Patriots Place Gostkowski On Injured/Reserved List

Being a place kicker in football is akin to being a professional golfer, so far as mechanics are involved. The swing of a leg, the swing of a club, there is really no difference. Hook, fade, both practice their trade for years before emerging from the pack to become professionals.

Both must be physically sound to invoke their craft, as one defect in their physiology can throw off those mechanics, causing inaccuracy. Just ask Tiger Woods, who was the best golfer that many of us have ever seen, but knee and back issues robbed him of his edge, and he slid back into the pack.

New England Patriots' place kicker Stephen Gostkowski, the best, most accurate kicker in team history began this 2019 NFL season by missing four extra point attempts in as many games, pushing each of those misses to his right, much like a golfer would when attempting to fade a shot from the rough at a right angle.

And those all came from the left hash. So to push a ball that far to the right on a regular basis meant either rookie punter Jake Bailey was defective on his holds or Gostkowski's mechanics were being thrown off by some malady.

Never before had Gostkowski missed that many extra point attempts in a season, let alone in a quarter of a season, and he took many brutal shots to his position, with the media writing the eulogy to his career, never bothering to find out if he was injured in some manner - because it doesn't matter.

In the football arena, nothing matters but doing one's job and doing it right. It's a harsh, very impersonal reality, but if the entire purpose of playing football is to win, there are no excuses for not winning. If a player cannot perform his job well enough to win, then he shouldn't be playing.

Gostkowski was apparently working through a hip injury to his plant leg when, during the game at Buffalo, he zigged when a kick returner zagged on a kickoff return, leaving him prone on the carpet, his injury now exasperated enough for head ball coach Bill Belichick to call in five free agent kickers for harried auditions and to place the Patriots' all-time leading scorer on the shelf...

...settling on former Oakland Raider kicker Mike Nugent to stem the tide for the rest of the season while Gostkowski undergoes the knife.

It remains to be seen if the kicker that his Patriots' teammates affectionately call "Meat" will be able to make a comeback next season at age 37, his left hip now invaded by surgical tools. If not, count on New England to entertain kickers through the draft process and free agency.