Arizona Cardinals: Do not place full blame on kicking

Arizona Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro had a tough 2016 season but lack of winning not all his fault

Over the past couple of days I’ve had a lot of debate with Arizona Cardinals fans about kicker Chandler Catanzaro. Let’s face it, he had a rough 2016.

There is no sugar coating it. Catanzaro missed field goals against the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks in Glendale cost the Cardinals two victories.

He wasn’t the only reason why the Cardinals failed to win those games however. Against the Patriots, maybe some defense and not having to play from behind would have not put the team in a position to rely on a game-winning field goal in the first place?

Against the Seahawks, he certainly had his chances. He had a field goal blocked and missed a chip shot that would have won the game. Why didn’t the Cardinals just punch it in from the one on third down in overtime?

We could argue the game against the Miami Dolphins was another struggle for Cat-Man and was a reason why they lost that December afternoon. The Cardinals had a lot of other issues that day though.

Lack of offense at times, defense others plus injuries certainly helped with the failed expectations in 2016. The holder and long-snapper are certainly not fault-less either.

People forget that Catanzaro actually won two games with his leg. He kicked game winners against the San Francisco 49ers in Glendale and then on Christmas Eve in Seattle. Miss those two kicks, give the Cardinals two more losses. As I told a good guy in our debate, it goes both ways.

Earlier this week I wrote a piece on 10 players who need to fight for their jobs in training camp. Catanzaro is one of them. He needs competition. He needs a challenge.

More from Raising Zona

Catanzaro had no challengers in training camp last season. He was given a pass and just sailed on into the season. He was never close to being replaced.

The thing is, sure there are the Robbie Gould’s out there but there is a reason he stayed unemployed. If there was someone better than Cat-Man, they would have gone out and got him.

I know what you are thinking, draft Arizona State’s Zane Gonzalez. No. While there is no argument that he is an excellent kicker, the Cardinals have other positions that need greater attention give free agency and lack of depth.

I get it. He’s a local guy and the best kicker coming out of college. No. I debated another fine gentleman today about this. He thought Cards should draft him in second round. No.

Someone will draft him, no doubt. Rember Roberto Aguayo? After being picked in the second round of the 2016 draft, he struggled last season. He was 22-31 on field goals. That’s a 71 percent completion percentage. He was 32-34 on extra points.

As for Catanzaro? He went 21-28 on field goals, a 75 percent completion percentage. He did go just 43-47 on extra points.

The point is, the grass isn’t always greener on the other side no matter how much nice it looks from your vantage point. Catanzaro may not be around much longer if the struggles continue into the 2017 season but the Cardinals are going to give him every chance to succeed. Get used to it.

Home/Cardinals News