Ravens’ Record-Setting Tucker Embraces The Spotlight

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OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — For Justin Tucker, fitting successful isn’t a problem.

“You’ve ne'er seen a kicker marque truthful overmuch sound successful a squad room,” said antiaircraft lineman Calais Campbell, Tucker’s teammate with the Baltimore Ravens. “In the meetings, usually they effort to beryllium seen, not heard successful that environment, but Tuck is truthful comfortable. He’s a large jokester. He’s ever keeping it light, keeping it amusive successful there.”

Tucker has bully crushed for that benignant of confidence. If it wasn’t evident already, his 66-yard tract goal to bushed Detroit last play solidified Tucker’s presumption arsenic a morganatic NFL star. Kickers don’t often scope that level of prominence, but the Ravens person understood for a portion conscionable however invaluable helium is.

“I haven’t seen immoderate feline similar this guy. He’s different,” peculiar teams coordinator Chris Horton said. “He’s a antithetic breed of guy. Nothing fazes him.”

A batch of factors person to travel unneurotic for a record-breaking footwear similar Tucker’s. Even if idiosyncratic is susceptible of making a tract extremity from that distance, coaches aren’t anxious to effort it unless the timepiece is moving down — and adjacent then, there’s sometimes the hazard of a return.

Still, erstwhile Tucker set the NFL record with his 66-yarder, it felt similar his vocation had been gathering toward this moment.

Tucker has made 90.6% of his tract extremity attempts successful his career, the champion people successful NFL history, and he’s proven helium has plentifulness of range. In 2013 astatine Detroit, helium won a crippled with a 61-yard tract goal. What was singular astir that footwear was that it occurred with 38 seconds remaining. The Ravens had Tucker footwear from the midfield logo alternatively of trying to beforehand the shot closer.

So 66 yards wasn’t that acold fetched, though Tucker did miss from 65 successful a 2018 crippled against the Chargers. On Sunday, helium utilized a longer run-up to the shot than normal, and his footwear bounced disconnected the crossbar and done to triumph the game.

“It’s thing I’ve really started doing wrong the past year,” Tucker said. “As I’m becoming much and much of a dinosaur successful this league astatine 31 years old, I’ve got to bash each small happening I tin to get the shot to spell conscionable a small spot farther.”

Although Tucker tin gag astir his property arsenic a 10-year veteran, there’s each denotation he’s inactive successful his prime. He has made 49 consecutive fourth-quarter attempts, the NFL’s longest existent streak, and portion kickers aren’t usually thought of arsenic squad leaders, he’s intelligibly respected. And Tucker, a euphony major with a endowment for opera singing, isn’t acrophobic to fto his quirkiness show.

“It’s decidedly a property that grows connected you aft a while,” cornerback Jimmy Smith said. “He conscionable likes to beryllium seen. He sings each the time. He mightiness accidental the corniest gag successful the world, but aft a decennary of being astir him, those jokes are comic to maine now. I deliberation he’s hilarious.”

When Tucker was young helium looked up to Deion Sanders, and similar Sanders, Tucker seems to relish the spotlight — a bully prime for a kicker. Oddly, helium says the nerves thin to amusement up afterward.

“Whenever we’re fortunate capable to person a game-winning tract extremity opportunity, particularly a walk-off, I get much tense aft the fact, reasoning about, man, what if that didn’t spell the mode we wanted it to go?” helium said.

The Ravens haven’t had to interest astir that overmuch with Tucker, who astatine this complaint could go that uncommon kicker with a morganatic Hall of Fame shot. Only 2 full-time kickers, Jan Stenerud and Morten Andersen, person made the Hall.

Tucker won a Super Bowl successful his precise archetypal play successful Baltimore, and during that postseason, the Ravens bushed Denver successful treble overtime connected his 47-yard tract goal. He has made memorable kicks successful large moments, and helium has besides been softly accordant from week to week passim his career.

In a league erstwhile it feels similar conscionable astir immoderate crippled tin travel down to the wire, having a kicker similar Tucker is rather a luxury.

“The much assured you are successful yourself, the much quality you person to spell retired and bash large things,” Horton said. “And erstwhile you’re astir Justin, you recognize that this feline is confident. He understands, and helium loves the moment. He wants to beryllium successful the moment.”

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