After 2 Preseason Games We Can Officially Say That The Buccaneers Wasted A 2nd Round Pick On A Kicker

YardBarker- Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo found kicking pretty simple in college. However, the rookie is having a rough time of it in the NFL so far, and he’s trying to take corrective measures.

Aguayo, who famously never missed an extra point or a field goal from inside 40 yards while at Florida State, has already missed two field goals and an extra point in the first two preseason games. In response, he has reached out to former NFL kicker Ryan Longwell and former Buccaneers special teams coordinator Billy Miller to help him with his mechanics. He has also contacted a mental coach, admitting that his confidence has been shaken slightly by the misses.

“I’m just focusing on relaxing and sometimes not thinking about it too much,” Aguayo said, via Roy Cummings of 620 WDAE in Tampa. “When you’re overthinking like, ‘OK, I have to do this and this and this,’ you get too many thoughts in your head. Sometimes you have to sit back and relax and just kick it. That’s the mindset going into practice and throughout this week.”



​Poor bastard never had a chance. Before we know it his NFL tombstone will read "Here Lies Robert Aguayo, Crushed By The Weight Of Never Before Seen Expectations, 2016-2016". I honestly think that when it comes to pressure it's MUCH easier to be a quarterback taking first overall than a kicker taken in the second round. That might sound ridiculous, but Robert Aguayo is already seeking THERAPY and not a single meaningful snap has been taken. I said it - slightly sarcastically - when he missed his first extra point, but it bears repeating. A kicker only gets so many chances to prove himself. The times where he is successful have to far outweigh the times in which he fails and three missed kicks in two games is a traumatic start for a position that is reliant on keeping a clear head. 

If it wasn't then the person who was nearly automatic in college wouldn't already be questioning his technique. He wouldn't already be seeking mentorship from any kicker that's ever made an NFL field goal. I honestly feel bad for him, because he hasn't played in one game where the outcome is relevant and his career in already in dire straits. It took Chuck Knoblauch like two years of launching routine ground balls into the 5th row before he had to take such extreme measures to fix his game, and Robert Aguayo is laid up on a psychologist's couch before he's even made it to the most "important" preseason game. Can you imagine the tricks his mind will be playing on him once those kicks actually effect the jobs of 53 players and over a dozen coaches? The guy's not going to get a wink of sleep on a Saturday night from September-December. He'll be seeing footballs clinking off uprights in his nightmares. He'll need an exorcism by mid-season with the amount of demons already residing in the back of his head. I am almost feel inclined to suggest retirement, but surely he'll get things back on track with like five 50+ yarders the first time he plays the Saints.