MIAMI - During training camp, when Miami Dolphins rookie kicker Dan Carpenter refused to sing for his teammates, they took his gear and threw it in a tub of cold water.
"Most guys get mad," veteran linebacker Joey Porter recalled with a chuckle. "He just went to practice wet and kicked like it was nothing. He didn't even get mad that we threw his stuff in the cold tub. So he doesn't really blink at anything."
Carpenter's composure paid off Sunday, when he kicked a 38-yard field goal with 38 seconds left to help Miami beat the Oakland Raiders 17-15.
The rookie said he wasn't quite as calm as he looked.
"There are firsts for everything," he said. "This was my first NFL game-winner, and that means a lot to me. But it's also very nerve-racking."
Carpenter, an undrafted free agent who played at the University of Montana, is still adjusting to the big stage. He said he made a few game-winners in college, including one with two seconds left, but said the biggest field goal of his career before Sunday came in an NFL exhibition game.
So when was he the most nervous preparing for a kick?
"Can I say about five minutes ago?" he answered.
Carpenter helped the surprising Dolphins (6-4) averting a deflating defeat. They led most of the game, but a 93-yard punt return by Johnnie Lee Higgins with 4:30 left gave the Raiders their first lead, 15-14.
Miami then took possession at its 20 and quickly made two first downs before facing a fourth-and-5 at the Raiders' 35 with two minutes left. Coach Tony Sparano decided a 53-yard field goal attempt would be beyond Carpenter's range, and he told quarterback Chad Pennington to try for the first down.
"We knew where we felt comfortable with Carpenter," Sparano said. "My quarterback is coming to the sideline and he's telling me, 'We can get this.' There's nobody better to me in that kind of situation."
Pennington threw to Ted Ginn Jr. - his third option on the play - for 7 yards and a first down. Miami then ran the ball three times before Carpenter hit his kick.
Pennington finished the final drive 4-for-5 for 51 yards.
"I'm like a tornado inside, but I try to stay calm and collected on the outside," Pennington said. "That's the atmosphere you want to project in the huddle. If you come in nervous and cotton-mouthed and tripping over your words, they're not going to believe what you said."
Like Carpenter and Pennington, Sparano sought to keep his composure, too. But Miami's first-year coach conceded it was difficult.
"I'm too young for this," Sparano said
