Will Jason Licht Make It Three Years In A Row?
March 6th, 2019
The fixer for Jason Licht?
Lost in all the hustling to keep together the roster of a Tampa Bay team that went 5-11 in back-to-back seasons is the fact the Buccaneers need a kicker.
And what does Jason Licht do when he needs a kicker?
Well, Licht does a lot of things in that department, and most get him on Santa’s naughty list. But one thing he’s done the past two seasons is look to the New York Jets.
In 2017, it was longtime Jets kicker Nick Folk signing with the Bucs. That was a disaster. Last year, it was a fat contract to Chandler Catanzaro. He lasted nine games, which was at least a couple of games too long.
Now the Jets have another kicker looking for big money in free agency. He’s Jason Myers and he’s coming off a stunning Pro Bowl season that saw him drill 91.7 percent of his field goals, including 6 of 7 from 50 yards and longer.
Myers turns 28 in May and spent the previous three seasons with the Jaguars. They fired him less than halfway through the 2017 season.
Myers is a far better option that 44 year old Matt Bryant. And Myers kicks off, which Bryant has done in many years.
Hey, how does that ancient saying go? Three times is a charm?
Bucs defensive coordinator Todd Bowles seems to know kickers. As Jets head coach, he was smart enough to know when to dump Folk and Catanzaro. Perhaps he’s smart enough to tell Licht to sign Myers?
March 6th, 2019 at 4:28 pm
I’m staying away from jets kickers like the black plague
March 6th, 2019 at 4:37 pm
Sign the Pats Kicker he’s a FA
March 6th, 2019 at 4:39 pm
Hope they take down that skinny AFL goal post at One Buc Place. It’s unnecessary and messes up the kickers. Practice how you play, we’re not training for the Arena league.
Heck if anything put an extra wide goal post on the practice field cause our fragile kickers need confidence.
Why hasn’t Matt Bryant been signed yet?
March 6th, 2019 at 4:41 pm
Tbbucs3
because he is on social security…. man bucfan can’t let go of has beens that never were…. might as well bring gramatica back then get a good young kicker with upside.
March 6th, 2019 at 4:55 pm
Yes we need to sign a kicker…..and while we are at it a LS…..and 3 LBs, S, 2CBs, 2RBs, 2 QBs, 2 Backup Olinemen, a WR, TE…
When talking about how much money we have….folks don’t consider that we have 23 unsigned FAs from our roster last year……
And no….we are not in good cap shape…..can dump DJAX & a couple of others but they need to be replaced with someone….and we only have 6 draft picks.
I’m hoping we strike rich in the UDFA market this year.
March 6th, 2019 at 4:58 pm
just go for 2 like the AAF…..missing kicks always swings uncle mo to the other team….
#REALISTKNOWSNOTHING!!!!…GO BUCS!!!!
March 6th, 2019 at 5:05 pm
After Aguayo I’ve totally given up on kickers. Aguayo should have been good based on his college career. We now know he was a choker when the bright lights went on. Who could have figured that for a guy who played under as bright of lights as you get in college at FSU! He “SHOULD” have been the man.
There’s just no figuring kickers. Let’s look at the best two in the league right now.
Stephen Gostkowski is the most accurate kicker in Pats history.
He is only the second player in NFL history to score 500 points in his first four seasons in the league. And where did the Pats find him? In the 4th round, the 118th overall pick from giant Memphis where he was a baseball/football player.
Then there is Greg Zuerlein of the Rams. Zuerlein was drafted by the St. Louis Rams in the sixth-round (171st overall) of the 2012 NFL Draft. He was the first non-Bowl Championship Series kicker to be drafted since Gostkowski in 06. The Rams cut their primary kicker Josh Brown, who was in the final year of his $14.5 million five-year deal, the same weekend they drafted Zuerlein. They must have known SOMETHING to do this for the 171st overall pick!
And where did Zuerlein come from? Why he played at two powerhouses…UNO and Division II Missouri Western State University!
Seems to me trying to find a kicker is a true crapshoot. While I’ve always believed a Gostkowski or Zuerlein would be worth a 2nd rounder if you knew for sure their performance in the NFL…clearly it’s dang near impossible to handicap kickers and who to draft. This makes Licht’s decision on Ohnono even more egregious.
Perhaps FA is the way to go but we haven’t done so well there either. FG kicking has cost us how many games. It’s critical but I certainly do not have any answers nor do I suspect does Licht.
And so LUV…you’re the answer guy. What say ye?
March 6th, 2019 at 5:15 pm
Ol’ Licht Weight and kickers…and 2nd round picks…and free agents…
March 6th, 2019 at 5:24 pm
The Bucs have field goal posts at the practice fields that differ from league regulation size?
