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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may have a problem on their hands. Roberto Aguayo keeps missing kicks, and that is not a good thing. Obviously. He's working on it, and more on that in a bit, but first: people who rag on him. Like Pro Football Focus, who kick the ball straight through the goalposts.
Last week he missed a PAT attempt, and this week he missed a field goal that was actually a yard closer to the posts. Nothing in terms of PFF grading during his final two college seasons suggested that he was a can’t-miss prospect, so the Bucs are out on a limb with this selection, and it’s already on shaky ground.
Yup, that about sums it up. He hasn't looked good in really any department, and that's not why the Bucs drafted him in the second round.
At the same time, let's not overreact. He's missed three kicks. That's a lot more than you want, but it happens. Kickers miss field goals. There will be streaks with multiple misses in any kicker's career. They need to be able to handle those kicks and the resulting pressure on their jobs. The biggest concern would be if these kicks were caused by Aguayo cracking under the pressure -- because that pressure is not going to diminish. It's killed kicker careers before. It could kill his.
To head that off, Aguayo has been getting a lot of advice, according to Roy Cummings.
#Bucs rookie K Roberto Aguayo says he has reached out to his kicking mentors, Ryan and Billy Longwell and a mental coach to break slump
— Roy Cummings (@RCummingsNFL) August 22, 2016
We can see this news in two ways. One: he's actively working on deficiencies in his game, and that's good. Two: he's cracking under the pressure and is doomed forever. I've mostly seen the second interpretation, but that seems a little much. Not only has it only been two games, mental coaches have helped a whole lot of athletes over the years -- and stigma surrounding mental health hurts those who could benefit from that kind of work. Hopefully, the mental coach and the Longwells will help get him back on track.