Justin Tucker is the best kicker in the NFL, but his success has revealed the Ravens offensive struggles
Not many people knew about Justin Tucker when he came into the NFL.
Like most kickers, he came into the league undrafted and had to compete for a spot during camp as a rookie. The Baltimore Ravens signed him and brought him in to compete against Billy Cundiff. Cundiff was coming off a devastating miss last season that shattered the Ravens dreams in the AFC Championship. Tucker beat out Cundiff during the offseason and earned the starting place kicker spot for the 2012 season.
Tucker had an impressive rookie year going 30/33 on field goals. His breakout moment came during the AFC Divisional playoff game against the Denver Broncos. The Ravens had completed an improbable comeback and Tucker nailed a 47-yard field goal in double overtime for the win. It was clear the rookie had ice in his veins.
Last year, Tucker had one of the best kicking seasons in NFL history. He went 38/39 on field goal attempts with the only miss coming from a block. With the extra-point moved back to the 15-yard line, Tucker went an impressive 42/42. His 89.8% career field goal accuracy and perfect extra point record makes him the most accurate kicker in NFL history, right in front of Cowboy’s kicker Dan Bailey. There really is no question he’s the best kicker in the game right now.
It’s a good and a bad thing
Is Tucker’s success all well and good for the Ravens? Yes and no. While it is great to have an automatic kicker, it’s revealed the offensive struggles of the Ravens.
During his five year career, Tucker had only kicked more than 30 extra points twice. This was in 2012 and 2014 when he kicked 42. There’s no coincidence that the Ravens had a ton of success those years, especially on the offensive side of the ball. They won the Super Bowl in 2012 and 2014 they made it to the AFC Divisional round. The other three seasons? They missed out on the playoffs.
Tucker’s accuracy is incredible, there’s no doubt about it, but one of the main reasons why he had such a good season last year was because he had to kick a ton of field goals. In the past two seasons, a lot of these have come from long range. During the Ravens best offensive season with Tucker kicking in 2014, he only attempted 13 field goals from 40+ yards. In the past two seasons he’s averaged over 20. This has come from the reliance of the offense on his leg.
Relying on Tucker too much
When you have an automatic kicker like Justin Tucker, you are going to rely on him. Sometimes, it’s more than you want to as an offense. If you watched the Ravens offense last season, you saw this kind of reliance. At points, it was like the offense played for a field goal. The lack urgency and fire power to score touchdowns just wasn’t there.
The Ravens ranked 19 out of all 32 teams in Red Zone efficiency when it came to scoring touchdowns. They finished the season with a 52.17% success rate. So about half the time the Ravens made it inside the 20-yard line, they scored a touchdown. Want to take a guess at who led the league in most field goals made per game? That’s right, the Ravens were with an average of 2.4 per game. They’ve been in the top 10 of this category since Tucker entered the league in 2012. They only averaged 1.9 touchdowns per game last season. You cannot win as a team if your offense is making more field goals than scoring touchdowns.
I think most Ravens fans can agree that Justin Tucker was the primary scoring option last season. The offense could never seem to find a rhythm. There were inconsistencies in the run and pass game, so the offense relied on the only consistent scoring option and that was the kicker. Tucker’s career long is 61 yards, but he’s made field goals from 70+ in warm-ups and in practice. The Ravens joked about letting Tucker kicked from 70+, but with the struggles last season, they probably would have done it.
Next: 2017 Baltimore Ravens: Top 5 most exciting players
The Bottom Line
There’s nothing bad to take away from Justin Tucker’s NFL career, he’s an incredible kicker. He’s become an all-time fan favorite with his celebrations and accuracy on the field. Obviously you can’t ask him stop kicking so many field goals, he’s doing all he can with the opportunities that he’s been given. It’s on the Ravens offense to start scoring touchdowns. This starts with offensive coordinator Marty Morhinweg on the sidelines and Joe Flacco on the field. If the Ravens want to get back to the success they had, things have to be different this season.