Not at all jazzed about signing Cundiff and cutting Gano. This has to be a competition signing for this last week or game. Gano is better than Cundiff in every possible way other than extra points (Gano had one miss, Cundiff had none).

THAT INCLUDING 5 BLOCKS THAT HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH GANO!!!!

This is insane if true.

I know he got a pretty good zip on the ball. He has a quick release. . . once I seen a coupla' throws, I was just like 'Yeah, he's that dude.'"

This is the first move since Shanahan has been here that I am totally against. I just have a feeling Gano is going to go to some other team and develop into a pro bowler and we will continue to be plagued by this position.

cleg wrote:This is the first move since Shanahan has been here that I am totally against. I just have a feeling Gano is going to go to some other team and develop into a pro bowler and we will continue to be plagued by this position.

Totally agree. I was surprised when I saw Cundiff had gotten cut, but I thought it would be some desperate team that picked him up. Totally stupid to cut a young kicker with as strong a leg as Gano. He was just starting to come into his own.

Well ... I'm bummed but we'll see. Hope this doesn't bite us in the backsinde.

ESPN first reported the news. Cundiff's agent has since confirmed the news on Twitter.

"I would like to thank the Redskins organization for the 3 years I spent with them," Gano wrote on his Twitter account Tuesday morning. "I will miss my teammates and I wish you the best of luck!"

The Baltimore Ravens released Cundiff on Sunday in favor of undrafted rookie Justin Tucker. Cundiff made the Pro Bowl in 2010 with Baltimore, but good will dissipated after he missed a 32-yard-field goal with 11 seconds left in the Ravens' 23-20 loss to New England in the AFC championship game in January. Watch video of the miss: here.

The Redskins had been patient with Gano, who was entering his third full season with the team. He showed signs of rewarding that by making 15 of his final 16 field-goal attempts last season (the one miss was blocked).

Gano, 25, made 86 percent of his field goals last season, excluding the five attempts that were blocked.

"I thought his blocks weren’t his fault, so therefore there is some undue criticism," coach Mike Shanahan said Monday.

Gano has a strong leg on kickoffs, but coaches constantly sought from him greater mental toughness and consistency. He did not attempt a field goal during the preseason; Rackers tried the Redskins' only two attempts.

Cundiff, 32 made only 76 percent (28 of 37) of his field goals last season. He was 8-of-15 from beyond 40 yards. He is 1-for-9 from 50 yards or longer over the last three seasons. Gano, meanwhile, was 4-of-6 from 50 yards or longer in 2011.

In discussing Cudiff's release from the Ravens on Monday, Gano credited Cundiff for helping him change from a three-step run-up to a two-step approach. Cundiff beat Gano out for the Ravens' kicking job in 2009.

But kicker is really an eye-of-the-beholder thing, and Mike Shanahan must see something in Cundiff that he likes. Cundiff was a Pro Bowler in 2010, when he hit 89.7 percent of his field goals. And over the past two years, he's 53-of-59 on field goals of less than 50 yards and leads the NFL in touchbacks. Last year, he was 28-for-37 on field goals -- a more pedestrian 75.7 percent that compares closely with Gano's 75.6 and with Cundiff's career percentage of 76.7. But Cundiff was 1-for-6 from beyond 50 yards while Gano was 4-for-6 from that distance.

Cundiff did also, of course, famously miss a 32-yard field goal that would have tied last year's AFC Championship Game and sent the Ravens to overtime against the Patriots for a chance to go to the Super Bowl.

So what to make of this? Cundiff is more reliable inside the 50, which matters more than the ability to boom the occasional 50-yarder. But the main difference is on kickoffs, where 83 of Cundiff's 154 kicks (53.8 percent) have resulted in touchbacks over the last two years while just 40 of Gano's 144 (27.8 percent) have done the same. That's the part that matters most to coaches, who know kickers are eventually going to break their hearts on field goals but really want them to deliver in terms of field position. That's got to be the main reason Cundiff is the Redskins' new kicker while Rackers and Gano are looking for work.

I'm a little torn on this one myself. I was hoping with Gano we would finally groom a young kicker who would be here for a long time. But I still feel that Gano cost us a couple games last year. Not sure I felt any more confidence in him going into the season.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------"You can't do epic **** with basic people." - DJax"We’re winning off the field, but we’ve got to start winning on the field." - Bruce Allen

Whoa, big move. Can't say I'm happy to see Gano go; he was improving consistently and has a big leg.

I hope the coaches know something about Cundiff — or Gano — that we don't.

"I’m never under the assumption that you draft for need. You draft the best available football player on the board. ... Because, in the long run, they are the ones who will help you win the most games." - Scot McCloughan

Kickoffs, with the new rules, seems like an odd thing to value more than FG distance capabilities. I haven't followed Cundiff all that much or Rackers either but if there was going to be a change I think i'd have preferred Rackers. Cundiff's career FG % is the same as Gano's and his kicking from beyond 40, it sounds, is shaky at best...once he gets beyond 50 it's a miracle if he makes it. I don't get this change.