NASHVILLE – The Tennessee Titans have a very proud tradition of successful kickers that dates to their former days as the Houston Oilers, with the memorable names since the 1990s going from Al Del Greco to Joe Nedney to Rob Bironas to Ryan Succop.
That’s what makes this season so very surprising.
The Titans are on their third kicker of 2019 and already have missed eight field-goal attempts through 10 games to match the team’s most since 2004; they also reached that dubious mark in 2001. They are last in the NFL this season when it comes to field-goal success, having converted just 46.7% of their 15 attempts.
While the Titans may be the worst, they’re certainly not alone in their frustration. The New York Jets are on their fourth kicker, and teams across the league are struggling to put the ball between the uprights, with the 79.7% conversion rate on field goals through Week 11 the NFL’s lowest number since 2003, when kickers hit 79.2% and missed 198 attempts, according to SportRadar.
“It’s probably just one of those years,” Titans special teams coach Craig Aukerman said. “Obviously, we’re not up to what we expect, but I just think it’s one of those years that it’s just been down. I mean, it’s hard kicking in the NFL. … Now are they all professional athletes and they should make them? Yes, no doubt. But next year it’ll probably go back up.”