Catanzaro, Cardinals’ special teams not so special in loss to Seahawks

GLENDALE, Ariz. — Special teams is the often understated third phase of football.

Generally, fans only think about kickers, punters and return men when they do something really good or, as it can also be, something really bad.

In Sunday’s 36-6 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Arizona Cardinals’ special teams was on the wrong side of the coin.

Arizona allowed Seattle rookie Tyler Lockett to gain 139 yards on four punt returns — with a long of 66 yards — allowing the speedster to continually flip the field and put Arizona’s defense in tough spots.

“He just looked unstoppable,” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said of Lockett. “That’s a bunch of guys working together to get that done. Tyler will be the first to tell you that. It was a tremendous effort by our guys and I’m really proud. It really kind of led to the fire of the game. We kept getting field position and taking advantage of it.”

How did it happen?

“Missed tackles,” Cardinals coach Bruce Arians explained. “Lockett’s a good, little returner. We kicked the ball really, really well, and we just didn’t get down there to make the tackles.”

Drew Butler, the Cardinals’ punter, averaged 47.3 yards on his six punts, but had a net average of just 24.2 yards per boot due to Lockett’s returns.

“Drew,” Arians asked when asked if he was happy how Butler performed. “Yeah, I think Drew kicked the **** out of the ball.”

The coach noted there was no plan in place to necessarily kick the ball away from Lockett, who entered the game 15th in the NFL in total punt return yardage and 21st in average yards per return, with 6.7.

“Yeah, just kick it as high, and he had plenty of hang time,” Arians said. “We were down there, we just missed the tackles.”

That’s exactly how Arizona’s Pro Bowl special teams star Justin Bethel saw it.

“He’s a great returner, obviously,” he said. “I think we just weren’t in the right place, didn’t have good net coverage. He was able to pretty much just run right down the middle.”

Incidentally, the other special teams woes Arizona suffered through Sunday involved kicker Chandler Catanzaro, who was unable to kick the ball right down the middle of the uprights.

The second-year pro missed an extra point in the second quarter — his fifth missed PAT of the season — and hit the left upright on a 51-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first half.

Arians was asked if he is concerned about Catanzaro’s recent struggles on PATs, as three of his misses have come over the last six games.

“Yeah, every time he kicks one I hold my breath,” he said. “So I’ll be holding my breath every time he kicks one in the playoffs.”

The coach said he’s not sure if it’s a mental issue for Catanzaro, noting the former Clemson Tiger has all the talent in the world.

“Ask him if it’s mental,” he said.

So, is it mental, is there a common thread to be found in the misses?

“I just feel really sick right now,” Catanzaro said. “It’s not representative of how hard I work and my preparation. Yeah, I just feel really sick right now. That’s not me. Five extra points, there’s no excuse for that — I don’t care what distance they are.

“I didn’t help the team today. All of those are on me, it is my fault. I just have to grow from it.”

Catanzaro added it does not define him as a person or as a kicker, that one kick does not tell his story. However, he said he needs to move past it and get better.

As for the specific misses Sunday, he said he felt like he rushed the PAT a little bit but felt really good about the field goal when it left his foot.

Still, with only two unsuccessful attempts to base his day off of, Catanzaro is understandably feeling pretty down about things.

However, the Cardinals have seen him come through in the past — he hit game-winning field goals against the Cincinnati Bengals and Minnesota Vikings, after all, so it is only fair to put Sunday’s performance into the context that is his season and has been his career.

That will be easier said than done for Catanzaro, though, who said he is still confident in himself.

“It is going to take a couple of days to wash this off,” he said. “I feel pretty sick about it. I am just excited to help my team in the playoffs as much as I can.”

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