Cardinals' 35th season in Arizona: Kicker Neil Rackers part of team's most memorable moments

Former Arizona Cardinals kicker Neil Rackers is a busy guy these days. He's been working on some landscaping, coaching high school football where he lives in the St. Louis area, selling roofs and doing business as an owner of an assisted living facility.

Rackers also recently took a trip to Mexico City to represent the team at a watch party for the Cardinals' game against Philadelphia last weekend.

His son is a sophomore at St. Louis University and his daughter does "about 20 hours of gymnastics" every week, Rackers said.

This NFL season, which ends with Super Bowl 57 in Glendale, The Republic visits with some of the names and faces from the Cardinals' 35 seasons in Arizona.

This week it's Rackers, who made a Pro Bowl with the Cardinals in 2005, was also a first-team All-Pro selection and has been inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame. He played 12 NFL seasons, seven with the Cardinals, three with the Cincinnati Bengals and two with the Houston Texans.

Arizona Republic: What stands out about your time in Arizona with the Cardinals?

Neil Rackers: "You know, one of the things I'm most proud of in my time in Arizona was playing for the Cardinals as an organization because they're more family-oriented than any other team I was involved with. And also how close the teammates were. So we had a really good group of guys when I was there, (20)03 to (20)09. Then obviously, getting to play in a Super Bowl and a Pro Bowl for the Cardinals was really special."

Republic: And then you were also part of the move from Tempe to Glendale for the Cardinals. What was it like to go from Sun Devil Stadium to Cardinals Stadium to kick in those environments?

Rackers: "Well, I mean, there's a place in my heart for Sun Devil to get to go to the Pro Bowl out of there. But it was definitely nice in the transition to see the number of fans increase drastically when we got over to University of Phoenix Stadium. It was exciting. It's hard to ask fans to go sit on aluminum bleachers at 2:00 in the afternoon when it's 110 degrees. So that was exciting for the team to see the turnout once we got over to the new stadium."

Republic: Then that season (2005) you made 40 field goals. That was a league record at the time, and you made 31 in a row. What was the key to being in the kind of zone were you in?

Rackers: "One of the biggest keys to that year was having a consistent snapper and holder who were so good. I mean, (holder) Scott Player and (long snapper) Nathan Hodel were amazing at what they did. So we were getting balls off in 1.18 (seconds). And when a normal time is 1.30 to 1.35. It just made things easy. I mean, once you get on a roll, having that consistency. And then obviously with the confidence to put the ball through the uprights every time, it just gets fun."

Republic: So let's go back to the 2006 season and head coach Dennis Green's famous rant on Monday Night Football where he said 'They are who we thought they were!' in reference to the Chicago Bears. How did you react to that and what was the aftermath of that moment like?

Rackers: "That was a really, really tough day. My wife was on bedrest at the time with our daughter. And obviously, things didn't go well at the game. And you know, it, it was hard feeling like you let your teammates down after that. To see Denny ... It was a tough pill to swallow. But most of all, I just had a hard time because I let my teammates down."

Republic: What would your message be to a guy like Matt Ammendola, the Cardinals kicker this last weekend who missed a field goal that could have tied the game late. As a guy who's been in that position before, what would your message be to guys that are put in that spot and don't come through?

Rackers: "Just keep your head up and go back to work. I mean, I'll use (former NFL kicker) Pat Leahy, who taught me how to kick and he kicked for the Jets for 17 years. He said if you don't ever want to miss again, quit. So you know what, you've just got to go out and keep swinging, and they're going to start going through on a consistent basis."

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Republic: Your tenure with the Cardinals is the longest one for a kicker in team history. How did you do it? You had a lot of success, obviously, but everybody misses. So with the cutthroat nature of the league, how do you feel you were able to last for that long?

Rackers: " I think that one of the reasons I lasted is because I was a football player who kicked and not just a kicker. Every year my goal was to out-lift two linebackers and outrun two (defensive backs). And that way, when you miss a kick, the guys aren't looking at you as a kicker who's never there and isn't working. So I think one of the reasons I stayed so long is because the guys appreciated my work ethic and knew I was there working with them."

Republic: One more. Do you follow the Cardinals to this day? What are your thoughts about the present team?

Rackers: "You know, I do follow them. As far as the team goes, I think they've got all the weapons. It'd be nice when DeAndre Hopkins comes back and they're able to have that guy working as well. But I think they've got all the tools and I think a little meshing needs to happen throughout the course of the season. I think it's going to turn out to be a positive year for them."

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Get in touch with Jose Romero at Jose.Romero@gannett.com. Find him on Twitter at @RomeroJoseM.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Cardinals longtime kicker Neil Rackers keeps busy in St. Louis