<a href="https://www.archysport.com/2022/02/nfl-spectacular-end-to-the-game-at-the-superdome/" title="NFL: spectacular end to the game at the Superdome”>Younghoe Koo, a Korean kicker for the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL), faced his worst slump since joining the team.
Koo Young-hoe attempted four field goals in an away game against the New Orleans Saints on the 11th (Korean time), and succeeded only once.
This is the first time in his career that he has missed three goals in one game. Once it went off to the side, once it was blocked by the opponent’s defense, and once it hit the goal post and bounced off. I experienced almost all the nightmares that can be experienced as a kicker all at once.
With this game, the kick success rate this season dropped significantly to 70.8% (17/24). This is the worst performance since joining Atlanta in 2019.
In the game against New Orleans in Week 4, there were times when he was a major contributor to the victory by successfully making all four kicks, including the final field goal, but now he is in the exact opposite situation. Of the last 15 kick attempts, only 8 have been successful.
In an interview with local media after the game, Koo Young-hoe said, “Today’s game was lost because of me. It’s not okay. Our team played well enough to win the game. And I let the team down. “I will never take this lightly,” he said, blaming himself.
Coach Raheem Morris expressed his trust in him. In an interview with local media such as Atlanta Falcons.com on the 13th, he supported Koo Young-hoe, saying, “He is a player with a tough mentality.”
Morris said, “Koo Younghoe is a sharp and focused player. He is a player who is ready to give his team victory on the field at any time. If there had been more opportunities, it would have allowed him to fly and given him a chance to salvage his struggles. “I still have strong confidence in him,” he said, expressing his thoughts on Koo Young-hoe.
Atlanta Falcons.com introduced Coach Morris’s comments and also introduced an interesting history. In 2008, when Morris was the defensive backs coach in Tampa Bay, Matt Bryant, a die-hard kicker, was in a slump, missing six field goals. Morris, who took over as head coach of Tampa Bay ahead of the 2009 season, eventually released Bryant, who was suffering from injuries.
Afterwards, Bryant transferred to Atlanta on waiver claim during the 2009 season, and served as the team’s starting kicker for the next 11 seasons.
Falcons.com then introduced that the path Younghoe Koo has taken so far is no different from this. Koo Young-hoe, who played as a kicker at Georgia Southern University, joined the LA Chargers in 2017, but was unable to overcome a slump at the beginning of the season and was released midway through. He then joined Atlanta during the 2019 season, replacing Bryant as the starting kicker. He has a field goal percentage of 87.5% in six seasons in Atlanta.
Falcons.com said: ‘So far the numbers don’t help change the status quo, but history is full of lessons. Coach Morris commented, “I worked with two of the best turnarounds a kicker can make.”
Morris said, “Stephen Curry doesn’t change his role just because he missed some 3-point shots. “We love Koo Young-hoe and what he can do,” he said, once again expressing his confidence in Koo Young-hoe.
[피츠버그(미국)= 김재호 MK스포츠 특파원]
