Last week’s roaster shake-ups saw the Jacksonville Jaguars cut two kickers who had looked promising in preseason action. They would go on to sign one of them, rookie James McCourt, back to the practice squad, but the team would eventually decide to rely on new acquisition Riley Patterson for full-time help at the position.
Special teams coordinator Heath Farwell was asked about the Jaguars’ situation at kicker on Thursday and told reporters that he was more than comfortable with his staff’s decision to roll with Patterson in Week 1.
“I’ve got a ton of confidence,” Farwell said about his new kicker. “He’s done a great job since he’s been here. He started out the first two practices 10 of 11. He did a really, really good job, exactly what we thought he’d do. Yesterday wasn’t as good, but that’s what practice is for. So much of getting him caught of to speed of the timing, the timing aspect of our snapper, with Logan’s (P Logan Cooke) holds, what does that look like, when does he leave?
“I say when does he leave, I mean when does he approach the ball? You’re talking 1.2, seconds to get there and get the kick off, so we’re just working through that timing of it. Nothing but confidence in him. I think he’s going to do a fantastic job. We’re kicking again today, so that’ll be good to get one more look at it before Sunday.”
There will be no true way to prepare Patterson for the rigors of a season spent starting in the NFL, even as a kicker. The precision that will be necessary to survive the year is going to be overwhelmingly demanding at times, and without any teammates to lean on as a safety net, he will need to be nails from his opening kickoff to the final field goal attempt of his season.