FAB 3. Bucs Have (Finally) Found Their Kicker

Criticize Tampa Bay general manager Jason Licht all you want for his disastrous 2016 draft class, which continued to get disassembled this week with the sudden departure of underachieving cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, the team’s first-round pick that year.

But Licht might have come through with an absolute ace in this year’s draft class that could solve one of the team’s most glaring team weakness during his six-year tenure atop the Bucs organization – the kicker position.

Bucs K Matt Gay – Photo by: Mary Holt/PR

I used words like “might” and “could” because we’re talking about a rookie kicker – Matt Gay, the team’s fifth-round draft pick.

Gay still has seven games to go and a lot can happen, but so far, so good for the rookie.

How good?

Well, Gay is connecting on 86.6 percent of his field goals through the first nine games of his NFL career. To put that number in perspective, Gay is tied for fourth in the league with 19 field goals made, and ranks 14th in the NFL in field goal percentage.

Gay has made 19-of-22 field goals this year, but one of those three misses was huge as it cost Tampa Bay a victory in a 32-31 loss to the New York Giants in Week 3. Gay shanked a 34-yard field goal after making his first four field goals against the Giants and going 1-for-3 on extra points in that game.

Understandably, Gay was distraught after that miss and he admitted to me that he was fearful that he might lose his job just three games into his rookie season – until head coach Bruce Arians gave him a very vocal vote of confidence.

“He isn’t going anywhere,” Arians said after the loss to the Giants.

“It meant everything, especially in that moment right after the game – you know how this league works,” Gay said of Arians’ statement. “Everything is running through your head. I was distraught over what happened and then he comes and says, ‘Hey, you’re not going anywhere. You’re our guy. We’re investing in you.’ That was huge for me. It was huge for my confidence. It helped me get over it quicker rather than stew on it. I got back to work and got going – that kick-started everything for me.

Bucs K Matt Gay – Photo by: Getty Images

“That kick-started the team, too. I had nothing but love and understanding from everyone on the team. Guys were coming up to me all week saying, ‘You’re good. We’re going to need you all year.’ That definitely helped me get over it quicker. It happened and I had to get over it and put it behind me.”

Tampa Bay punter Bradley Pinion, who serves as Gay’s holder on extra points and field goals, saw how Arians’ support boosted the rookie’s confidence.

“It was a defining moment for him,” Pinion said. “Kickers miss. Kickers aren’t invincible. He could have gone in the hole, or been like a turtle and go back in the shell, but he didn’t. He attacked it head on, fixed his problems and attacked it like a man.

“It says a lot about the person he is and the player he is and is going to be. He’s going to play for a very long time. I’ve played with some of the greatest to ever do it in Phil Dawson and Robbie Gould and he’ll be right there with him when the time comes.”

Since his miss against the Giants, Gay made seven straight field goals before missing a 50-yarder at Seattle right before halftime. Gay is on another streak as he’s made five straight, including a perfect 3-of-3 against Arizona on Sunday.

Just like in Los Angeles, Gay missed a field goal against Arizona, but because of a penalty on their opponent he got another chance and made it count.

“God is good – sometimes he is just looking out for you,” Gay said. “Sometimes you get lucky. It’s better to be lucky than good sometimes. God is good in those moments.”

With just one miss in his last 13 kicks, Gay feels like he has some momentum right now.

Bucs K Matt Gay – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“The only kick that matters is the next one,” Gay said. “Every single kick – you want to go one-for-one, but everyone builds confidence. If you are on a streak where you are hitting 10 in a row or 11 in a row – confidence is real and it builds. It helps you relax more. You know it’s going in and it’s easier to step up and approach the next field goal.”

Gay, last year’s Lou Groza Award winner at Utah, credits a good deal of his success to his work with Pinion, his veteran holder.

