Elam attempts a missed FG in Week 8, (AP Photo/Bill Feig)
When you've kicked in the NFL for 17 years, you're bound to miss a few. But Jason Elam's current cold streak has put him on pace to have a career-worst season.
It isn't just a slump, it's game-changing misses for Elam, one of the reasons for Atlanta's 5-5 record, having lost four out of their last five.
The last two weeks have been especially difficult for the Atlanta native. His misses in losses to the Carolina Panthers and the New York Giants were keys to the games' final outcomes. For Elam, considered one of the game's all-time great kickers, it's as bad as it's ever been.
"I've played 17 years and there have been hiccups at various times, but I’ve always been able to kick myself out of them," Elam said on Wednesday, surrounded by local media. "Hopefully that’s going to be the case in this case, but it’s frustrating. I will be the first to admit that; I’m very frustrated. But, I’m trying to correct it.”
With six missed field goals through 10 games this season, the Falcons finally decided to see what else was available. On Tuesday they brought in four kickers for tryouts, including former University of Georgia's Brandon Coutu. Elam, no stranger to the business of the NFL, said he was surprised it took them so long.
“To be honest with you I thought they were going to do that a couple of weeks ago," the three-time Pro Bowler said. "I really don’t know what to say, I’m kind of at a loss for words too. There’s nothing I can say. This is a results based business and I haven’t been getting my part done. Your job is always on the line no matter who you are and what you’re doing. I understand that completely. I’m going to keep swinging and try to get myself out of this.”
None of the four kickers were signed, which signaled Atlanta felt Elam, despite his struggles, was still the better option. Head Coach Mike Smith echoed those feelings in his comments following Wednesday's practice.
"Jason is our kicker right now," said Smith. "We were doing our due diligence. We had some kickers in to evaluate. We made an evaluation with those kickers and the decision was made that Jason's going to be our kicker."
Elam's troubles haven't appeared to be all mental. On a field goal attempt late in the fourth quarter against the Carolina Panthers in Week 10, a field goal that would have given Atlanta the lead, there appeared to be timing issues between the long snapper Bryan Pittman's snap, holder Michael Koenen and the beginning of Elam's kicking sequence.
Pittman was brought into Atlanta just two weeks before, after the team placed 11-year veteran (in his third season with the Falcons) snapper and 2005 Pro Bowler Mike Schneck on injured reserve.
The timing issue came up again in last week's loss to the New York Giants, missing a 35-yard, game-tying attempt. Elam has yet to place any blame on the Pittman or even his holder, Koenen, instead opting to continue focusing on what he can do to correct the issues.
“Well I think that the best thing that I can do is just look at it and see how I can handle my end of it," said Elam. "I have gone back and looked at the film and there’s some technique issues that I need to fix on my behalf. I have gone back and looked at film from earlier in my career. I’ve looked at all kinds of stuff to try and figure this out, but we’re going to keep on swinging. I’m doing everything I can to make it right, but I need to step up and be accountable for it.”
To Elam's credit, he's owned up to his gaffes each time they've occurred, facing the media following the game to discuss his troubles. He's yet to point fingers, assuming all the blame for not only missed kicks, but also lost football games. His teammates haven't publically expressed any concern for him. They recognize that while players strive to be perfect, it rarely happens.
Wide receiver Roddy White has faced his own struggles, dealing with dropped passes earlier in his career that often came at inopportune times. White can relate and said he's not worried about his kicker's ability to bounce back.
"That guy has a 90 percent record of making kicks, so he makes a lot of them," said White. He’s going to do his thing. People don’t realize that field goal operation is from snapper to holder to kicker. We just all have to get on the same page. It’s just like on offense: from O-line to the quarterback to the route running. Everything is off of execution. So you have to go through everything and see what’s wrong with the field goals and take it from there. I think that he’s doing a good job and he’s going to continue to make kicks, especially when we need them.”
11-year veteran linebacker Mike Peterson knows the team's kicker is struggling, but said his role as a leader of the team is to ensure negativity doesn't permeate not only the locker room but his teammate's (in this case, Elam) mind. He doesn't want Elam to begin to doubt that his locker room has lost faith in him.
"When I'm going on the field, if he missed a kick, I'm letting him know we're behind him 100%," Peterson said. "We're teammates. We are a family. We believe in him. That's what we're supposed to do. He's going to hear all the negative from the media and everybody outside of football and outside this locker room. My job as one of the leaders and one of the older guys on the team is to let him know we're there for him regardless."
Despite the costly misses, the Atlanta Falcons have openly shown consistent support of their kicker. It's a position group that is often stereotypically left out of the typical locker room camaraderie, but that doesn't appear to be the case with Elam and the Falcons. In their words, he's a teammate struggling and they're going to support him as he works through it, the same treatment they'd expect for themselves.
But if the misses continue, Atlanta already has some kickers on speed dial.
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