First, I’d like to begin by saying that NFL kickers are completely overlooked. Yes, they just kick a ball through a goal post but it takes a lot of talent to a field goal, as you must have a strong leg. Not only is talent required, but also being able to deal with an enormous amount of pressure is crucial.

Let me give you an example: Suppose there are 15 seconds in the fourth quarter left and your favorite team is playing its rival. The score at this point is 9-7 and your favorite team has the opportunity to kick at the 45-yard line to win the game at 10-9. Therefore, no pressure, but THE ENTIRE GAME DEPENDS ON THIS ONE KICKER!!!  This situation has occurred in countless games, and it’s unfortunate because so much pressure should not be on one person. But hey, that’s the NFL for you and it is important that any team’s kicker is somewhat good at his job.

Without further ado, I’m going to discuss last night’s game with the Arizona Cardinals vs. the Seattle Seahawks. This game was a head scratcher for those who are or aren’t fans simply because each kicker just could not get the football through the goal post even at a reasonable field position.

Chandler Catanzaro (Cardinals) 19-yards missed

This guy is supposed to be one of the best kickers in the league and he missed the 19-yard game-winning field goal. A high school football kicker could make this and one of the nations best kicker couldn’t…

…which leads to my next point.

Stephen Hauscka (Seahawks) 28-yards missed

Another one of the NFL’s best kickers missed a 28-yarder. Again, this should be an easy kick, but somehow Hauscka lost it. This is Hauschka’s worst year by far as an NFL kicker.

Not only were Hauscka and Catanzaro disappointments but so was Stephen Gostkowski, the Patriot’s kicker, who is recognized as the best kicker in the league and missed the extra point attempt. Mind you, the extra point is kicked from the 33-yardline. However, since it was Gostkowski who missed it, this instance captured headlines because the Great Gostkowski couldn’t knock it through.

So what happened this week? Is it the extra pressure that defenses are putting on kickers or is there something in the air that is completely messing up the best kickers’ games? Perhaps this is just a bad week, but there are too many great kickers in the NFL who are simply just screwing up. We’ll have to wait until week 8 and see if these great kickers coincidentally had bad week or if they are simply not as great as they used to be.