5 reasons to be nervous about the 2022 Dallas Cowboys
By Randy Gurzi
4. Barely Brett, Maybe Maher?
Jonathan Garibay was clearly not up to the task. The undrafted rookie from Texas Tech had a huge opportunity in front of him when Dallas added him as their potential placekicker. He had several impressive kicks during his time in the NCAA including a game-winner from 57-yards out.
Unfortunately, he came to camp and was wildly inconsistent. The rookie couldn’t keep up with former CFL kicker Lirim Hajrullahu, although neither did well at all in camp.
Unofficially tally of the kicks from Lirim Hajrullahu and Jonathan Garibay in training camp: Hajrullahu 42 of 56; Garibay 34 of 57.
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) August 8, 2022
That’s why Dallas held tryouts to find a new kicker near the end of camp, and they settled on Brett Maher who was with the franchise in 2018 and 2019.
During that span, Maher earned a couple of nicknames that highlight how he performed. Known as either ‘Barely Brett’ or ‘Maybe Maher’, the Nebraska product was famous for teasing the uprights on the kicks he did make.
He had some impressive moments, including a 63 and 62-yard kick, but then his inconsistency became too much to deal with. He finished his time in Dallas by connecting on 49-of-66 field goals.
Maher did well in 2021 with the Saints, making 16-of-18 attempts, but he whiffed on two extra-point tries which was an issue for Greg Zuerlein who was released in the offseason.
Poor kicking can cost teams games and Maher is someone that’s hard to trust on a regular basis, which is why his presence is a cause for concern.