After Cameron Dicker's historic boot, Chargers get to meet 'Quad Father' of free kick
Cameron Dicker pointed to a picture of a football card to the camera. The color drawing showed a man in a royal blue San Diego Chargers jersey with thick brown hair and a thick mustache.
“From me to Ray,” the Chargers kicker said while tapping his chest, “let’s go.”
Ray Wersching’s mustache has gone gray, as has the hair on his head, but 48 years after he made a 45-yard fair-catch free kick, the former Charger and San Francisco 49ers kicker is happy to pass the torch to Dicker.
After Dicker made the first successful fair-catch kick in the NFL since 1976 last Thursday, Wersching was a surprise guest in the Chargers practice facility Monday, invited by the Spanos family to fly from his home in the Bay Area to meet with the team. Before practice, he chatted with reporters and special teams coordinator Ryan Ficken and addressed the players.
For Dicker, he had a special message: “Thank you.”
“It brought that rule into now where everybody knows it,” Wersching said with a proud smile.
The obscure rule allows a team to kick immediately after a fair catch and if it goes through the uprights and over the crossbar, it counts as a three-point field goal for the kicking team.
In 2019, Joey Slye, then with the Carolina Panthers, was the last NFL player to attempt one. The Chargers watch the film of the attempt every week during special teams meetings.
Players sometimes roll their eyes when Ficken cues up the footage. They were celebrating the moment the ball shot off Dicker’s foot, however, giving the Chargers a jolt of energy going into halftime against the Denver Broncos.
“It's always something that you never know if it's going to occur or when it's going to occur,” Ficken said, “but you've got to be prepared and ready.”
Chargers coaches realized the opportunity early enough to give Dicker enough time to practice one rep on the sideline with punter JK Scott. It was a stark contrast to Wersching’s kick. He told Dicker on Monday he didn’t get any warm-up kicks before his 45-yard kick nearly 50 years ago.
“They showed me a picture of him kicking and, I mean, the dude's quads were massive,” Dicker said. “I called him the 'Quad Father.'”
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Wersching won two Super Bowls with the 49ers and kicked four field goals in the 49ers’ 26-21 victory in Super Bowl XVI. Wersching deserved the most valuable player award for that, Dicker said.
Dicker made his own MVP-worthy play Thursday as his unorthodox kick catapulted the Chargers to a comeback win over their AFC West rivals, clinching a season sweep and boosting their playoff opportunities. The Chargers (9-6) can clinch a postseason berth Saturday with a road win against the New England Patriots.
Watching games from the Bay Area, where he still lives after 11 years with the 49ers, Wersching used to breathe a sigh of relief every time he saw a team call a fair catch deep in its territory. His claim to fame could be safe for another play.
Wersching perked up, however, when he saw Derius Davis get interfered with while attempting to make a fair catch. The 15-yard penalty put Dicker on Denver’s 47-yard line.
Wersching knew the 24-year-old would make it. Dicker is one of the many young NFL talents who have impressed Wersching with their precision from long distances.
“I'm impressed with everyone because a 60-yard field goal now it's like, 'yeah, we can make this,'” said Wersching, whose career long was 53 yards. “Fifty-yard field goals now, you're expected to make them. It's amazing.”
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NFL kickers are 173-for-245 (70.1%) on field-goal attempts of 50 yards or longer this season going into Monday night's game. Dicker’s 57-yard kick was the longest fair-catch kick in NFL history and ranks as the third-longest field goal in Chargers history. He already tied a franchise record this season with a 59-yard kick against the Arizona Cardinals
Dicker has attempted 10 kicks from 50 yards this season and made nine. After signing a four-year contract extension worth reportedly $22 million, the former Texas Longhorns star is 31 of 33 on field-goal attempts and 27 of 30 on extra points.
Dicker was also the team’s nominee for Walter Payton Man of the Year, which honors a player’s achievements on the field and in the community. Two nights before making his historic kick, Dicker hosted a charity shopping spree for 20 kids from Big Brothers Big Sisters at Dick’s Sporting Goods in El Segundo. While teammates were leaving the facility after a long day of meetings, Dicker scurried out of the Chargers locker room dressed as Buddy from Will Ferrell's "Elf."
“Really whatever he touches,” coach Jim Harbaugh said, “he's going to be a force for good.”
Etc.
Running back J.K. Dobbins (knee) returned to practice off injured reserve Monday, beginning his 21-day window. … Safety Alohi Gilman (hamstring) is eligible to return off IR this week, but the team did not open his window Monday. … Safeties Elijah Molden (knee) and Marcus Maye (ankle) and linebacker Denzel Perryman (groin) did not participate in practice while cornerback Cam Hart (concussion) and tight end Will Dissly (shoulder) were on the field.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