“It’s huge to come into the league with someone like Bradley,” Gay said. “He knows what it takes to be successful because he’s been in the league for five years. The first two guys he’s worked with are Phil Dawson and Robbie Gould. It doesn’t get much higher than that. He can teach me things that they have learned. It’s special to have a guy like that that can take me under his wing as my NFL journey begins. I’m blessed to have a guy like him.”

If Gay can continue his level of success throughout the rest of the year he’ll finish with one of the best seasons for any kicker in Tampa Bay history.

Michael Husted, the Bucs’ kicker from 1993-98, never hit more than 78.1 percent of his field goals in Tampa Bay. His replacement, Martin Gramatica, had his most accurate season in Tampa Bay during his rookie campaign in 1999 when he connected on 84.4 percent of his field goals. Gramatica made his first and only Pro Bowl the next year after hitting 82.4 percent in 2000. Two years later in the Bucs’ Super Bowl season, the kicker known as “Automatica” actually hit 82.1 percent of his kicks.

Matt Bryant, whom some regard as the best kicker in Bucs history not named Gramatica, connected on 84 percent of his field goals in three of his four years in Tampa Bay with his highest percentage (84.8) coming in 2007.

Connor Barth, who kicked in Tampa Bay from 2009-12 and again in 2015, holds the franchise record after hitting 92.9 percent of his field goals (26-of-28) in 2011. Yet Barth would never connect on more than 84.8 percent of his kicks (2012) in his four other seasons with the Bucs.

Since Barth left Tampa Bay’s kicking situation has been dreadful. Patrick Murray hit 83.3 percent of his field goals in 2014 and again in 2017, but Aguayo was awful in 2016, connecting on 71 percent, and Nick Folk, the veteran that replaced him the next year, hit on just 54.5 percent of his field goals before being released after five games.

Bucs K Matt Gay – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

Licht signed veteran Chandler Catanzaro in 2018, but he was cut at midseason after underwhelming with just a 73.3 percent field goal percentage. His replacement, Cairo Santos, hit on 75 percent to finish out the year before losing the training camp battle to Gay in August.

“We saw Matt kicking good in training camp,” Bucs right tackle Demar Dotson said. “I don’t know about you but we heard all the buzz and we watched him kick good and he has a powerful leg. I always thought he was going to be a good kicker just watching him in training camp. To watch him bounce back from the Giants game – and I know there was a lot of pressure on him – was good to see. I like what Coach said in our meeting room after that game, ‘Don’t worry about that. You’re going to be a kicker for us for a long time.’ That was helping the young guy get his confidence back.”

While Gay is pleased with his 86.6 percent field goal percentage this year, he’s far from being satisfied.

“That’s three kicks I left on the table,” Gay said. “It could be better. I could be better. Hitting 86 is lower than I would like. I have higher expectations than that, and I have higher expectations than anyone else has for me. I want to be better – I want to be perfect. It’s good to hear some validation like that – that I’m doing all right – but it’s nowhere near where I want to be.”

After holding for Gould, a career 86.7 percent kicker, and for Dawson, a career 84 percent kicker, Pinion had some lofty praise for Gay.

Bucs P Bradley Pinion and K Matt Gay – Photo by: Getty Images

“He’s having a heck of a rookie year and he’s a heck of a kicker, so I’m not surprised,” Pinion said. “He had that one miss [against the Giants], but other than that he’s been money. It’s a testament to how hard he’s worked and how ready he came in. Kicking is all mental and he has that mentality where he’s going to be the best and he’s working to be the best.

“He made a lot of kicks in the preseason to build his confidence. He was a rookie kicker in a kicking competition at the time and it was a huge confidence boost. Having confidence going into his rookie year was huge. I remember having confidence going into my rookie year, and it’s important as you are trying to find your place and figure out how it works. Kicking is often done in streaks. You might miss a few then you make a bunch. He’s a damn good kicker. That’s just what it boils down to. He’s got the leg strength, he’s got the accuracy, and he’s got it up top. When you have that combination it’s unstoppable.”