The NFL is a wild ride. One day, a player might be feeling great and playing to perfection, and the next day, they may be in a horrific slump. One Baltimore Ravens rookie is already going through these struggles, and it's causing some worry among fans.
Kicker Tyler Loop is replacing one of the greatest kickers in NFL history–Justin Tucker. The pressure is at an all-time high. Any rookie tasked with replacing a Hall of Fame caliber player would be under duress, but when you’re a kicker, that’s amplified by 100.
Jeff Zrebic, a reporter covering the Ravens for The Athletic, mentioned Loop struggled in Wednesday’s practice. He hit just five of his nine field goal attempts, and all those misses came from 50-plus yards out. He also had a streak of three straight misses. His longest-made kick on the day was from 56 yards. The rest were well within the 50-yard mark.
Tyler Loop is already enduring a rough patch
Coming out of Arizona, Loop was known for his booming leg. He showed he can hit from just about anywhere in college, and he’s already proved it during offseason activities. However, Wednesday’s practice was horrendous for the 23-year-old. While it’s one bad day, the urgency to replace Tucker might cause some uproar from the media.
This practice is coming off a career day from Loop. He starred in Friday’s practice last week when he hit all six field goal attempts. The highlight of this perfect outing was an impressive strike from 60 yards out. He’s shown the capability to match the range of any other kicker in the NFL, and one practice shouldn’t change the tone after being showered with praise a week ago.
The question is how Loop will respond to this abysmal showing. Half the battle in the NFL is mental, especially for special teamers. For kickers, there’s a constant routine that they’ve perfected up to their professional career. However, the environment from the collegiate to the NFL level is entirely different.
Sometimes, kickers lose confidence after a few poor reps, and their mentality takes a hit, as a result, which could cause a barrage of misses. If Loop can’t win the mental battle in the NFL, it’d be bad news for his Ravens career. We’ve seen kickers fall off a cliff after missing kicks in the most prominent moments, and while it’s just OTAs, Loop needs to prove he can bounce back, and the coming weeks are the perfect opportunity to do so.
The former Arizona Wildcat has all the makings to become the next great Ravens kicker. While Wednesday’s outing is concerning, there are still a lot of trials and tribulations that Loop will need to go through before unlocking his full potential. John Harbaugh and Randy Brown have an enormous amount of faith in the rookie, and there should be no reason for fans and analysts to lose belief in him ahead of his rookie campaign.
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