Does WFT Trust Its Kicker?
It's no secret that fans have been frustrated by the kicking woes this preseason for the Washington Football Team.
In three preseason games against the New England Patriots, Cincinnati Bengals and Baltimore Ravens, WFT veteran kicker Dustin Hopkins made missed three field goals. He was only 4 of 7, including two misses against the Patriots in Week 1 another against the Ravens last Saturday.
Head coach Ron Rivera has mostly blamed Hopkins' inconsistency on the "operation", which features a rookie long-snapper Camaron Cheeseman.
Still, for a coach so determined to create competition it was surprising Rivera didn't do so for arguably one of the most important positions on the team. With cuts ocurring throughout the NFL Tuesday, perhaps the team will get a second chance to get it right because the WFT neighbor to the north has waived a pretty impressive young prospect at the same position.
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Washington fans might remember Jake Verity as the rookie kicking all those extra points through the uprights in FedEx Field last weekend. He was the one doing it in a Ravens uniform.
To be exact, Verity made four of his five extra-point attempts to go along with a 25-yard field goal, giving him four more points than the entire WFT squad.
For the preseason, Verity finished four of five on field goals and six of seven on extra points. More up than down, while also getting comfortable with new processes in his new team's kicking mechanics.
To add some seasoning to the potential intrigue, Verity made all three of his attempts from 40+ yards, including a 53-yarder.
All signs point to Rivera not wanting to bring in competition for Hopkins, who has made 84% of his career field goals and was named NFC Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in WFT's upset of the previously undefeated Pittsburgh Steelers last December. But if he was going to do it, Verity might just be the guy worth bringing in.
