Buccaneers: Nick Folk will be just fine and the kicking game is in good hands
Fear not Buccaneers fans, Nick Folk will be just fine as your placekicker.
During and following Thursday night’s game against the Jaguars, there was some interesting chatter making its way through the Buccaneers fan base. It was about the kicking situation and it started with the broadcast. From there, it filtered through the fans on social media. The issue? It took a mere one preseason game for everyone to start freaking out about Nick Folk.
It started out with Sean McDonough during the broadcast. He made it sound like nothing had changed with the addition of Folk and the subtraction of Roberto Aguayo. He seemed to dwell more on the misses than the good kicks. It carried over to the social media, where there were calls for Zach Hocker, and some even called for Connor Barth to return. This is the same Barth that fans were upset about in the past. All over one game in the preseason.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand your nerves. I watched Aguayo stink the joint up right along with you. Watching that would make anyone nervous about a kicker. Diehard fans will lament Aguayo’s 2016 season for a long time. It’s not easy, but you cannot let that spill into your feelings about Nick Folk. He is a solid kicker and has been one in this league for a long time. He will do a fine job.
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First of all, let’s look at the kicks from the other night. The PAT was blocked. Blocked! Despite the fact that Koetter completely blamed Folk (team website), a block is never completely the kicker’s fault. He mentioned Calais Campbell being adept at blocking kicks. It’s the line’s job to get his arms down.
Be fair with the blame.
Secondly, he did nail two kicks, one from 29 and one from 35. No they weren’t the longest kicks ever, but would you have been confident with Aguayo stepping on the field to kick them? No, you wouldn’t. Admit it. Part of all of you expected Folk to make the kicks because you know he is better. That, by itself, tells you all you need to know about whether you should be worried.
Yes, he missed a 47 yard attempt. Are we now going to throw a kicker out the door because he missed one kick of nearly 50 yards in the preseason? No matter who is here, that will happen. Not even Adam Vinatieri is perfect from longer than 40 yards. It’s one kick, let’s take it down just a little bit.
When it comes to pressure situations, there is no need to worry either. Nick Folk has hit multiple game winners including in the playoffs. Jets fans will remember when he kicked his team past the Indianapolis Colts in the 2010 Wild Card game. As Stuart Scott used to say, he was “as cool as the other side of the pillow”. Folk will make a kick in a big spot. Did anyone think Aguayo would, consistently?
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Not everyone gets to have Adam Vinatieri, Justin Tucker or Stephen Gostkowski as their kicker. Everyone else has a kicker on that next tier down. Nick Folk resides in that group, but Bucs fans don’t need to worry. Let him make a few more kicks and you will see that he will be just fine.