Field Goal Agony

Image by Keith Allison via Flickr

It's the quietest moment in pro-football. The teams line up in field goal formation. The fans hold their breath, clench their fists, and pray. Here it is. It all comes down to this moment. [Timeout], the other team. Then they do it all over again. "And the kick is . . . ."

The result of a clutch field goal kick to win or tie a game can leave you in jubilation or agony. We've already seen some dramatic going-for-three in 2009 and NFL's week 6 ended with even more traumatic field goal kicking.

The Vikings lead the Ravens 27-10 going into the 4th quarter and then things got interesting. The Ravens' offense came out of hibernation and scored 3 TDs using their newly characteristic passing attack. Mark Clayton and Derrick Mason both grabbed passes for TDs and Ray Rice rushed for a 33 yard TD. The Vikings answered with 2 field goals in the 4th, which actually put them back in the lead 33-31 with just under 2 min left to go. Then the Ravens, who looked unstoppable up to this point, get all the way to the 34 and spike the ball with 2 sec left on the clock. It all came down to a 44 yard field goal for Steven Hauschka. Baltimore held their breath. The kick was just a bit too far to the left. Vikings win.

Another nail-biter in week 6 came down to clutch field goal kicking. The Jets' Jay Feely and Bills' Rian Lindell each missed field goals, which would have given their teams the lead and prevented the game going into overtime.

And then Monday night in San Diego, Nate Kaeding, who made a beautiful 50 yard kick earlier in the 3rd quarter, missed a 55 yard one to win the game. It was just a little to the left.

Should we blame it all on the kicker?

Jim Mora of the SEA Seahawks basted Olindo Mare after he went 4 for 6 in field goal kicks in a 25-19 loss to CHI earlier in the season. Is that fair?

Jim Mora is not the only one who downs kickers. Kickers don not typically hold the most respect in football. Some even consider the position to be completely separate, and in a lower class, from the rest of the game. Three-pointers are taken for granted. Perhaps because the kicker, who has perfected his skill, makes it look too easy sometimes. And perhaps because kickers are rarely involved in any contact in a sport that revolves around hitting people. What makes it worse for kicker is how terribly bad a missed field goal looks. It's like missing a dunk in basketball or running into another outfielder in baseball. It's a frustrating moment for a teams' fans and a laughable one for the opposing teams' fans.

After the Ravens loss to the Vikings the press spoke with Hauschka, who was emotionally rocked over the ending of the game. He said many of the Ravens came over to him after the miss and encouraged him that they will need him for a "big kick" later in the season. Those Ravens have the right attitude.

Kickers deserve more praise for what they do. Their position may not include tackling, blocking, or leaping into the air but it doesn't lack the pressure that all payers experience to win a game.