SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Despite a powerful leg and solid credentials, Owen Pochman has been profoundly unlucky in his three-year quest to find a regular NFL kicking job.
He has his best chance yet with the San Francisco 49ers, who waived struggling kicker Jeff Chandler on Tuesday and signed Pochman on the basis of two impressive workouts.
Last week, Pochman was shagging balls and retrieving kicking tees for a buddy who plays for a semipro team in Seattle. On Wednesday, he impressed his new San Francisco teammates with long, hanging kickoffs and booming field goals — something they rarely saw during Chandler's short tenure.
"To get a chance as good as this one, I'm as happy as I can be," Pochman said. "I'm just excited to finally get the chance for a team to count on me."
The 49ers are Pochman's fifth team since the New England Patriots drafted him in 2001. He has appeared in the regular season for just one team: The New York Giants, who made him their kickoff specialist for 10 games in his rookie season.
He began last season as the Giants' top kicker but was put on injured reserve after tearing cartilage in his left knee shortly before the regular-season opener against San Francisco. While Pochman was out, former pawnbroker Matt Bryant won the job.
Pochman bounced to Green Bay and the St. Louis Rams, who were impressed but elected to stick with veteran Jeff Wilkins.
"He kicked well in Rams camp, but just got beat out by a pretty good kicker," 49ers coach Dennis Erickson said. "This is the first opportunity he has, and it's there for him. We'll see what happens."
When the 49ers became dissatisfied with Chandler's weak kickoffs and questionable field goal accuracy, Pochman was recruited for a tryout last week. He uncorked four straight kickoffs with more than 4 seconds of hang time, and after a second strong workout on Tuesday, the deal was done.
"Owen has a really strong leg, and he can be really accomplished as a kickoff specialist," 49ers special teams coordinator Larry Mac Duff said. "But when he worked out for us, he excelled at both aspects. We're thrilled we were able to get him."
Pochman's signing means a big adjustment for punter Bill LaFleur, who's also the 49ers' holder. Pochman is a left-footed kicker, which forces LaFleur to change his holding mechanics.
"It's just a matter of practicing it and getting your hands in the right place," said LaFleur, who has never held for a left-footed kicker during five years in college, NFL Europe and Canada. "He's a really good kicker, and my job is to just get out of the way."
Pochman, who set conference records during his college career at BYU, doesn't think he'll have many problems with the pressure of the NFL. He's used to razzing fans who intentionally mispronounce his name as "Pokemon," for instance (it actually rhymes with "Scotchman").
"Just last week, I was thinking, 'Man, I miss having the opportunity,"' Pochman said. "This is a lot better than watching other guys at a sports bar."