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New Buc Chandler Catanzaro knows his place … on kickoffs, that is

Is he answer to Tampa Bay's recent kicking woes? He doesn't lack in confidence.
 
Published March 17, 2018

TAMPA — More than any free agent who signed with the Bucs, place-kicker Chandler Catanzaro could have the biggest impact on the new season.

Finding a kicker who won't choke in the clutch has been the hardest piece of the puzzle. Considering that Tampa Bay went 3-7 in one-score games last season, a field goal here or an extra point there may have turned that record around.

Not to mention, of course, the advantage in field position if Catanzaro is able to generate more touchbacks on kickoffs.

While Patrick Murray was an upgrade from Nick Folk, who went haywire in October, opponents returned 72.9 percent of his kickoffs. That's roughly 30 percentage points above the league average.

"I'm definitely excited to bring that here, bring that part of my game here," Catanzaro said. "To be honest, during college I had a pretty solid kickoff guy in front of me, Bradley Pinion, who's in San Francisco. I was always practicing on the side and out of college. That was kind of my 'knock' coming out. People said that I couldn't kick off. …

"My kickoff coverage team in New York with the Jets did a great job, phenomenal job for me. That's the biggest thing. I've talked with Coach (Nate) Kaczor and talked about scheme. Deep kicks, mortar kicks, I've kind of got all the tools I need in the bag. The biggest thing is putting my kickoff coverage team, giving them the best chance to succeed. I'm excited to doing that here."

Catanzaro has made 84 percent of his field goals in the NFL, and last season, he made all 29 extra-point attempts for the Jets. Remember, a PAT is now the equivalent of a 33-yard field goal, so a lot of points he didn't let get away. Folk and Murray combined to miss three PATs last season.

That may not sound like much, but a missed extra point, especially early in the game, often leads Dirk Koetter to chasing that PAT with two-point conversion tries.

"The extra points, that was a big thing for me last year," Catanzaro said. "I think repping it more in practice and treating it like a 33-yard field goal instead of having that label as an extra point. I think that was big for me. I think I went 29 for 29."

When you remember that the Bucs were 2-of-6 on field-goal attempts of more than 50 yards, it's a plus to know Catanzaro is 7 of 13 from 50-plus yards, including field goals of 60 and 57 yards.

"(Long-range kicking) comes with confidence and experience," Catanzaro said. "I think 2016 was really a time where in practice with Coach (Bruce) Arians and the Cardinals, we'd have situations where the offense would stall out in a two-minute situation at the 40-(yard line) and I'd be chomping at the bit saying, 'Coach, give me a shot at this.' …

"Preseason I hit a 59-yarder, preseason Game 4 against Denver. That kind of leapfrogged me in that long range. It gave me a lot of confidence. The guys were really pumped and a few weeks later I hit a 60-yarder in Buffalo. From there I have kind of gotten more comfortable from that long range. The weather is good here, it's pretty warm, so it should be conducive to pretty long kicks."

DON'T SUH THEM: It's rare when a talent such as Ndamukong Suh is released when he is still a very productive player. Pairing him with Gerald McCoy is every fantasy owner's dream. But on his way out of Miami, words like "selfish" and "introvert" were used to describe him. Here's another one: mercenary. Suh has made no secret that he's going to play for whatever team offers him one dollar more.

Considering the Bucs had too many free agents who weren't emotionally invested last season — and the fact that Suh may cost $20 million per season — the Bucs passed and it's hard to totally blame them.

LOSING THEIR EDGE? So where is the edge rusher the Bucs so desperately need? He wasn't really in free agency. There were a couple trades, with the Rams dealing Robert Quinn to Miami and Seattle trading Michael Bennett to the Eagles for mid-round picks. The Bucs weren't either able or willing to get one of those deals done.

Aside from the quarterback position, and maybe receiver, teams are becoming less and less reliant on free agency because the salary cap keeps increasing and they're locking up young players sooner and sooner. It shouldn't come as a surprise the best chance for the Bucs to improve their pass rush is in the draft.