Catanzaro has Arians’ support, is confident better days ahead
Dec 20, 2016, 5:11 PM | Updated: 5:11 pm
(AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
TEMPE, Ariz. — Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro’s season has not been a good one, especially when compared to his first two in the NFL.
Yet, even after Sunday’s game in which he missed a 55-yard field goal attempt as well as an extra point, Arizona head coach Bruce Arians offered support for his player.
“It’s mostly three different holders. That enters the psyche part,” Arians said. “I’ve said it before, having a son who had been a kicker in the NFL, the holder is more important than the snapper, especially if you’re looking at the spot. You have to trust the guy.
“Doing it in practice is one thing, but in the speed of the game, everything speeds up a little bit. Give him the benefit of the doubt, because in Miami we were working two holders to see who was going to punt. Now we switched the holders on him again. That’s not easy for a kicker.”
Arians’ son Jake kicked for the Buffalo Bills in 2001, making 12-of-21 field goals and 16-of-17 PATs.
“It’s helped a bunch,” he said of his son’s experience kicking. “Just dealing with kickers my entire career, but having a son that was one who knows the psyche of a kicker has helped me a bunch — how to handle them, how to speak to them, and what’s important and what’s not important.”
Asked if he still believes in Catanzaro, Arians said yes, noting the third-year pro is “a talented guy.”
That support, Catanzaro said, is great.
“B.A.’s always been one guy to keep it real, and I love playing for him, it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “We don’t talk too much but when he does say something to me, it’ll be something like, ‘Cat, I know you’re better than this, you’re better than what you’re showing,’ and I appreciate that because I draw confidence from that, I’m like yeah, he’s right.
“I’m not showing off my talent on the field, so he’s always kept it real with me and I appreciate that. I just told him that I appreciate the opportunity and hopefully finish these two games strong and see what happens.”
This season, Catanzaro has made 16-of-22 field goal attempts (72.7 percent) as well as 34-of-38 PATs. As a rookie, he converted on 87.9 percent of his field goal attempts, and last year he made good on 90.3 percent.
So yes, he has been better than this.
As for what’s gone wrong, Catanzaro said it has been a challenge working with three different holders (and two different long-snappers), but did not want to place blame there.
“They’ve all come in and done a great job,” he said. “I’ve tried to just get as comfortable as I can with them during the week, and it’s been tough, to trust on a game day.
“That’s not on the snappers and holders at all, because like I’ve said, they’ve done a great job.”
Catanzaro pointed out how there are many things that have to go right for a kick to be successful, and over time he has learned how he likes the ball to be placed.
“Each holder that’s come in, they’ve done a good job of adjusting to what I kind of tell them, and they’ve done a good job of that,” he said. “I think the tempo is a big thing, and I think the tempo — it’s felt a little off — and I think it’s just all the changes.
“I’m just trying to focus on my process and trusting my process and just do my best out there.”
It’s not quite that simple.
Part of the problem for Catanzaro, besides the fact that he has missed field goals at a higher rate, is that some of his misses have come in big spots.
There was the 47-yard attempt that could have won the season opener against New England as well as a 24-yard kick that would have beaten the Seattle Seahawks in overtime. Then a couple weeks ago in Miami, he missed a game-tying PAT in the first quarter and then a 41-yard attempt in the second. He had a later PAT blocked and returned for two points by the Dolphins in a game the Cardinals lost by three.
But while Catanzaro has had his own issues, as Arians said, circumstances around the kicker have not been ideal.
Part of the 25-year-old’s growth as a professional involves not letting outside factors bother him.
“Kind of learning the right attitude to have throughout the highs and lows, because it is a highs and lows business, especially with my job,” he said.
A restricted free agent after the season, it would not be a shock to see the Cardinals at least bring in some offseason competition for Catanzaro.
But whether that happens or not, and no matter who the snapper or holder are, he said he will continue to do what he has always tried to do, and that is to focus on what he can control.
“I have to just keep believing that,” he said. “People don’t see it this way, but I really have done my best and the statistics this year aren’t a reflection of my work that I’ve put into it and my effort. I feel bad for the guys, like I’ve said before, but I’m just trying to push through this and I know it’s only going to get better.”