This season, the Raiders and the 49ers
have had standout performances by players who rarely get their hands on the ball. Meet the place-kickers and punters whose feet, though gnarled and sometimes lacking toenails, have helped carry their teams in the 2011 regular season, which ends Sunday.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY GETTY IMAGES

Shane Lechler, 35

Raiders Punter

Holds NFL record in career punting average. Shoe size: 12, but wears a size 11.5 on his right (kicking) foot.

“Ugly.” That’s how Lechler describes his feet. “You know how you got veins on top of your feet? My right foot has zero. They’re either rerouted or busted.” He is also missing a toenail on his right foot.

Lechler and Sebastian Janikowski, his close friend and teammate, have played together for the Raiders for a dozen years. “It’s awesome,” Lechler said of their relationship. “At this point, I know everything he’s thinking.”

Lechler, an amiable, scruffy-looking Texas native, said that he had begun using his feet at a young age. “My hands were too small to throw a ball at that time, and so I just started kicking and kicking.”

Lechler acknowledged the intense pressure. “When you get one shot and you can’t handle the heat, then you’re in for a short career,” he said.

Sebastian Janikowski, 33

Raiders Place-Kicker

Kicked 63-yard field goal in September, tying NFL record. Shoe size: 11, but wears a size 10 on his (left) kicking foot.

Sturdy legs run in Janikowski’s family. His father was a professional soccer player in Europe. Sebastian came to the United States as a youngster, began kicking during his senior year in high school and attended Florida State University.

Janikowski, like Lechler, has spent his entire career in Oakland after being drafted in 2000 — which seems to delight both players. “In this league they move around a lot, so it’s a special thing,” Janikowski said in a recent news conference.

This year has been especially fruitful for Janikowski, whose reputation was marred by arrests for brawling as a college player: he is the highestpaid place-kicker in league history, and he was selected for the Pro Bowl for the first time.

When he goes to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, he will rely on Lechler “to show me the ropes,” Janikowski told reporters. “I’ve got to follow in his footsteps.”

David Akers, 37

49ers Place-Kicker

Set NFL record for most field goals (42) in a single season. Shoe size: 10.5, but on game day wears a
size 7 on his left (kicking) foot and a size 9 on his right.

Akers had an unlikely journey to kicking stardom: he grew up as a soccer player, began kicking as “a fluke” in high school and entered the league as an undrafted free agent for the Washington Redskins in 1998. He was cut the following year and joined the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999. San Francisco signed him to a three-year contract last summer.

So far, life has been good for Akers in the Bay Area — although the kicker, who drives a Ford F-150 truck, noted that he’s “never seen so many Priuses.”

Akers said his profession was highly technical. “To be quite honest,” he said, “it does look easier than it is. Some guy goes out with a half-inflated volleyball and kicks it with steel-toed shoes and says, ‘See, I could make that.’ ”

Andy Lee, 29

49ers Punter

Currently averaging 50.9 yards per punt (his career best). Shoe size: 9 on right (kicking) foot, 11 on left.

Andy Lee, a South Carolina native who “always had a strong leg,” has played for the 49ers since they drafted him in 2004. He met his teammate David Akers in a Pro Bowl game two years ago, before Akers joined the 49ers in 2011.

The two kickers have become close. “We’re both Christian guys,” said Lee. “It’s a good fit.”

In fact, Lee said that the pressure of punting was second to the pressure of holding the ball for Akers to kick. “I’ll be honest with you; I’d rather punt out of the end zone than be holding,” he said, “When I do that, he’s relying on me.”

And what is Lee worried about? “Kicking is a very exact thing. If I miss the spot by half an inch, if the laces are not pointing the right way, if I move too slowly,” he said. “If you mess up a little bit, it’s OK. But I’m a perfectionist. I like it to be perfect.”