Shayne Graham signed a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the Ravens on Thursday, knowing he has to beat Billy Cundiff to win the kicking job.
Some contend Graham's biggest battle is within himself.
The longtime Cincinnati Bengals kicker put a dent in his distinguished career when he failed to convert two short field goals in last season's 24-14 playoff loss to the New York Jets — critical misses that Bengals coach Marvin Lewis suggests haunts Graham as "demons."
Asked about those kicks, Graham said he doesn't feel as if he has to anything to prove when it comes to handling pressure situations.
"But that is motivation for myself; I know I'm better than that," said Graham, the fourth-most accurate kicker in NFL history. "Even the best have bad days. What I feel has made me better over my career is when I've had things not go my way, I never folded and just walked away from it. I came back and kept fighting."
Graham added, "I think that's something that will give me an edge coming into camp. I feel like I'm not proving anything, but I'm fighting for something and I'm hungry."
Shortly after Graham signed with the Ravens, Lewis told Cincinnati reporters that it was Graham's decision to leave. Indicating that the Bengals' offer was similar to the Ravens' one, Lewis felt the two missed field goals in the wild-card game were a major reason why Graham didn't stay in Cincinnati, which now will go with either Dave Rayner or Mike Nugent as its kicker.
"He had an opportunity to come back here and regain what he had here," Lewis said. "Unfortunately he has the demons of the last kicks here when he didn't make them. He's got to overcome those demons and whether he could come back to this locker room and overcome them. That's what the fans remember around here is the kicks that he missed. I wish him good luck."
Graham entered last season's playoffs by making 11 straight field goals, but he missed both attempts in the playoff game against the Jets.
He was wide left from 35 yards when the Bengals trailed 14-7 midway through the third quarter. Then, with the Jets up by 10 points with 3:49 remaining in the fourth, Graham was wide right from 28 yards which ended any hopes of a Bengals comeback.
During his seven-year run in Cincinnati, Graham had only four game-winning field goals, according to the Bengals' website. His 31-yard field goal in an overtime win at Cleveland last season was his first in overtime and his first game-winner since 2005.
Kickers will always get questioned about their mental makeup after failing in the playoffs because of the "Vanderjagt Effect." Mike Vanderjagt, the most accurate kicker in NFL history at the time, missed a potential game-tying field goal for the Indianapolis Colts in January 2006 and was out of the league within a year because he was never the same.
Ravens coach John Harbaugh is confident that Graham will bounce back.
"Guys will miss kicks occasionally," Harbaugh said, "and he's been able to overcome that his whole career."
Harbaugh emphasized that this will be an open competition between Graham and Cundiff (although most observers believe Graham's experience makes him the front-runner).
Graham, 32, has converted 85.2 percent of his career field goals (196 of 230 attempts).
Cundiff, 30, who would make $1.1 million as a restricted free agent, has made 73.6 percent of his career kicks (78 of 106).
"I think we both expect to walk in and win the job," Graham said.
These kickers are a significant upgrade over last season, when the Ravens tried to replace Matt Stover with two inexperienced kickers, Steve Hauschka and Graham Gano.
"I think we've got to be excited that we're in this kind of a situation," Harbaugh said.
Cundiff, who made 12 of 17 field goals for the Ravens last season, wasn't available for comment Thursday.
Graham acknowledged that it's been a few years since he's had to compete for a job.
"But sometimes in order to keep a knife sharp, you have to grind it up a little bit," Graham said.
One advantage for Graham is his familiarity with kicking in the AFC North, including M&T Bank Stadium.
He was 28 of 33 on field goals against the Ravens, including 15 of 18 in games at Baltimore. His best performance was hitting seven field goals — the second-most in NFL history — in a 2007 game at M&T Bank Stadium.
"I've always enjoyed playing here, and it's always a great atmosphere," Graham said. "The conditions are something I've been used to every year I've played here. I've been really excited about getting a chance to play in these colors, in this stadium."
It's unknown how long Graham will remain with the Ravens. He signed a one-year deal and can earn an additional $1 million in incentives.
"Hopefully, things can work out," Graham said. "I'll get past the preseason hopefully, do my best to win the job, help the team win games, and then all that stuff is in the future. It's beyond my control right now."
Notes: Ramon Harewood hasn't been cleared for practice yet, but the rookie offensive tackle said his injured right knee feels "a lot better." He damaged tissue in his knee last month. "I have decent range of motion back. I can put weight on it now," Harewood said. "We're just waiting until it's 100 percent. I don't think it's quite there yet." … Undrafted quarterback Bradley George is trying out for the Ravens at rookie minicamp. George is Texas State's career leader in passing yards (9,556) touchdowns (76).
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