Bucs special teams coach Keith Armstrong

Interesting roster-building kind of nugget dropped this week on Bucs Total Access by Bucs special teams chief Keith Armstrong.

Armstrong explained that what’s been heard many times on The Martín Gramática Show by the iconic Bucs kicker for whom the show is named.

When you have a young punter like Bradley Pinion that kicks off extremely well, Armstrong said, it frees up your team to go sign a veteran kicker.  Why? Because when a veteran kicker must fulfill kicking duties and kick off, then you start running a significant risk of injury.

It’s easy to think, ‘Jiminy Christmas, the kicker just kicks. Man up! But Gramática has explained that the kickoff training will drain a double-duty kicker’s leg over a season and in general.

This was further highlighted by Armstrong when he spoke of Bucs kicker Ryan Succop having strict personal routines that drive Armstrong mad at times because Succop won’t deviate from his schedule. Armstrong had a smile in his voice talking about Succop, who has drilled 91.3 percent of his field goals this season.

This got Joe wondering again about the drafting of Matt Gay in Round 5 last season. What the heck was that? The Bucs were primed to sign a veteran kicker but went with a rookie that was gone a year later.

The man drafted with the pick following Gay is the Lions’ best cornerback (not sure that says much), Amani Oruwariye, ironically a Tampa kid who spent years chasing Chris Godwin in practice at Penn State. The Bucs could have used him.

But such is the 20-20 hindsight of the draft. Austin Seibert was the other kicker drafted last year (Browns in Round 5). He’s got a new team, too.