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| Sunday, November 5 Associated Press | |||
| OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Oakland Raiders rookie kicker Sebastian
Janikowski has a bacterial infection in his foot that kept him out
of Sunday's game against Kansas City.
Coach Jon Gruden said after the game that Janikowski was
diagnosed with cellulitis, a bacterial infection in the soft tissue
of his kicking foot.
Gruden didn't have further details about the condition or how
long Janikowski would be out.
"I'll learn more about it when I go home to the Internet
tonight," Gruden said.
Punter Shane Lechler assumed Janikowski's duties in the game,
which the Raiders won 49-31. Lechler, also a rookie, handled
kickoffs and made all of his extra points, but he missed a 33-yard
field-goal attempt in the fourth quarter.
Before the game, Lechler practiced kickoffs and a few field
goals. When Janikowski emerged from the locker room, he was moving
gingerly, speaking at times to special teams coach Bob Casullo and
team physician Dr. Robert Albo.
After making one practice field goal, Janikowski walked slowly
back into the locker room. After the game, Janikowski's locker was
empty.
"He seemed fine last night, and even on the drive over here,"
Lechler said. "Before the game we were getting loose and he said,
`My foot's bothering me,' and I looked at it and it was swollen."
Janikowski, a powerful kicker out of Florida State, was the 17th
overall pick in the draft. A kicker had not been selected in the
first round for 21 years.
Janikowski had a shaky start, missing seven of his first 13
field-goal attempts, but redeemed himself with game-winning kicks
over the Kansas City Chiefs and the San Diego Chargers.
Janikowski has made 14 of 22 field-goal attempts this season.
Lechler, a fifth-round pick in the draft out of Texas A&M,
handled kickoffs his senior year and took over place-kicking duties
in his final two college games.
Lechler found out shortly before the game that he would be
standing in for Janikowski.
Gruden told him, "Try to make all your extra points, and
anything above that will be a bonus," Lechler said. | ALSO SEE
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