FOXBORO – Be careful what you wish for, large swath of Patriots devotees and observers.
Because now that Stephen Gostkowski is on IR, you get to see what your long-awaited life without him will look like.
Don’t say, “Me?! I hated when he missed but I know it’s a scary world out there…”
I have the evidence. You wanted him to not be making with the kicking anymore. Lots of you.
The latest Twitter search results for “Stephen Gostkowski, cut.” My favorite: “Stephen Gostkowski trash smh he finna be cut soon”
The latest Twitter search results for “Stephen Gostkowski, ass." My favorite: “Stephen Gostkowski misses another chip shot, I’m trying to listen to the late Dimebag Darrell’s guitar solos and I get this shit, either the Patriots reacquire Ryan Allen or Jake Bailey gets his head out of his ass”
The latest Twitter search results for “Stephen Gostkowski, sucks”
My favorite: “Gostkowski sucks that’s on god”
I, meanwhile, have been a diligent backer of Stephen Gostkowski. One of my favorite stories of 2018 came during training camp last July. The headline was: Are Patriots fans wishing away the final years of a kicking savant?
I alleged in that column that Gostkowski’s biggest sin was that he wasn’t Adam Vinatieri. Even though, as I pointed out then, Gostkowski was a two-time All-Pro and a four-time Pro Bowler who’d made 340 of 388 field goals and 593 of 599 PATs in 13 seasons, he never had the watershed moments Vinatieri did.
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In fact, he had ignominious moments in the postseason. Right from the start. Through no fault of his own. In 2007, Bill Belichick eschewed a 48-yard field goal attempt in SB42 in favor of a fourth-and-13 fling to nowhere by Tom Brady.
In 2015, Gostkowski missed a PAT in the AFC Championship at Denver breaking his NFL record streak of made PATs. That was the first year the NFL switched to 33-yard PATs from the almost-impossible-to-miss 19-yarder it had for years. The cruel irony was that Belichick led the charge for the lengthened PAT and then his team paid the price for it, losing 20-18 to Denver when their two-point conversion attempt at the gun failed.
Gostkowski also missed a PAT in Super Bowl 51 against the Falcons, forcing the Patriots to chase the lost points with two-point tries. Following the PAT miss, he bungled an onsides kick.
He hit the left upright from 26 yards in Super Bowl 52 against Philly.
But last year, he finally had his Super Bowl moment. After missing his first kick against the Rams from 46, Gostkowski hit from 42 and – with 1:12 remaining – made a 41-yarder to seal the Patriots win.
But Labor Day didn’t even get here before the anti-Gostkowskovites were rummaging for their torches and pitchforks.
Gostkowski missed three field goals in the preseason. Then he missed four PATs in the first four games and almost hit a cheerleader with a field goal attempt from 48 (hyperbole …). All told, he went 30 for 38 on his kicks in eight games in 2019.
And that’s erratic for a guy who – from 2013 to 2015 – was the best kicker in football alongside Justin Tucker. Gostkowski will be 36 in January. Whether he ever kicks for the Patriots again or not is a discussion for another day.
But right now, the Patriots are sailing into the special teams unknown. This franchise has only known two full-time placekickers since 1996 – Vinatieri and Gostkowski.
Yes, Shayne Graham came in and kicked for a while when Gostkowski was lost in 2010, but we all knew Gostkowski would be back. Now, that’s no sure thing.
And if you’ve been watching PATs and field goals through the cracks between your fingers for the past three seasons with Stephen Gostkowski doing the kicking, chances are good you are about to start covering your eyes completely.
The kicking devil you knew was almost assuredly better than the kicking devil you didn’t know. Especially when the leaves fall, the wind howls and the snow piles up.
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