It doesn’t take long for a kicker to go from hero to goat.
46-year-old Saints kicker John Carney was an inspirational story last week after converting three kicks, but now he’s feeling some heat. Carney missed a 29-yard field goal against the Cardinals Sunday, which changed the complexion of the game.
This miss shouldn’t be a huge shock. Carney missed three field goals out of eight last year that were between 30-39 yards. He didn’t convert two extra points. James Varney of the New Orleans Times-Picayune says coach Sean Payton “hinted” the team again faced a dilemma of going with Garrett Hartley or Carney at kicker next week.
“Listen, that was part of a number of things,” Payton said about the missed kick. “That’s three points. Obviously, we’ve go to, after five games, be able to make these field goals when we’re in the position to make them. That’s one aspect now, no different than the red zone, no different than the turnovers. We had four of those today. So it’s one part of a lot, and you know that’s something we have to improve on as well.”