That really…really stupid. Why would you do that? Why would you ask your kicker to play different from practice?
March 6th, 2019 at 5:27 pm
We all know what happened the last time the Joes hyped up a kicker from the jets. I don’t even think it’s licht, it was stupid to draft one in the second round but it’s truly mind boggling how decent come to Tampa and have a menta meltdown
March 6th, 2019 at 5:28 pm
Austin McGinnis is the answer… Clutch, accurate & leg from 60yds.
March 6th, 2019 at 5:29 pm
Pretty simple finding a kicker. Start with the top ten most talented kickers Put them all out on the practice fields wearing thongs and surround them with a bunch of gorgeous woman and pay them to laugh and point at the kickers the entire time they are kicking.
Pick the guy that nails them all. If that doesn’t throw him off a bit I’m sure he can handle kicking on Sundays
March 6th, 2019 at 5:42 pm
So why should we let one $800K a year kicker go then sign yet another $3 mil a year kicker? Santos has a lifetime (5 yrs) FG average of 83.2% (his worst year was 77.8% … with the Bucs). Jason Myers has a lifetime (4 yrs) FG average of 84.3% (his worst year was 73.3% … with the Jags who released him). Yes he made the Pro Bowl last year, but who’s to say he won’t revert back to the 73% he put in with the Jags.
Still don’t get why Licht released Patrick Murray. In his 2 years here he was 52 of 53 on XP conversions. And he was 33 of 37 from 50 yds on in (89.2%). Admittedly from 50+ yds he wasn’t that great (58.3%) but personally I could live with that if I was a coach.
March 6th, 2019 at 5:51 pm
I’d much rather roll with Gostkowski with $3.25 mill per, first 2 years fully guaranteed. No state income tax. He kicks off also, and….stout…beyond 50. That’s more loot than he made after-tax in NE!
Get it done Licht!
Go Bucs!
March 6th, 2019 at 5:57 pm
And for goodness sake, cut our $3 million $$ punter already. There’s a million punters around, that can directionally punt, and hangtime equivalent to Anger’s. Like AJ Cole III in the 7th round of the draft!
Go Bucs!
March 6th, 2019 at 6:00 pm
StoutGospel
oh yeah he is going to sign right up with the most embarrassing franchise on planet earth…. he has a choice and no one with choice chooses Tampa without being grossly overpaid. no one want’s to play here that’s why bucs settle for the Donovan smith’s of the world every year and collect basement title after basement title.
March 6th, 2019 at 6:08 pm
Surprised Tmax didn’t blame Kicking on McCoy
How’s the wifey ?
March 6th, 2019 at 6:13 pm
BucEmup
The Bucs have 1 AFL style goal post by the giant flag. I’m assuming it’s for drill purposes but it certainly doesn’t help.
March 6th, 2019 at 6:28 pm
This is why Agarayou was a good risk to take in that draft. The long-term implications include the Bucs not needing Folk or Cartenzorro and having a reliable kicker for the next decade.
But the pick prooved to be a bust. That happens close to 50% of the time for second rounders. A lot of Bucs fans refuse to acknowledge that bust rate and dwell on every missed pick. The fact is that every team in the league could use hindsight and cry over many draft choices. Personally, I like to focus on the good players we have gotten rather then those that didn’t pan out.
But hey to each their own. Keep crying about misses. They will happen each and every year so you will never run out of ammo. Y’all worry about the guys who don’t matter, I’ll worry about the guys who do.
March 6th, 2019 at 6:41 pm
Look for an undrafted FA kicker…they’ll be cheap and easy to let go. This team isn’t remotely close for a playoff push. No need in creating perpetual cap issues go all in the first yr on a new regime. This isn’t Gruden taking over a legendary defense where a little more production on offense is needed. The current offense scored 20 ppg and the defense was worst in the league….
March 6th, 2019 at 6:45 pm
Jason Myers is the best of the Jet kickers, but I’d rather go with Bryant who has a proven record – if he’s healthy. As for kickoffs, who cares? Just get a punter to handle kickoffs – or let Bryant kick off. Just because he didn’t do kickoffs in Atlanta doesn’t mean he can’t – it just means their punter had a monster leg for kickoffs.
March 6th, 2019 at 6:48 pm
San Antonio, Birmingham, and Orlando all three have better placekikers and punters than the Bucs have had for many years. The Alliance of American Football is a training league for the NFL. All Licht has to do is offer the best Place Kicker a contract for next year.
March 6th, 2019 at 6:58 pm
I agree with Owlykat: The AAF has several excellent kickers, including the Orlando team. Their guy is 8 for 8.
