NAPA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers kicker Joe Nedney once dampened a good vacation by calling home.

In April 2000, he was enjoying a lovely time in Europe with his wife, Gina, when he decided to phone his parents. That’s when Nedney off-handedly asked about the Raiders’ draft.
Silence.
“They took Janikowski, didn’t they?” Nedney finally said.
“I’m sorry,” his mom replied.
The Raiders took Sebastian Janikowski with the 17th overall pick, marking the first time of kicker was taken in the first round since 1979.
Even from Italy, the news needed no translation. Nedney was getting the boot.
Looking back almost a decade later, here’s a question worth kicking around: Who would you rather have, Janikowski or Nedney?
Heading into their toe-to-toe meeting in an exhibition game Saturday at Candlestick Park, Nedney has converted at an 80.0 success rate in his career while Janikowski has hit on 77.2 percent.
The case for Nedney: He has an 87.8 success rate (101 of 115) since joining the 49ers in 2005, making him the most accurate kicker in the NFL during that span. He has 19 career game-winning field goals and has converted 10 onside kicks, the most among active kickers.
The case for Janikowski: He has been better from long range. On attempts from 40-49 yards, he leads Nedney 67.9 percent to 67.0 percent. On attempts from at least 50, Janikowski leads 46.3 percent to 44.8 percent.
Both are record-setters. Janikowski set the Raiders’ mark with a career long of 57 yards; Nedney tied Mike Cofer’s 49ers mark by hitting from 56.
Janikowski has far more touchbacks, 129 in 141 career games to Nedney’s 108 in 153 career games.
All in all, a fair fight between a former first-round pick and an undrafted free agent waived nine times.
“Joe is a great guy and a good kicker,” Janikowski said after the 49ers-Raiders joint practice in Napa on Wednesday. “It’s too bad what happened with us.” Once upon a time, Nedney said he held a grudge against Raiders — and against all teams that pushed him out the door. “I used it as motivation,” he said. “I’ve gotten over that. As you mature, you understand the business side of the game.” These days, he can even look back fondly on his brief tenure in the East Bay, a tenure he sealed with a kick. His last attempt for the Raiders a 33-yarder to beat the Chiefs in overtime.
It ended an 11-game losing streak in Kansas City and knocked the Chiefs out of the playoffs.
“It was big individually for my career, but Raiders Nation hadn’t won in Kansas City in a long time,” Nedney recalled. “I had no idea about the magnitude of that kick until the plane ride home. Guys were coming up to me and saying, ’Do you realize how long it’s been?” Still, though, the Raiders sought an upgrade at his position. Oakland kickers missed 13 field goals that season (including two in three games by Nedney).
Coach Jon Gruden fell for Janikowski after seeing him in action at the scouting combine, where he once said the kicker “put on an orbital display.” Nedney and Michael Husted knew by draft day that they were doomed on the Raiders roster. Nedney considered just walking away, “which is not what I do. So I stayed and I kept working.” Waived as part of the Raiders’ last cuts that year, Nedney signed with Denver a few weeks later. In his first game with the Broncos, he kicked four field goals in a 33-24 victory — against Oakland.
“That one was a little personal,” Nedney said. “At that time, I was still upset.” There won’t be quite as much emotion this Saturday. Nedney is just looking to get into the flow again. He sat out the 49ers preseason opener as a way of preserving a leg preparing for its 14th NFL season.
Nedney said there will be no extra emotion in facing the Raiders. After all, his schedule is always filled with former employers.
That’s why when he got a tattoo on his leg a few years ago, Nedney went with the NFL logo.
“If I got one for every team I’ve been on,” Nedney said, “I’d have logos over both legs with stuff crossed out everywhere.”