Another Kicker?
2 min read
Utah Utes place kicker Matt Gay (97) lines up an extra point in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Sept. 15, 2018.
*Opinion Editorial*
Everyone who knows me knows how I feel about kickers, so if someone is not gonna sugar coat an article on kickers; it’s me.
When Jason Licht drafted Roberto and traded up in the second round to get him, some were thinking that it was awesome, but others didn’t think it was very awesome. I was one who didn’t think it was a good move or that he’d be any good in the NFL, despite his success in college.
Watching film of Roberto when he was drafted, I noticed a majority of his kicks hooked out, then hooked back in, which to me in the NFL does not translate to success.
When I was in Nashville at the draft this past weekend, I never thought even in my wildest dreams that we would draft a kicker. I was pissed! But after watching film on Matt Gay, I can see why the Bucs drafted him.
At least he was drafted in the fifth round instead of moving up to get him in the second round. That is a mistake that will always haunt Jason Licht.
Matt Gay has a great resume. He was perfect on extra points, in 2017 and 2018. He was 56 of 65 for field goals. He won the Lou Garza award in the 2017 season. During the 2018 season, he was 16 of 16 on field goals inside of 40-yards.
The stat I was most happy with was the showing that he only missed 5 field goals in 2018, 2 of which were over 50 yards; 56 and 54. By the way, his longest field goal made is 55 yards.
**Let me slide this little side note here: Santos is a capable kicker, he’s better than Cantkickanzaro and whatever the Folk that other guy’s name is, but my major hang up on him is the fact that he sucks after 45 yards. So, either get him close, or he’s iffy as hell.
Another thing I liked was that his kicks were straight, right down the middle, and not hooking out and then back in. They were straight!
While I still dislike kickers and still will always wanna go for 2, maybe this guy can win me over like both, Matt Bryant and Martin Gramatica did. Those guys, they were clutch and if Matt Gay becomes clutch, all of Tampa Bay will like him.
The draft is a crapshoot, for the most part, you really don’t know until after their first year how they’ll look and see if there is any progress. So for now, I’ll still dislike kickers, including Matt Gay.
