Even now, 12 years later, Mare clearly remembers the deep frustration he felt trying to outshine a player with so much experience and savvy.

“I was always considered the strongest kickoff guy when I was in college (at Syracuse),” Mare said. “I remember kicking off and whatever I did, he out-kicked me. If I would kick it to the goal line, he would kick it 5 (yards) deep (in the end zone). If I would kick it 5 deep, he would kick it 10 deep.”

Mare eventually lost the job to Daluiso. But now, as an 11-year veteran who spent most of his career with the Miami Dolphins, Mare can certainly empathize with the emotions rookie Brandon Coutu must have experienced the other day, when Mare and Coutu had a one-on-one kick-off.

It wasn’t even supposed to be a competition. Special teams coach Bruce DeHaven wanted the kickers to get used to rookie snapper Tyler Schmitt and holder Ryan Plackemeier, the team’s punter.

“And I wasn’t going to change it,” DeHaven said.

When general manager Tim Ruskell and vice president of player personnel Ruston Webster wandered over to the field and watched intently, it became an impromptu challenge for the right to replace Josh Brown as the team’s placekicker.

Mare – who signed a two-year, $3.5 million contract on March 27 – went first and calmly booted about 20 consecutive kicks through the uprights, his approach unwavering, his demeanor phlegmatic.

Coutu, whom the team drafted from Georgia with a seventh-round pick, looked as if he was trying to impress, booming kicks through even from 30 yards out.

“You would think that being younger you would want to impress,” Mare said. “He is obviously good enough to be drafted. From what I have seen, he is a good kicker. There is no reason for me to be a jerk to him off the field or even on the field. I am going to let what I do on the field speak for itself.”

Coutu matched Mare kick for kick until he moved back to about 48 yards. (Mare never kicked from further than 35 yards.) At that point, Coutu pushed a few kicks wide – not that it deterred the confident youngster.

“I came into Georgia as a walk-on the same year a scholarship player came in, and I had to compete all four years I was there,” Coutu said. “There’s going to be competition at every level, and it’s only going to get a little more tough, but I’m just excited about the opportunity they’ve given me so far.”

If Mare has an edge, it is because he has historically been so successful on kickoffs. Even though he kicked off only 48 times last season, he still tied for fourth in the NFL with 15 touchbacks, a 31.3 percent success rate. By comparison, Brown had only 15 percent of his kickoffs become touchbacks.

“I think a lot of guys in the league can kick field goals,” Mare said. “The big difference is kicking off.”

Coutu, by comparison, had a difficult time getting kickoffs to the end zone his final two years at Georgia, suffering a hamstring injury while trying to execute an unusual onside kick technique.

Coutu said he has been working out with former NFL kicker Morten Anderson to increase his leg strength.

The team, which hopes to advance to the playoffs again in Mike Holmgren’s final season, must weigh the experience of Mare against the youth of Coutu; the potential of Coutu against Mare’s age (he will be 35 in June); and, of course, the salaries of the veteran and the rookie.

“I really hope to evaluate them based on how they kick,” DeHaven said. “At the end of camp, which one was the most accurate? Which had the strongest leg?”

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