Aug 20, 2016; Jacksonville, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo (19) reacts after missing a field goal during the first quarter of a football game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at EverBank Field. Photo Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports
TAMPA, Fla. — Struggling Tampa Bay Buccaneers kicker Roberto Aguayo said he needs to stop “over-thinking” his mechanics during field goal and extra point tries.
The second-round pick from Florida State missed a 32-yard field goal attempt during the Bucs’ opening drive on Saturday and later a 49-yard kick in a 27-21 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars. He went 3-for-3 on extra points and connected on two other field goal tries in two games.
Aguayo said he would consult a “mental coach” with IMG, the agency which represents him.
“At the end of the day, they’re both misses,” Aguayo said Monday. “There are some makes where I didn’t hit it well. At the end of the day, you got to have the makes.
“It’s all good. You guys have a job to have media coverage. At the end of the day, with my whole career and what I’ve done, misses are rare with me. Like I said, there are a lot of people that miss sometimes. I miss at practice sometimes. It is what it is. There’s a lot of pressure on me, so if you guys come to be after a miss, it’s news I guess you could say.”
Aguayo said he hopes to iron out his problems in practice this week. The Bucs begin joint workouts with the Cleveland Browns on Tuesday.
“I would say … just focusing on relaxing and not trying to do too much,” Aguayo said. “Over-thinking and think I did this and I need to do this and this. You get too many thoughts in your head. Sometimes you got to sit back and relax and just kick it. So that’s the mindset going into practice and this week.
“In times like this, it builds you up so down the road in the future you can be stronger. So you’ve got to have times like this when you struggle a little bit at a time when everything else is good.”
Aguayo never missed inside the 40-yard line in college. He has missed two kicks inside the 40-yard line already with the Bucs, including an extra point try.
“Going through high schools, there were times I had some down times,” Aguayo said. “But you’ve got to embrace it. There are times when things don’t go your way and you’ve got to embrace it. It’s a tough situation. (I’m) talking to myself just to move on and get better. That’s what practice is for. You’ve got to find a way.”
On Monday, coach Dirk Koetter told players he would end practice 10 minutes early if Aguayo made a field goal attempt from more than 50 yards. The kick was good and he was mobbed by teammates.
