ve got time to go through your whole routine.�

Rackers said the strategy can be a good one in certain cases.

“Maybe a rookie, somebody like that, some kicker that’s playing Oakland and they’ve got Warren Sapp screaming at them, that might work,� Rackers said. “But I think the vets prefer it, to be honest with you.�

So, why do coaches call timeouts before big kicks then?

New England coach Bill Belichick said it’s not always just about trying to rattle the kicker.

“If that’s the play of the game, sometimes it’s not even as much about icing the kicker as it is making sure you’ve got your absolute best rush ready to go in that situation,� he suggested. “If there is any type of adjustment you want to make for a length of the kick or the hash marks that it’s on or whatever it is, that can be a part of it, too.�

Ryan Longwell, who joined the Minnesota Vikings this season after a nine-year career in Green Bay, loves the timeout, even though he botched his first chance at a game-winner as a rookie when a freak 30-second downpour during Philadelphia’s timeout resulted in him slipping and missing a chip shot as time ran out.

“I’ve always been a big fan of it, because with playing in Lambeau for so many years it gave us a chance to fix the field a little bit, make sure we had a good spot on the field, clear the snow out of the way, or ice if we had to,� said Ryan, the Packers’ career scoring leader. “So I’ve always actually appreciated it.�

Plus, he said, it gives the linemen a chance to recuperate.

“Usually those situations for a game-winner are coming after a two-minute drill and the linemen are gassed and it kind of gives everybody a chance to catch their breath for one last play,� Longwell said.

He also believes that coaches fear getting second-guessed if they don’t try to ice the kicker.

“So I think a lot of coaches do that just for that reason, to clear their conscience on using all the timeouts.�

Dave Rayner, the Packers’ new kicker, said timeouts can be a godsend for kickers “because a last-second field goal or whatever, you run on the field, it’s kind of a blur, you’re just out there. This way, it kind of gives you time to relax, think about whatever you’ve got to think about.�

That extra time to think is exactly what coaches are after.

Cowboys kicker Mike Vanderjagt, for one, would rather just run onto the field and kick, not such a surprising stance given that eight months ago he botched a last-second field goal for Indianapolis
after Pittsburgh coach Bill Cowher called a timeout in the AFC playoffs.

“Sometimes when you get out there, you’re rushed so much that before you know it, the snap is coming. So if you get a chance to get out there and figure out the situation, you’re that much better off,� Vanderjagt said. “Obviously, the bigger the kick, the more you want to just get it going. So it’s really six of one and half-dozen of the
other.

“I would rather just get out there, personally, and snap-hold-kick.�

Rayner said timeouts don’t really intimidate kickers. Then he remembered yanking a 53-yarder three weeks ago after Chicago called one, “so, I guess my own theory doesn’t really work. But I don’t think it really does a whole lot. It depends on the kicker and the mental aspect of it.�

Packers punter Jon Ryan interrupted with a mystery of his own.

“Why,� he wondered, “don’t they ever ice the punter?�

Hmmm. Icing the punter ... Isn't that what the kid at Northern Colorado did with a knife the other day?