Ravens' Justin Tucker Sends Words of Encouragement After Bye

If there's any trend the Baltimore Ravens want to change coming out of their bye week, it's the declining play of star kicker Justin Tucker.
Formerly the most accurate kicker in NFL history, Tucker has already missed a career-high 10 kicks this season, eight field goals and two extra points. His last outing against the Philadelphia Eagles was particularly brutal, as he missed two field goals and an extra point in a 24-19 defeat.
As the Ravens emerge from their extended break, Tucker simply wants to get back on the field and continue to work through his struggles.
"[I'm] ready to go," Tucker said. "It was good to get back in here first thing this morning [and] see all the guys. I was here all week, for the most part, anyways – in and out of the building. It's good to come back in and see everybody; getting in the meeting room; get out on the practice field and just get right back to work."
Head coach John Harbaugh spoke with Tucker as the Ravens returned to work on Monday, and simply said he's "in a great place."
Tucker is a future Hall of Famer for a reason, as he previously made almost any kick from almost any range. This season has obviously been very difficult for him, but he believes he and the team as a whole can still go on a run.
"I think we all understand the challenge that's ahead of us," Tucker said. "It almost doesn't make too much sense to look too far ahead and concern ourselves with the schedule – everybody's got different challenges that they're facing schedule-wise across the league.
"What we can control is how we approach our meetings today, how we approach practice and how we approach our preparation heading into this game – the most important game of the season – as far as we're concerned – we feel like that every week, but maintaining that mindset is what will serve us well down the stretch here these last several weeks of the regular season."