Patriots kicker Chad Ryland has had his struggles in his first NFL season and Bill Belichick made it publicly clear that he needs more from his rookie.
After missing a 35-yard field goal that would’ve tied the game in the final minutes of Sunday’s loss, Belichick went on “The Greg Hill Show” this morning with a message for his fourth-round pick.
“Chad is a very talented player,” Belichick said. “But this is two weeks in a row that we basically missed extra points. It’s not good enough.”
“Chad is a very talented player but this is two weeks in a row that we basically missed extra points. It’s not good enough.”
Bill Belichick discusses Chad Ryland missing the game tying field goal in yesterday’s loss to the Giants. pic.twitter.com/DyzKWL2UFG— The Greg Hill Show (@TheGregHillShow) November 27, 2023
Conditions were less than ideal over the weekend, but its still a kick that’s expected to be near-automatic for an NFL-level kicker.
“I missed that kick,” Ryland admitted after the game. “There’s no easy way around it. There’s no soft way around it. I missed the kick. I completely own that, and I’ll take responsibility for that every day of the week. The protection was good, snap was good, hold was good. I’ve got to do a better job of making that kick.”
New England let go of the steady Nick Folk in favor of going younger at the position but it hasn’t exactly panned out as of now. Ryland’s 70.6% success rate on field goals this season is second-to-last among qualified kickers.