FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. -- Morten Andersen talked of hard work and passion Wednesday -- two attributes that have defined his career, which enters a 25th year Sunday when the Falcons host the Carolina Panthers.
The 47-year-old kicker, who set the NFL's all-time scoring mark last year, re-signed with Atlanta Tuesday afternoon.
Andersen's football career began at age 17 when he came to The United States as an exchange student from Denmark. Before that, the left-footer played soccer. At the time, he didn't plan on staying in America.
But...
"Fate wanted me to do something else," he said. "Here we are, a long time later."
Andersen now lives in Buford, Ga., which is where the Falcons found him following a loss at Jacksonville where Matt Prater missed two field goals. Andersen said he talked with the Falcons earlier in the offseason about being ready to play. Head Coach Bobby Petrino, who is nearly seven months younger than Andersen, also had lunch with the veteran kicker in March.
"I was tired of being the old man around here," Petrino joked, saying the team is "comfortable" with Andersen and his role in the locker room.
When it comes to the field, Andersen said he continued to work out twice a week before signing with the team.
The Falcons will still have to tweak the game plan, however, with punter Michael Koenen returning to kickoff duty. Koenen will also have to change his holding technique for the left-footer and be ready to kick any field goals that may be out of Andersen's range.
"We have a lot to do with our timing in one week," Petrino said. "They've been great about it. Yesterday they came up here on their own and worked on it and they were in here early today.
"He was good from 50 (in his workout). The good thing is we have most of our games indoor and in warm weather. That's the one thing we would have been concerned about, if we played some cold-weather games late in the year. When we talked earlier he said: 'From 47 in I feel like I can make it every time.'"
Even with his record 2,435 points and the Falcons team scoring mark safely in hand, Andersen still felt the urge to feed his passion and, perhaps, get a shot at playing the game at age 50.
"I think it's a testament to hard work, perseverance, believing in your ability and the passion that a few of us have for the game," he said. "This is what I was meant to be doing. This is my calling.
"I don't play for the money right now anyway. I'm playing purely for the passion and just the energy it brings to me. How many 47 year olds can say they're performing at a high level in the greatest sports league in the world? What a country."
LINE 'EM UP: If starting left tackle Wayne Gandy (hamstring) is unable to go Sunday against the Panthers, undrafted free agent Renardo Foster will likely step in. The rookie already has more than three-quarters of a game under his belt after filling in for Gandy at Jacksonville.
"I didn't expect to get in that early," Foster said. "But, the speed of it and the physicalness of the game was a shock to me. I know we had the preseason games but it picks up a little bit more in the regular season."
Foster, who earned the backup spot in training camp, played under Petrino at Louisville and said he was familiar with aspects of the play book before he arrived in Atlanta.
He also said Gandy was an immediate help to his game.
"Wayne's a veteran so he knows all the ins and outs of it," Foster said. "I'm just a rookie; I'm just using my technique. I would say if I get a chance to play more I'll get the ins and outs of it also."
Gandy did not practice with the team Wednesday.
INJURY REPORT: Safety Chris Crocker returned to practice Wednesday after spending the first two weeks of the season on the team's injury report. The five-year veteran suffered a bone bruise in the third preseason game and has been slow to return.
"I've been out for a month now so I'm really anxious," Crocker said Wednesday. "(Lawyer Milloy) had to slow me down saying I was doing too much.
"It's a freak injury and you can't play scared in this game. I rehabed for a month. I'm not the type guy that would go out there and hinder the team if I wasn't ready. I'm confident that i'm healthy."
Petrino said Crocker would continue to split time with second-year man Jimmy Williams in practice incase the injury flares up.
Tight end Dwayne Blakley, who is nursing a pectoral injury, also missed practice.