March 6th, 2019 at 7:02 pm
Yeah, you should bring in a couple of top kickers from the AAF, and someone like Bryant, and let there be a legit competition. Also the way the Bucs go through kickers they should bring in everyone they can since they’ll probably need them during the season at some point.
March 6th, 2019 at 7:02 pm
It’s a sad, sad situation when we have a whole article dedicated to kickers. What’s even worse is that it is appropriate since the lack of a kicker has cost us at least a couple games each year.
March 6th, 2019 at 7:05 pm
cmurda – Winston has had the worst defense in the NFL since being drafted, but he also might have had the worst special teams as well. I haven’t looked it up, but the return game is garbage and the kicking has been garbage. Anger had one really good year and otherwise has been OK, and he’s by far the highlight of the special teams.
Meanwhile Winston leads the NFL’s top passing game and people think he’s the problem. LOL!
March 6th, 2019 at 7:13 pm
Personally think that allowing Baker to harass the kicker was a big mistake. But Bucemup comment made me think of a great way to improve Aguayo’s focus.
Put Swaggy baker out there in a thong instead of the gorgeos women. If that give you laser vision on the goalposts nothing will!
March 6th, 2019 at 7:14 pm
How do you know if an AAF kicker can make extra points or kickoff?
March 6th, 2019 at 7:15 pm
Lets see about those kicking stats…
2015… #11
2016… #23
2017… #18
2018… #25
Punting, net avg…
2015… #28
2016… #5
2017… #25
2016… #21
Returning… Kickoffs…
2015… #15
2016… #32
2017… #17
2018… #26
Punt returning…
2015… #9
2016… #12
2017… #6
2018… #27
So without doing a bunch of numbers it’s hard to say the Bucs have had the worst special teams since 2015, it depends on how you weight things, but one thing is for sure, they’re not good.
March 6th, 2019 at 7:18 pm
Bob in Valrico – If a kicker is such a mental lightweight he can’t take heckling, then why would you want him on the team? Do you think fans on the road will sit there quietly in a big game?
The idea that Baker “ruined” the kickers is just dumb.
Also dumb is the idea that you draft a guy in the 2nd round and then cut him to appease social media. Janikowski had a worst first year as a 1st rounder, and he sort of figured it out. The Bucs should have figured out how to keep Roberto around (*cough, IR*) since it’s not like he forgot how to kick.
March 6th, 2019 at 7:41 pm
Joe,
Don’t forget Mike Nugent.
March 6th, 2019 at 7:57 pm
Licht was impressed kicking percentage. Here’s the thing Aquayo was a great extra point kicker in college,but his FG average started at 95.5% in 2013,dipped to 90 % in 2014 and finally 80.8 in 2015. Thats a downward trend not worth the reach, if you need a consistent field goal kicker. IMO ,Licht needed to do a more thorough analysis of Aquayo performance in college.
March 6th, 2019 at 8:27 pm
Rodgers-cromartie was at Reeves bmw with D brooks today …make it what you will
March 6th, 2019 at 8:58 pm
Stephen Gostkowski.
March 6th, 2019 at 8:59 pm
@tmax..
Slight overpay I am more than OK with, for Gostkowski specifically, to be here. To ensure that 90% of the kicks go through from 40 and in. 80% from 50+ is fine. Kickoffs and XP’s a non-issue. So tired of this kicking sh!t! Gostkowski has more than proven he can do it, and in bad elements too.
What we DON’T need are $3 million dollar punters, and $7 million dollar BACK-UP tight ends. $19 mill of bull spit!!
Get it done Licht!
Go Bucs!
March 6th, 2019 at 9:02 pm
Chaps….
The little girls….are back at it again. So infantile.
Go Bucs!
March 6th, 2019 at 9:07 pm
I agree with Rod in this. The ONLY thing Chris Baker ever did here that i liked was to heckle the kickers. MyGod it was a test. A fun camaradrie driven test…. that Aguayo would ultimately fail.
A kicker in the NFL must have nerves of steel and can not be subject to the yips.
Baker was right to test it. Aguayo would ultimately have the worst case of yips that we have seen since Steve Sax and Chuck Knobloch.
March 6th, 2019 at 10:12 pm
Bryant is and has always been money, age may catch up with him soon but he is as consistent as they come.
March 6th, 2019 at 10:34 pm
Cobraboy Says:
March 6th, 2019 at 6:58 pm
I agree with Owlykat
There’s a phrase you don’t hear often…
March 7th, 2019 at 4:50 am
If Joe needs a proofreader, consider my interest.