The Atlanta Falcons have their kicker's back.
The Atlanta Falcons are heading into Week 2 and have a challenging test on their hands with the Carolina Panthers coming to town for a divisional showdown which is always a tight game.
Unfortunately, Week 1 did not go the way anyone was hoping for on the road against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Quarterback and the mess that is currently going on at the most important position is all the fanbase seems to be discussing right now, but another reason they were unable to win was a lack of execution on special teams.
Veteran Nick Folk -- who has been one of the most accurate kickers in football over the last couple of years -- missed two kicks and had folks panicking that his time as an elite kicker had passed him by. Folk was able to make two later in the game though, and by the sounds of it, Atlanta's coaching staff has his back fully.
Falcons Have Folk's Back After Rough Afternoon
"Nick’s not going to be perfect this year. I don’t expect him to be perfect. I don’t expect our football team to be perfect," head coach Kevin Stefanski said Thursday. "But you want your guys to respond to it, so I know he’ll respond."
"He's extremely accurate. Uncharacteristic of him missing those field goals," special teams coordinator Craig Aukerman added while saying he thinks Folk simply pushed a couple of kicks right.
In NFL games, especially divisional ones like Atlanta is facing in Week 2 against Carolina, the margins are absolutely razor thin, and with the situation at quarterback being what it is for this team, they need to convert on every possible scoring chance.
Two missed field goals are not something the Falcons can overcome right now, so when Folk does get his chances on Sunday, Atlanta absolutely needs him to convert on them. Clearly, there is a whole lot of faith in the building that this is exactly what he is going to do.
If Folk can come back and have a nice bounce back afternoon, it will go a long way towards giving this team a real chance to win. On the flip side, another ugly day for the veteran and not only are the Falcons a whole lot more likely to lose, but Folk's job could be in jeopardy as well.
He has responded to adversity well throughout his career though, and chances are Folk is gonna get this figured out.
